Results
Financial Institutions:
SRM Uncovers Savings of Nearly $300,000 Within A
Telecommunications Project for Arizona Federal Credit Union
The telecom bill would arrive and Jim Phillips, Chief Information Officer at Arizona Federal Credit Union jokingly remembers one of his more sophisticated methods of analysis. “What I used to do was weigh the bill to see if it was heavier,” the CIO says, only half-joking. “If it was heavier, I would know to question it.”
Such was life before SRM for the veteran CIO. Much as he loved all the services and innovations a new VOIP vendor contract provided, contemplating a detailed audit of the massive bill made his head hurt. His technology team could assure him the VOIP provided superior service. Accounting could testify that it helped the bottom line, but the tech team lacked accounting expertise, and the numbers guys did not know or understand the technology needs. So when SRM offered to dissect the credit union’s telecom billing line by line, viewing it with an eye for accounting and technology, he felt he had nothing to lose. It also helped that SRM had previously implemented six figure savings at Arizona FCU in checks, temporary labor, courier and supplies prior to the telecommunications assignment.
“They have a very good knowledge of the workings of telecommunications, as well as other key credit union expense areas.”
“The telecom billing was just a nightmare for us,” says Mr. Phillips. “I have a person who manages our telecom, but I don’t have a staff of people who can rifle through hundreds of pages and understand both the billing and the technology. SRM was brought in to sift through all that. They have a very good knowledge of the workings of telecom-munications, as well as other key credit union expense areas.”
The team at SRM is dedicated to doing the tedious analysis for clients who want to spend more time on their primary mission: serving members and returning value on their money. At SRM, the mission is to maximize the return and minimize the hassle. The team spent half a day at the company with Mr. Phillips and his team where they gathered those massive bills and the telecom contracts and went to work back at the SRM offices.
Applying the knowledge and expertise gained working with financial institutions and their vendors all over the country, SRM can analyze the documents and find real money. Like other SRM clients, the credit union’s bills showed an array of potential savings—duplicated services, oversupply of bandwidth, and unclaimed rebates to name a few. SRM was also able to identify potential security threats the telecom provider failed to uncover. In all, the savings added up to nearly $300,000—and that doesn’t even factor in the man hours the credit union saved.
“SRM came back with recommendations that were above and beyond what they were originally brought in to do,” said Mr. Phillips. “They found a significant amount of savings for us—not only on a onetime fee, where the vendor cut us a check, but it greatly reduced monthly recurring costs. Ongoing, they have really saved us a lot of money.”
And as Mr. Phillips points out, SRM’s footprint is light. After the initial meetings, SRM needed less than an hour a week with the credit union. Because SRM dealt directly with the vendors, the CIO and his staff could devote their time to better serve their members, confident that SRM was improving its service while finding savings. “That cut out a lot of time we would have had to spend as a middleman," the CIO says. “The vendors respect SRM and know they know their business. It was less work than I thought it was going to be to have SRM deliver significant savings.”
An unexpected benefit for the credit union came in more robust service and attention from their VOIP vendor—more accessible bills broken down by location, monthly service calls, and a better understanding of the credit union’s needs. “Because of their review, our vendor became more aware of our expectations and how they worked with us,” the CIO says. “They understand they need to do a better job and become more proactive.”
For Jim Phillips, the process created value beyond mere dollars and cents. “It’s helped me be more transparent with my shareholders and peers,” he says. “It gets us back to a place with our vendors where we are more confident we are getting the service we pay for.” It also liberates his staff and the accounting department to focus on their core mission.
The savings and confidence delivered by SRM has also allowed the credit union to bring further innovation to branches throughout its network. “Because we reduced overall spending on telecom and data expenses, we’ve been able to divert some of that money to upgrading services to other branches,” he says.