Owing to the consulting services of Expense Reduction Analysts, PIONEER Benelux B.V. could optimize its existing telecomunication system. By that, the company avoided having to invest large funds into a complete replacement of their existing system. At th same time PIONEER Benelux B.V. achieved a large qualtity upgrade on their telecomunication infrastructure and significantly reduced costs.
 
PIONEER Benelux B.V. believed that reducing their  telecoms costs would necessarily require replacement of their existing PABX system (equipment used to connect an internal telephone system with the public telephone network) which they considered obsolete. The reason for this was found in the fact that their current system is no longer supported by their then current vendor. In their quest to find something new they also tried to achieve maximum savings on their call costs.
 
Moreover, this solution, initially suggested by PIONEER Benelux B.V., was supported by the two suppliers who had been contacted by the company. However, in trying to evaluate the quotations received from these suppliers, PIONEER Benelux B.V. became aware that both in-house expertise and the necessary man-power were lacking within their organisation. The solution was to ask Expense Reduction Analysts to analyse the competing proposals.
 
This evaluation, however, proved particularly complicated. Firstly, the two proposed technical solutions were completely different. Secondly, the descriptions of these solutions and their associated services were totally lacking in transparency. In conclusion, it was not possible to make a choice based on these proposals.
 
However, this situation did not prevent Kees de Dreu from carrying out his mission. Discussions with the Chief Executive, the general secretary and the call-centre manager at PIONEER Benelux B.V. had revealed that they were all very satisfied with the functionalities of the existing system. As a result, Kees de Dreu decided to propose an alternative solution, which would make it possible to keep the existing system in place.
 
It just remained to find an experienced supplier who could both carry out an equipment upgrade and ensure its long-term maintenance. "Clearly, the aim was not to upgrade the system this month and then purchase a new one several months later", says Kees de Dreu. Using Expense Reduction Analysts' extensive database of suppliers, this project was successfully completed.

PIONEER Benelux B.V. selected the recommended option, which allowed them to achieve significant savings without any upheaval in their operation. "This was an ideal solution. It cost just one tenth of the price of  purchasing a new system", explains Kees de Dreu. The selected new service provider required ten days to complete the system upgrade. The call centre teams were then trained in the new functionalities.
 
The savings achieved on  equipment were accompanied by further operating cost savings. Following an in-depth audit of the company’s overall telecommunications budget and competitive tariffs carried out by Kees de Dreu, PIONEER Benelux B.V. was able to select a new operator, resulting in a further 23% saving.

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