RAM Lowers Service Costs Easily and Affordably
OVERVIEW
The Glen Ellyn Park District was established in 1919. Since that time, the Park District has grown to include one outdoor aquatic facility, four recreation buildings, 23 parks and two lakes. In January 2010, the state-of-the-art Ackerman Sports Complex was opened to the community. The new facility provides an indoor soccer field, climbing wall and gymnasium facilities.
CHALLENGE
In November 2009, Laurelyn Woods, Superintendent of Finance, asked RAM to come in and review her AT&T accounts. The purpose of the project was to inventory current services for all the facilities and provide a more cost-effective service agreement. If possible, the A/P department wanted to consolidate invoices for easier processing as well. The most challenging part of these projects usually involves the current facilities review. In the case of GEPD, RAM looked at each phone line, circuit and related equipment on site. It’s not enough to look at a phone bill and assume all the information is accurate. RAM tested each number and service to understand and verify its purpose. In a few cases, lines were eliminated that were found to be outdated.
Phone service contracts can be cumbersome and difficult to understand. RAM brought its experience and key AT&T relationships in to ensure the revisions were as thorough and practical as possible for GEPD. Three separate package options were brought to the table and reviewed between client and advisor to determine the best fit for the park district’s needs.
SOLUTION
Once the appropriate package was chosen, RAM managed the paperwork and billing changes for Larelyn’s team. RAM tracks all the order numbers, accounting and quality control on the client’s behalf. Of course, phone companies take a few billing cycles to complete changes properly. The GEPD project was no exception.
RESULTS
Working with its AT&T professionals, however, RAM completed the changes with excellent results:
- no interruption in services
- 45% savings over old service package
- updated inventory of all services
- consolidated billing for A/P
- quarterly billing reviews to ensure proper charges
- ROI for RAM fees were realized by month 2 of the project
RAM provided a cohesive timeline and constant communication with GEPD. Budgets were met and services were updated successfully with minimal issues. Conservatively, GEPD saved over twenty hours in project management, analysis and human resources utilizing RAM. Communications.
“RAM took the time to explain what we had and how our services work. We have an updated inventory of all our services. Rob’s staff found several new plans and we were able to choose one that best fit our needs. We now save over 40% in expenses. The savings covered RAM’s fee in the first month. A no-brainer.”
Laurelyn Woods
Director of Finance
Glen Ellyn Park District