Managing mobility expenses has become a critical challenge for today’s enterprises. With remote work, ever-expanding mobile phone use, and increasing data usage, mobility costs are rising faster than ever.
Yet, many companies don’t realize how much they are overspending. Billing errors, unused devices, and inefficient rate plans drain budgets out of sight, often without detection for months, or even years.
Telecom invoice error rates can lead to substantial overcharges. Without a clear strategy, these costs continue to pile up, impacting profitability.
However, there’s good news: Mobility Expense Management (MEM) offers a powerful solution. By taking control of mobile expenses through data-driven audits, cost optimization strategies, and continuous monitoring, businesses can significantly reduce waste and realize material savings.
In fact, Gartner notes that quarterly audits of mobile rate plans can cut mobility costs by up to 20% annually (Gartner, 2023; see references). But MEM isn’t just about cutting costs, it’s about gaining visibility, making smarter decisions, and driving operational efficiency.
In this article, we’ll explore how enterprises can find waste, cut costs, and master mobility expense management through proven strategies.
We’ll uncover: (1) Where companies lose the most money on mobility expenses; (2) proven strategies to reduce mobile device costs without cutting essential services and (3) review real-world results from successful MEM implementations
Let’s break down how MEM can transform your mobility operations from a cost center into a savings engine.
Find waste. Cut costs. Master Mobility Expense Management
1. Master the Basics: What Is Mobility Expense Management (MEM)?
Managing mobility costs is more challenging than ever. As mobile devices, data plans, and remote work become essential to business operations, companies face rising expenses and hidden waste. Yet, many organizations fail to track these costs effectively.
Billing errors, unused devices, and inefficient rate plans often fly under the radar, leading to unnecessary spending.
This is where mobility expense management comes in. MEM is a structured approach to tracking, analyzing, and optimizing mobile-related costs within an organization. It covers audits, contract management, and real-time usage monitoring to ensure services match business needs.
MEM differs from Managed Mobility Services (MMS), which handles the entire mobile lifecycle. While MMS covers procurement and support, MEM zeroes in on expense control and cost reduction. Even companies with MMS can face rising costs without a dedicated MEM strategy.
Key Components of Mobility Expense Management:
- Invoice Auditing: Regularly review telecom bills to catch errors and overcharges.
• Rate Plan Optimization: Analyze usage patterns and adjust mobile plans to eliminate waste.
• Contract Management: Monitor carrier agreements to ensure compliance and renegotiate for better terms when necessary.
• Expense Visibility: Implement tools that offer real-time visibility into mobile spending across the organization.
Understanding the fundamentals of MEM is the first step toward gaining control over mobility costs and driving long-term savings.
2. Find Waste: Where Companies Lose Money on Mobility Costs
Uncontrolled mobility expenses often stem from hidden waste. As enterprises expand their mobile ecosystems, unused lines, billing errors, and inefficient data plans erode budgets.
Without proper oversight, these leaks can quickly accumulate significant losses. Forrester reports that nearly 20% of mobile devices deployed go unused, which is a major source of waste.
Additionally, without automated monitoring, companies often face unexpected domestic and roaming overage charges.
Identifying and eliminating these cost leaks is crucial for reducing mobility expenses. By implementing regular audits, usage tracking, and wireless inventory management, companies can uncover waste and stop paying for services they don’t need.
Common Sources of Mobility Waste:
- Billing Errors: Telecom invoice errors, such as incorrect rates or duplicate charges.
- Unused Devices: Mobile devices can remain inactive and unnecessarily increase costs over time, especially if undetected for months and even years in many cases.
- Overage Charges: Domestic and international roaming fees spike costs without real-time monitoring.
- Outdated Rate Plans: Companies often overpay by staying on legacy plans that no longer fit their usage patterns.
Finding and eliminating mobility waste is the first step toward reducing costs and regaining control over mobile expenses.
3. Cut Costs: Proven Strategies to Save with Mobility Expense Management
Cutting mobility costs isn’t about reducing services. It’s about eliminating waste and optimizing spending. Many companies unknowingly overspend by staying on outdated plans, failing to monitor usage, or paying for services they don’t use.
The key to lowering mobility costs lies in proactive management and automation. Forrester highlights that automating rate plan management and usage monitoring significantly lowers total cost of ownership (TCO).
Additionally, detailed inventory management can help eliminate duplicate lines and unused devices.
By implementing the following cost-saving strategies, enterprises can reduce their mobility expenses without compromising service quality.
Proven Strategies for Cutting Mobility Costs:
- Quarterly Rate Plan Audits: Conduct regular mobile device audits to align mobile plans with actual usage.
- Automate Usage Monitoring: Use real-time tracking and AI-powered tools to catch overages and adjust plans before charges accrue.
- Optimize Device Inventory: Maintain an accurate inventory of devices to eliminate duplicate lines and deactivate unused numbers.
- Enforce Policy Controls: Implement and monitor company-wide policies for data usage, roaming, and app installations to prevent costly overages.
Proactively managing rate plans, usage, and inventory is the most effective way to reduce costs while maintaining seamless mobile operations.
4. Why It Pays Off: The Bottom-Line Benefits of Mobility Expense Management
Effective mobility expense management is more than a cost-cutting exercise, it’s a driver of operational efficiency and financial control. Companies that implement MEM strategies reduce waste while gaining valuable insight into their mobile operations.
Additionally, companies that maintain detailed mobile inventories reduce overcharges and unused services, contributing to more accurate budgeting and forecasting.
Key Bottom-Line Benefits of MEM:
- Significant Cost Savings: Regular audits and rate plan optimization can reduce mobile expenses by up to 20% annually and maximize mobile ROI.
- Operational Efficiency: Automation of mobility management processes streamlines workflows and reduces administrative overhead.
- Improved Budgeting & Forecasting: Real-time visibility into mobile expenses enables more accurate financial planning.
- Enhanced Policy Compliance: Usage monitoring and automated controls reduce overages and ensure adherence to company policies.
Investing in mobility expense management delivers both immediate cost reductions and long-term financial control.
5. Success in Action: How One Company Saved Big with MEM
A large medical diagnostics company was facing rising mobility costs but struggled to identify where the waste was coming from. Despite using managed mobility services, their mobile expenses continued to balloon due to billing errors, unused lines, and outdated rate plans.
Tellennium conducted an audit and discovered the company was paying for several inactive devices and overage charges due to a lack of real-time usage monitoring. The company decided to implement a dedicated mobility expense management strategy, focusing on quarterly audits, inventory management, and automated usage monitoring.
Within weeks, real-time tracking flagged roaming overages, allowing them to adjust plans before charges accrued. Their commitment to MEM delivered impressive results and long-term savings.
Results from Implementing MEM:
- $345,000 Saved in Mobile Expenses: Primarily through mobile rate plan optimization of 30,000 devices across 25,000 locations and eliminating unused services.
- $2 Million Total Annual Savings: Combining mobile cost reductions with broader telecom expense improvements.
- Reduction in Administrative Time: Automation of audits and usage tracking reduced manual workloads.
- Improved Inventory Accuracy: Real-time inventory management eliminated unnecessary costs and inefficiencies.
This real-world example demonstrates how a dedicated MEM strategy can uncover hidden savings and drive operational efficiency.
Closing Thoughts on Mobility Expense Management
Mobility expense management is more than a cost-cutting measure. It’s a powerful tool for reducing waste, improving visibility, and strengthening operational control.
As mobility costs climb, businesses need clear processes to identify inefficiencies, monitor usage, and prevent costly overages.
Strategies such as quarterly audits, real-time usage tracking, and inventory management help companies uncover savings and eliminate unnecessary expenses.
A well-executed MEM program delivers immediate savings while providing the visibility
needed for smarter, long-term decision-making.
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FAQs on Mobility Expense Management
Q1. How does mobility expense management (MEM) reduce costs for businesses?
A1. Mobility expense management reduces costs by eliminating waste, optimizing usage, and automating cost controls. Important ways MEM lowers expenses include:
- Auditing telecom invoices to catch billing errors
- Eliminating charges for unused devices or duplicate lines
- Matching mobile plans to actual usage to prevent overages
- Automating usage alerts to prevent costly roaming fees
- Providing real-time spending insights for smarter budgeting
Q2. What’s the difference between MEM and MMS and which does my business need?
A2. Mobility expense management focuses on controlling mobile costs through invoice audits, usage monitoring, and cost optimization. Managed mobility services cover end-to-end mobile lifecycle management, including procurement, deployment, and technical support.
If your priority is cost savings and expense control, choose MEM. If you need full-service mobile management, MMS is a broader solution. Many companies benefit from combining MMS with MEM for total mobility management.
Q3. What types of companies benefit most from mobility expense management?
A3. MEM is ideal for businesses with:
- Large or distributed mobile workforce: Reduces costs from unmanaged devices and data overages.
- High telecom expenses: Identifies and eliminates billing errors.
- Multiple carriers or complex plans: Simplifies management and consolidates costs.
- Frequent international travel: Provides real-time alerts to prevent roaming charges.
- Outdated telecom contracts: Finds opportunities to renegotiate rates.
Q4. What features should I look for in a mobility expense management platform?
A4. A strong MEM platform should include:
- Automated invoice audits: Quickly identifies billing errors.
- Real-time usage monitoring: Prevents overages with instant alerts.
- AI-driven cost analysis: Finds savings opportunities with predictive insights.
- Customizable reports: Tailors dashboards to your business needs.
- Integration capabilities: Connects with accounting and ERP systems for easy billing.
Q5. How often should businesses review their mobility expenses, and what should they check?
A5. Enterprises should:
- Conduct quarterly audits to catch billing errors and align plans with usage.
- Perform monthly usage reviews to identify trends and control data overages.
- Annually renegotiate contracts with carriers for better rates.
- Use real-time alerts to monitor unexpected charges.
- Audit inventory annually to remove inactive devices and close unused lines.
References
Internal Sources
- Tellennium. (n.d.). Why Wireless Inventory Management is Critical for WEM Program Savings. Retrieved from: Why Wireless Inventory Management is Critical for WEM Program Savings – Tellennium
- Tellennium. (n.d.). Managed Mobility Services (MMS). Retrieved from: Managed Mobility Services (MMS) – Tellennium
- Tellennium. (n.d.). Mastering Enterprise Mobile Device Costs: Essentials for CFOs. Retrieved from: Mastering Enterprise Mobile Device Costs: Essentials for CFOs – Tellennium
- Tellennium. (n.d.). Your Mobile Ecosystem: The Top 7 MMS Cyber Defense Tactics. Retrieved from: Your Mobile Ecosystem: The Top 7 MMS Cyber Defense Tactics – Tellennium
- Tellennium. (n.d.). Sign-up For a Platform Demonstration. Retrieved from: Sign-up For a Platform Demonstration – Tellennium
- Tellennium. (n.d.). Medical Diagnostics – Case Study. Retrieved from: Medical Diagnostics – Case Study – Tellennium
- Tellennium. (n.d.). How Does Mobile Rate Plan Optimization Help Your Organization?. Retrieved from: How Does Mobile Rate Plan Optimization Help Your Organization? – Tellennium
- Tellennium. (n.d.). 5 Strategies That Work for Maximizing Enterprise Mobile ROI. Retrieved from: 5 Strategies That Work for Maximizing Enterprise Mobile ROI – Tellennium
- Tellennium. (n.d.). Mobile Device Audits are Critical for Large Enterprises. Retrieved from: Mobile Device Audits are Critical for Large Enterprises – Tellennium
- Tellennium. (n.d.). Discussion on Mobility Management (and why to do it) and the Importance of Business Ethics. Retrieved from: Discussion on Mobility Management (and why to do it) and the Importance of Business Ethics – Tellennium
- Tellennium. (n.d.). Choose Your Own Device (CYOD) – Another Corporate Mobility Phone Plan to Consider With BYOD & COPE. Retrieved from: Choose Your Own Device (CYOD) – Another Corporate Mobility Phone Plan to Consider With BYOD & COPE – Tellennium
External Source
Gartner. (2023). Quarterly audits of mobile rate plans can cut mobility costs by up to 20% annually. Retrieved from: Market Guide for Telecom Expense Management Services, Global
The author, Rob Halik, is a Senior Analyst at Tellennium, specializing in Managed Mobility Services, Telecom Expense Management, and Utility Bill Management. With over 25 years of industry experience, Rob offers enterprise expense management insights to help businesses streamline operations and reduce costs. This article is a collaborative effort by Tellennium’s expert team members, including Greg McIntyre, Shawn Veitz, Matt McIntyre, and Todd Givens, who together bring over 100 years of industry experience to the table.
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