TEMIA Publishing Telecom Expense Management RFP Template
May 29, 2012
By Rachel Ramsey, TMCnet Web Editor
The Telecom Expense Management Industry Association (TEMIA (News - Alert)), the authoritative voice for telecom expense management (TEM), wireless expense management (WEM), and mobile device management (MDM), solutions providers, is publishing a TEM RFP (request for proposal) Template to help educate the market and reduce the time for organizations to buy a TEM solution.
This paper provides valuable information on understanding TEM and identifying things to look for even if you do not plan to issue RFP. Organizations that do not plan to issue RFP will find value in identifying critical things to look for when evaluating TEM solutions providers. TEMIA will also be developing a paper on RFPs for TEM software engagements.
Providers offer tailored solutions for enterprises, but this lack of standards for TEM can make evaluating the solutions more difficult.
Good RFPs enable businesses and government agencies to evaluate competing proposals in an efficient and fair manner. TEMIA’s goal is to streamline the RFP process by ensuring that RFPs contain information that enable evaluation teams to select the best supplier for their needs, while avoiding common mistakes that come from using RFP templates and standard language that fails to address customization required for TEM programs.
Ten mistakes that proposal writers make over and over include not being RFP compliant, not optimizing against the evaluation criteria, not saying why the customer should select you, making it all about you, stating a universal truth, and failing to pass the “so what?” test.
The RFP template unlocks hidden secrets and provides material that will ensure evaluation teams gather information to select the best supplier for their needs. It will also help them to avoid common mistakes that come from using most RFP templates and standard language that fails to address customization required for successful TEM programs. Organizations that do not plan to issue RFP will also find value in identifying critical things to look for when evaluating TEM solutions providers.
Three areas where TEM directly affects savings are reductions in spending on telecom services, labor efficiencies and indirect savings. Savings from labor efficiencies include automating manual processes or outsourcing to a provider that can perform work at a lower cost. Consolidation of invoices to reduce the volume of payments, automating invoice processing and outsourcing of procurement, inventory management, automating invoice management and validation, and usage charge-back reporting are all included in contributing to these savings.
Edited by Carrie Schmelkin