Challenge
A Fortune 200 international manufacturer operating in over 300 global locations and employing more than 70,000 people faced growing inefficiencies across its telecom network. The company’s existing MPLS infrastructure had become costly, complex, and outdated – straining budgets and internal resources.
The manufacturer’s key challenges included:
- High Costs: An expensive MPLS network and inefficient global carrier agreements
- Operational Complexity: Disparate telecom services managed across hundreds of locations
- Network Vulnerability: Insufficient diversity, increasing the risk of outages
- Time Inefficiency: Significant internal resources required to manage day-to-day telecom operations
With new IT leadership in place, the company sought a partner to bring expertise in inventory audits, contract negotiation, and telecom lifecycle management – and turned to Digital Direction for support.
Solution
Digital Direction deployed a comprehensive Managed Telecom Solution to address both cost and operational challenges.
Key initiatives included:
- Operational Management: Took ownership of daily telecom operations, including service escalations, trouble-ticket resolution, and contract oversight.
- Audit and Inventory: A full audit across the client’s top 215 locations to establish an accurate baseline of all primary, secondary, and tertiary connections.
- Service Optimization: Recommended and implemented a cost-effective network strategy to replace the high-cost MPLS network.
- Network Diversity: Closed diversity gaps to reduce outage risk, sourcing dedicated internet and broadband services as needed.
- Contract Management: Negotiated and managed contracts with both global and regional providers to ensure better rates and terms.
Audit Steps
- Comprehensive review of all telecom bills, contracts, and active services
- Dispute resolution for billing errors, resulting in substantial one-time credits
- Contract renegotiations to secure favorable rates and stronger terms
- Service optimization through elimination of redundant and unused connections
Implementation
- Initial Review: Identified inefficiencies and improvement areas within the global network
- Provider Selection: Consolidated and sourced providers offering optimal contractual and connectivity conditions
- Network Upgrade: Implemented backup connections and secondary paths at prioritized sites to improve redundancy and reduce outage risks
- Operational Integration: Managed ongoing operations to streamline telecom processes and drive continued savings
- Escalation & Billing Support: Leveraged carrier relationships to accelerate ticket escalations and billing resolutions, saving significant time and cost
Results
Digital Direction’s Managed Telecom Solution delivered measurable operational and financial results, transforming the client’s global telecom environment:
- Cost Savings: Hundreds of thousands of dollars saved through renegotiated contracts and optimized network design. Beyond the initial $1 million in savings, additional optimizations continue to drive long-term cost reductions.
- Time Savings: Internal teams reclaimed 40+ hours per week previously spent on telecom management.
- Faster Implementations: Project delivery improved by 40%, reducing rollout times across all locations.
- Operational Efficiency: Billing and trouble-ticket resolutions were completed 90% faster.
- Improved Resilience: Enhanced network diversity significantly reduced data outage risks.
- ROI: The project achieved measurable ROI within 60 days of engagement.
- Launch Delay Prevention: Digital Direction’s carrier escalations prevented a 70-day delay in launching a new international facility.
The Bottom Line
By partnering with Digital Direction, this Fortune 200 manufacturer successfully transitioned from a fragmented, high-cost telecom model to a streamlined, high-performance network. Through expert audits, contract optimization, and proactive telecom management, the company achieved millions in ongoing savings, faster project delivery, and stronger global network resilience.
