10 Ways To Prepare For The Switch Between TEM Providers

So you’ve outgrown your current TEM provider, or you’re at least wondering if you have. Maybe the time has come to consider a new TEM provider. After all, almost 50% of businesses that contract with TEM providers switch to new companies at some point.

Reasons to switch can be numerous. Perhaps your current TEM provider is not giving you enough insight into their processes. Or, maybe they are not as strong as you would like them to be. It could be that you’ve simply outgrown the level of services they provide, and you need a telecom expense management company that can offer the next level.

Whatever the reason, transitioning from your current TEM provider to a new one can feel daunting. However, if you break down the process into steps, the transition can go a lot more smoothly than you think.

Stay organized and in communication with both internal and external team members involved in the switch. Include old and new TEM providers, to ensure a smooth transition.

What Should You Consider Before Making the Switch?

Things to take into consideration before beginning your transition process include assessing your likes and dislikes about your current TEM provider and assessing your needs that should be met by a new TEM provider. Take the time to comprehensively evaluate your current provider from every perspective.

What services did your current provider give you that you’d like to maintain with the new provider? What pitfalls or shortcomings did you observe with your current provider that you’d like to rectify by choosing a new provider?

After transitioning to a new provider you should be able to say with certainty that your new provider is supplying higher visibility, more or higher level services, improvements in processes that weren’t functioning efficiently previously, and the ability to adapt and evolve your TEM services as your company grows and evolves itself.

Once you’ve done your homework on what your current TEM provider delivers and what you want out of your new TEM provider, you can begin preparing for the transition between the two. To give yourself optimal time to complete the transition, you should begin the process between four and six months before the termination of your current TEM agreement.

10 Steps to to follow that will help you prepare for the switch between TEM providers

1. Before choosing among the hundreds of TEM providers available across the globe, be sure you have listed out every single thing you’d like to your new TEM service to provide. Ensure that you’re actually upgrading your TEM service instead of just moving laterally.

2. Get your team together. If you’re a small company, then maybe the team is comprised of only you. But if you’re bigger, then you’ll want individuals who represent all pertinent departments involved in the transition, such as Procurements, IT, and Finance. However your team is composed, make sure each member has the time and mental space to adequately give the transition the attention it requires.

3. Once you’ve designated a new TEM provider, meet with them to discuss how you both can best achieve a smooth transition. They should have specific processes to follow to help you move seamlessly from the old TEM provider to the new.

4. Reevaluate your new provider. Your meeting with the new provider to discuss the transition is a good litmus test for your new potential TEM provider. If you don’t feel like your needs are being met while planning for the transition, or that you’re getting a sufficient amount of guidance from them, you can always jump ship and keep shopping – as long as you haven’t signed anything yet, that is.

5. Gather all the data your new provider will need. This means invoices, service agreements, and a comprehensive list of all your current vendors (telecom and pertinent IT). This may require some time tracking down data depending on how organized your current TEM provider is and the level of complexity of your organization. You may need to lean more heavily on your procurement and finance departments to track down relevant contracts and account numbers. Your TEM provider should have the latest vendor invoices available for you.

6. Organize your inventory. This may be an involved step depending on how up to snuff your current TEM provider is. Make sure you have documented all current inventory, or provided the essential authorization for your future provider to access pertinent information sources to organize your inventory for you. Your level of involvement is dependent on the services provided by the current TEM provider and the new TEM provider. Either way, you should have full knowledge of your own inventory and access to the information.

7. Notify all of your telecom and IT related vendors of your transition to a new TEM provider. This will give all of your vendors plenty of time to adjust to the transition and work out any kinks, if necessary.

8. Work with the new TEM provider to streamline your processes. You’ll want to meet with your new provider to go over your current methods, processes, and involvement, so that the new provider can improve upon and further streamline your day to day telecom management.

9. Notify your current TEM provider of your decision to move to a new TEM provider. Although business is business, your old TEM provider can react in a not so helpful way sometimes. So it’s best to get your ducks in order, and then hope they will assist proactively in the transition.

10. Test all of the process with your new TEM provider before going live. Your new provider should be equipped to run a simulation that will help assess your readiness to complete the transition.

Once everything has checked out, and your service agreement has run out with your current provider, you’re ready to go live. Although switching between TEM providers can be an involved and tedious process, giving your company adequate time, organizing properly, and communicating often with your new TEM provider will give you a leg up in the transition process. Following these steps in the order they appear, and checking back to make sure you have followed each step thoroughly, should translate into a relatively clean transition.