Sourcing is the area within Technology Expense Management that yields the greatest potential return. We offer visibility into markets from Small Businesses to Fortune 1000 Companies. Axiom team members have direct experience in working for telecom carriers, so we understand the true cost of connected services, we therefore have distinct understanding of inter-carrier networks and their cost basis. In addition, we also offer benchmarking for DIY negotiation to 1st chair negotiation after RFP creation.
Client Challenges
The biggest challenge for companies about to go through the sourcing process is not being made fully aware of what, specifically, they purchase. Not only is it difficult to effectively evaluate market conditions businesses should also take full advantage of their purchasing power. When sourcing, proposed vendor terms may not be favorable for the client in the long-run, but Axiom provides avid insight and recommendations throughout this process to avoid pitfalls.
The Stages of Sourcing
Our Impact Analysis compares vendor bids to the market competitive rates and current billed rates identified in the benchmark study. This enables the ability to rank the vendors that offer our clients the best combination of rates and terms.
Our Contract Negotiation Roadmap outlines the recommendations for procurement and contract negotiation strategies to achieve market competitive pricing. This helps articulate specific elements which are most important to achieve low cost pricing, while also highlighting which combination of rates and terms offers the greatest likelihood of success with the vendor.
The Execution of the Roadmap & Invoice Validation process concludes with validation that new contract rates and terms are properly applied. Overall, a technology-driven TEM infrastructure is the best insurance to protect your sourcing investment.
Our sourcing activities include the following phases:
Initial Invoice Review – Analyze existing invoices to determine billed rates
Rate Analysis – Identify services that are above market rates that qualify for rate revisions
RFP/Negotiation – Determine whether an RFP would be beneficial, and execute the RFP or negotiate with existing providers
Implementation Invoice Review – Analyze invoices to ensure rates have been applied appropriately