ETMA: TEM is Green: Companies that Adopt TEM Save Money and the Environment

April 22, 2017 — The Telecom Expense Management Industry Association (ETMA) (https://etma.org), the authoritative voice for the Telecom Expense Management (TEM) industry, is advocating increased adoption of TEM solutions as a way to support Earth Day. TEM programs save money, and they can help save the environment.
Large enterprises that do not have a TEM program, receive most of their bills in paper format. Small bills for enterprises’ communications services can run hundreds of pages. Carriers send thousands of these “shoe box” sized statements to each of their clients each week. “One of the first initiatives that MDSL undertakes with any new client is to transition them from paper to electronic billing,” says Simon Thomson, COO of MDSL America (https://www.mdsl.com) “For a large multinational with over 80,000 employees, we now process more than 50 percent of their global telecom spend via e-bills,” added Thomson.
Clients benefit from specialized knowledge of carrier billing and software that allows for these telecom bills to be processed electronically.  This is substantial, considering the significant number of locations and carriers our financial and retail customers manage. The result is that not only does the customer no longer have to deal with paper invoices for the majority of their spend, but generally the invoices are audited and able to be paid before the paper would have previously arrived.
From an international perspective, government agencies are also seeking to save the environment by eliminating paper. One local government authority with 3,000 users in the UK, subscribed to a Wireless Expense Manager service purely for the paperwork reduction. They had been sending every user a paper bill for declaration of which calls were personal. In addition to the green issues, the processing cost per user bill was estimated by them at £50 (approximately 77 US Dollars). This led to annual savings of 3,000 users x 12 months x £50 = £1.8 million, or about 2.8 million US dollars. It also helped them meet their targets under a central government paperwork reduction initiative.
Eliminating paper also helps to reduce energy needed to deliver bills. Electronic bills help clients minimize waste and their overall carbon footprint by employing multiple measures, including wireless device recycling and invoice consolidation. For example, through invoice consolidation and conversion helped one client increase electronic media by over 60%, resulting in an annual reduction of 12.67 metric tons of carbon and 365.7 trees saved annually.
Increasingly, companies are using TEM reports and business analytics to identify redundant and obsolete equipment and items that can be disconnected from the network. Gains from TEM programs are helping fund video conferencing, which reduces air travel. Savings can also support new initiatives that allow employees to work from home.
In today’s tough economic environment, enterprises are increasingly seeking outside help from TEM providers. Telecommunications cost management, whether in the form of technology to automate the control processes or a variety of service-based solutions, provides a tremendous savings opportunities for business and government. The market for TEM solutions continues to grow as more organizations learn about this dynamic industry that helps enterprises reduce their carbon footprint and reduces expenses.