Jan De Nul Group: Growing business, shrinking telecom costs
Written by Dirk De Nul, Manager Jan De Nul Group
With its substantial national and international growth, dredging company Jan De Nul Group has been riding on the crest of a wave of success. But this doesn’t mean the Company is ignoring the fundamentals of financial sustainability: cost control remains a key priority. On the other hand, the Company’s growth has resulted in increased telecom consumption and complexity. Employees need to use a range of communication equipment in order to sustain the continued development. With a practical approach – and the right external support – Jan De Nul Group has been able to control and even reduce its telecom costs.
Telecom environment
Jan De Nul Group requires a wide variety of telecom functions and equipment to keep its business buoyant. Thanks to the Company’s many international projects, ranging from neighbouring countries to Dubai, Panama and beyond, roaming is now one of the Company’s biggest telecom-related expenses. The introduction of mobile data is making roaming even more of a focal point.
Jan De Nul Group
In its worldwide operations, Jan De Nul Group specialises in dredging and land reclamation, rock placing, trenching, rock dumping for oil and gas related offshore pipeline projects, quay walls, marine related projects, civil engineering and large-scale environmental remediation projects. The Company has a solid reputation in turnkey projects.
Jan De Nul Group goes back to 1938. Jan De Nul started out as a civil works contractor. In 1951 the Company took on its first dredging job. Soon after, it secured its first international dredging project. Over the ensuing years, Jan De Nul Group has ranked among the top international dredging contractors and the top marine engineering contractors.
As a further complexity, not only does the Company have various sites, but it also has personnel on ships that often cross international borders. What’s more, the great diversity of users, reporting and the ongoing monitoring of the various costs mean that understanding usage patterns and having the right types of subscriptions are absolutely necessary. Employees as well must realise that if they use the telecom environment incorrectly, it can lead to “bill shocks” for the company.
Solutions
Jan De Nul came to the realisation that responsibility for telecom contracts does not end at their signing. In fact, these contracts, and the relationships they cover, must be monitored on an ongoing basis. So in 2007, Jan De Nul Group called upon Tam Tam Consulting for an audit, in order to achieve a transparent understanding of telecom costs, usage patterns and contracts.
The first step in controlling the telecom environment was to have a clear view of the telecom situation, and to develop specific recommendations for very short-term savings. Jan De Nul Group and Tam Tam Consulting became partners in this endeavour, with a Telecom Expense Management contract.
“With the aid of Tam Tam Consulting, our telecom negotiation results improved drastically.”
Each quarter, Tam Tam Consulting provides Jan De Nul Group with possible ways to make savings and to modify subscriptions, as well as information on new trends in the market. The contract is managed, invoices checked; benchmarks performed; and contracts renewed with the right conditions. Furthermore, the top telecoms users in the Company receive a monthly email reporting of their total telecom costs for the previous month. In this way, Jan De Nul can continually make savings and avoid excessive costs, all without needing to jump into the waters of the ever-changing market.
“Cost awareness on all management levels has led to a 5-15% decrease in costs.”
Lessons learned
Its experiences taught Jan De Nul Group several important lessons about managing and monitoring a company’s telecom environment. “You can’t just sit still,” says Dirk De Nul “You have to check your invoices, monitor your contracts and constantly follow the market. Don’t just assume that the right type of subscription today will still be the right subscription in a few months. Things change: your Company changes, your needs change and the market changes. Consulting from external experts or partners can help you generate huge savings. For us, cost awareness has led to a 5-15% decrease in costs. With the aid of Tam Tam Consulting, our telecom negotiation results improved drastically.”
Savings
- Audit = 30% saving
- Telecom Expense Management (Contract Management, Benchmarking, etc.) : an average of 10 to 15 %per year ongoing savings
- Avoidance of billing errors and costs through timely adjustments
Copyright © Tam Tam Consulting
Contact
Atealaan 34A, 2200 Herentals, Belgium
BE 0465.967.313
+32 (0) 14 70 10 70
info@tamtamconsulting.com
LinkedIn
Quick navigation
INDEPENDENT | ADVISOR | TECHNOLOGY EXPERT
