Articles by "Communications"
Showing posts with label Communications. Show all posts

on Wednesday, January 05, 2022 0

 


Telecommunication technology has significantly changed the communication landscape for deaf and hearing impaired (HOH – Hard of Hearing) individuals. For more than 40 years, text telephones (TTY) and amplified phones were their only options. Today, videophones, Smartphones, and instant messaging most often replace the TTY as preferred communication tools.

Roughly 600,000 people in the United States are “functionally” deaf according to Gallaudet.edu.  I, myself, am not classified but am 100% deaf in my right ear and have severe hearing loss in my left from contracting a virus 6 years ago.  The creation of this blog post is to share general information and to review practical applications.

The TTY (TeleTYpe), TDD (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf), and TT (Text Telephone) acronyms are used interchangeably to refer to any type of text-based telecommunications equipment used by a person who does not have enough functional hearing to understand speech, even with amplification.

In 1964, Robert Weitbrecht, a deaf electronic scientist, developed an acoustic coupler that converted sounds into text. Signals received by a standard telephone handset placed on a coupler were translated into a printed text message by the teletype machine. A flashing light alerted the deaf person receiving a call that the phone was ringing. Access to this telecommunications device, also called a "TTY" or "TDD," meant deaf people could place a phone call to a friend, a club, or anyone who also had a TTY. Before TTYs, deaf people had to go in person to see if friends were home, make appointments, or do any of the things hearing people did effortlessly by phone. For deaf people, TTYs became a tool for change.

Like today’s cellular texting there are “short cuts” … TTY technology use this method starting back in the 1970’s.  For ex: “GA” – “Go ahead” or “It’s your turn” because the system worked over pots lines and two-way simultaneous communication was not available.
 
Fast forward to today:
With cellular units and texting communication accessibility combined with visual communication for the deaf and hard of hearing has become easier.  With programs such as WhatsApp - lip reading is possible however, according to the NDC – National Deaf Center, only about 30% of English speak sounds are visible under the best of conditions in the best environments with no visual distractions.
 
  • Open Market Video Calling Software: Due to the user restrictions placed on videophones, deaf and hearing individuals often use Skype, FaceTime, Fuze along with a myriad other video calling software applications available to converse in real time.
  • Open Market Texting Software: In addition to taking advantage of current mobile phone texting capabilities, sign language users are increasingly using software programs such as YouTube and Glide to “text” messages in sign language.
911 (United States and Canada) – texting is advancing with E911- location services attached to the number called from.  This system isn’t 100% perfect within the United States and location identification is not available in all areas.

Did you know???
999 began in 1937 and today is available in 25 countries (unfortunately the United States is NOT included) – For the deaf and hearing impaired this has evolved into a texting emergency services for registered cellular units and TTY connected units.

Countries and territories using 999 include:
Telecommunication has progressed by leaps and bounds during the past 40 years but there is a long way to go for the deaf and hearing impaired.

Corcentric specializes in supporting telecommunication connectivity for the healthcare and manufacturing amongst other industries. These two niche sectors combined with telecommunication carrier and cloud-based application providers open the world of communication for the Deaf and Hearing-Impaired individuals, communities, and businesses.


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on Friday, November 19, 2021 0

 


TEAMS is chocked full of functionality, in fact so much so that it would take quite a bit of time to learn it all.  The pandemic sped up the use of TEAMS and Microsoft increased the functionality by leaps and bounds to keep pace.

Very few people use all the features.

I was introduced to TEAMS in January 2020.  I had no previous experience; the system, for the most part, is extremely user friendly and intuitive.  

The functions highlighted below are nifty ones used by many on a daily basis:

TEAMS communication options fall into 1 of 4 types

(no difference if scheduled or impromptu)

  • Chat only functionality - text conversation. 
  • An audio only call (all parties picture or initials appear) with or without screen sharing.  
  • Full video meeting (live faces) with or without screen sharing. 
  • Audio call with people outside of the company - a traditional phone call.

I recommend considering  the "traffic light” approach prior to reaching out to someone internal for any type of communication (this is the availability status circle by the internal employee’s name or initials in TEAMS:

  • Available - for calls and screen chat. 
  • Busy - will receive chat messages and will have functionality to answer back. 
  • Do Not Disturb with horizontal slash – no outside screen chat will appear until the has concluded. 
  • Be right back with a clock sign - The person is temporarily unavailable or is finishing a task. (Be right back can only be set manually if your computer is idle/ screen lock or “asleep”)  
  • Offline - It means the person is currently not using TEAMS, connected to the company, and until they log back into Corcentric they are not receiving messages. 

How to take and share notes in a team’s meeting

  • Selecting the “More Actions” icon
  • Select the “show meeting notes” option
  • A side pane will pop up select the “take notes”

I need all the organization help I can get; with the elimination of paper files and the growth of a “cloud filing system” I can easily loose items. TEAMS provides the ability to “Pin” – think of a bulletin board.

Pinning/organizing your teams

  • Open Microsoft Teams. 
  • Go to the team and channel you want to pin.
  • Find the post and click the more options button at top right.
  • Select Pin.
  • The post will be pinned to the top. The post is pinned for everyone, if part of a channel.

Edit in DESKTOP APP 

While in the document others that have access to the same document will be able to edit simultaneously and EVERYONE’s collaborative changes/updates will be AUTOSAVED!

FYI - changes can be made in the channel/non-desktop environment, however this is where (in my opinion) TEAMS is flawed; when multiple parties making changes, alignment and structure can become skewed.

 How to save a message/chat/or link to files

  • Find the message you want to save.
  • Hover over the message and click the bookmark icon to save the message.
  • Once the message is saved, the bookmark icon will appear red, and a message will pop up indicating that the message was saved.

How to find saved items

  • Just to the right of the text.
  • To see a list of your saved messages, select your profile picture at the top of the app and choose Saved.

How to copy and send a link

  • Select Format beneath the message box.
  • Select Insert link.
  • Add display text and the address.
  • Select Insert or copy and paste the link into the message box.
  • Select Send.

Emojis and Gif’s in Teams – Why & When 

According to the company hibox - (Paraphrased) "There are real, measurable benefits to the increasingly casual form of communication that has become the norm of the most innovative businesses. Without in-person interaction, there’s little emotional dimension to our messages at work which can tax employee engagement and relationships. Formal communication is being factored out in favor of informal methods which include emojis and GIFS because we simply work better this way. Using Emojis and Gif's in appropriate business communication produces better results!" 

TEAMS has over 800 Emojis, stickers and Gif’s incorporated into the platform.  On my team,  if a message is received with no action or reply required, the “thumbs up” is posted as a confirmation of being received/read by the recipient.  

Please know your audience prior to adding emojis, GIF or Stickers to group reads, channels – especially if clients are part of the communication/information stream. 

How to access the “Secret” Emoticons in TEAMS 

  • Open Microsoft Teams. Go to either a teams' channel or a chat thread. 
  • Click inside the text input field and enter the colon character: 
    • Follow this character up with a letter for example “a” and emoticons that start with the letter will appear in the list.  🚲🍱🧐

These quick how-to tips are are used frequently and offer effective interactions both internally to an organization and when engaging external resources. TEAMS offers extensive robust features and functionality; continuously helping to bridge the gap of face-to-face interactions that are still impacted by Covid. 

Corcentric is currently looking for qualified staff... www.corcentric.com/company/careers/

If an opening is of interest or if you have questions about the company please email me at twankoff@corcentric.com.

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on Monday, November 01, 2021 0



Over 20 years ago, I worked for a company in Totowa, NJ.  The company transported body parts to operating rooms, provided up-to-the-minute arrival information.  This was done with the Nextel Push-To-Talk cellular technology when it was brand new to the market.  One day, the latest advertising brochure was dropped on my desk; I gave it a quick glance over and there it was, 1-866-LOGISTIC!  The company didn’t own that number! I walked past the CEO’s Secretary and quietly entered his office and informed him of the marketing error. What followed was the entrance of the marketing staff; heads were going to roll!  100,000 advertising packets were mailed out to be received up and down the east coast … The CEO yelled at me to locate the number and buy it.  I inquired to the CEO "what are you willing to spend to obtain the number??"

This began a sleuthing adventure - what company owned the number and more importantly what would it cost to purchase it?

After 3 days of phone calls and following leads (this was pre- security days, no pin codes and 2FA didn’t exist yet) I found that it was owned by a beeper/paging company.  The number had no meaning (866-564-4784 = 866-LOGISTIc) to the paging company after I explained what had occurred.  The person who would be issued that pager would not be happy by the number of pages received and they would not be for them… The purchase price was $500…

So how did this industry of “vanity” begin?

Toll-free service was introduced by AT&T in 1966 (US intrastate) and 1967 (US interstate) as an alternative to operator-assisted collect calling.  This Inward Wide Area Telephone Service (InWATS) allowed calls to be made directly from anywhere in a predefined area by dialing the prefix 1‑800- and a seven-digit number.

The system initially provided no support for Automatic Number Identification (Caller ID) and no record to the quantity of calls, instead requiring subscribers to obtain expensive fixed-rate lines which included some number of hours of inbound calling from a "band" of one or several U.S. states or Canadian provinces. Early toll-free 800 calling lacked the complex routing features offered with modern toll-free service. After competitive carriers could compete with AT&T in establishing toll-free service, the three-digit exchange following the 800 prefixes was linked to a specific destination carrier and area code; the number itself corresponded to specific telephone switching offices and trunk groups. All calls went to one central destination; there was no means to place a toll-free call to another country.

Despite its limitations (and the relatively high cost of long distance during the 1970-1990), the system was adequate for the needs of large volume users such as hotels, chains, airlines, and cars for hire firms which used it to build a truly national presence.

AT&T engineer Roy P. Weber from Bridgewater, New Jersey patented a 'Data Base Communication Call Processing Method' which was deployed by AT&T in 1982. The called number was an index into a database, allowing a 'Toll-Free Call' or '800 Call' to be directed anywhere. This feature and other advances made it possible for AT&T marketing analyst Dodge Cepeda from Bedminster, New Jersey to propose the introduction of providing 800 Toll-Free Service to small and medium-size business customers on a nationwide basis

A toll-free vanity number is a custom number or a mnemonic which is easy to remember; it spells and means something, or it contains an easily recognized numeric pattern. An easily remembered number has branding value as a direct response tool and is extremely popular, during the mid-1970’s the carriers quickly realized they could charge a hefty fee for specialty/vanity toll free number (ex: 800-FLOWERS). 

There is a fee structure is for the vanity number each month and a per minute charge for each call received.  A non-vanity toll free number in the 1980’s ranged from 59.95 to $500 and the rate per minute to have the call ring in your business was 6-10 cents a minute.  Compare the costs to today – an average AT&T toll free number per month is $4.95 and the rate per minute is around .014.  The most sought vanity numbers can be purchased on the open market (more of this later in the article>)


What are the Toll-Free Area Codes?
The toll-free number area codes in use today: 800, 833, 844, 855, 866, 877, and 888 and 833 was the last one added in May 2017

 Do any of the toll-free area codes operate beyond the continental U.S.?

844 is a multi-country area code rea code that operates in the North American Numbering Plan: USA, Canada, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guam, Jamaica, Monserrat, North Mariana.

Do Toll Free numbers still have value?     The answer is, “it depends.”
From the user cost savings perspective – NO, not really.  When calls were 6+ cents a minute (25 cents per minute from a payphone) if I could call a business and they paid for my inquiry – yes… there was a value of “wanting my business” and a savings to my pocketbook.
Now with free unlimited cellular minutes or per minute rates on landlines at just above a penny a minute…these free calls aren’t “necessary” as a value save for the consumer.

However, a vanity number is brand building, it unifies messaging and broadens the company exposure. 

  • 1-800-WALGREENS
  • 1-888-BEST-BUY
  • 1-888-NEW-HOME
  • 1-800- PET-MEDS
  • 1-877-USA-ROOF
  • 1-800-GOFEDEX

  Toll Free numbers may be catchy, thus remembered without being written down:

  • 1-800-HURT - NOW
  • 1-800-GIANT-MEN
  • 1-800-GOT-JUNK

Toll Free Numbers may just have a single word in their number to help users remember their purpose:

Seminole Casino in Brighton – 866-2- CASINO

Jenna Choctaw Pines Casino – 855-638- LUCK


 Today Vanity numbers don’t need to be toll-free and can be purchased on the open market.  (8/11/2021)                   

  • 279-999-9999 – is listed for $75,000
  • 320-222-2222 is available for $50,000
  • 203-888-0000 is listed for $15,000
  • 206-ABC-DEFG – is listed for $15,000
  • 209-REALTOR- is listed for $15,000

All advertising has a price. A vanity number can be considered a visual logo, it can be spoken or sung (used in a jingle), spells a name for easy remembrance, or perform a service, a quick direct connection. The value of using a vanity number (toll free or not) is a strategic business decision and should be considered carefully based upon the “reach” goals of your business.


At Corcentric we specialize in sourcing initiatives/data analytics across many business sectors (including Marketing) within an organization to reduce costs/streamline efficiencies and reduce manual labor.  For additional information please reach out: twankoff@Corcentric.com



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on Friday, September 03, 2021 0

For those who have not heard the term “Elevator Pitch” (for the under 40 business population this may be “new jargon”) … it meant if you get into an elevator with someone you wanted to obtain a business relationship with you had the time of traveling up (or down) to make an impression.  Sales folks/Co-workers would time their elevator trips to join the people they needed to connect with for the ride… first ride up in the morning, when they went out to lunch, or when they left for the day.

A good elevator pitch should last no longer than that elevator ride of 30-60 seconds or 75 words. It must be interesting, memorable, and succinct. It must contain or explain what makes you or your organization, product, or idea – unique.  The truth is during that elevator ride the true connection created is of personalities, a foundation during that shared ride and your future timed rides with that individual.

One origin of how the “Elevator Pitch” began is that of Ilene Rosenzweig and Michael Caruso, two former journalists active in the 1990s. According to Rosenzweig, Caruso was a senior editor at Vanity Fair and was continuously attempting to pitch story ideas to the Editor-In-Chief at the time, but could never pin her down long enough to do so simply because she was always on the move. So, to pitch her ideas, Caruso would join her during short free periods of time she had, on the elevator ride. Thus, the concept of an “elevator pitch” was created.

Advantages to conducting an elevator pitch include convenience and simplicity. For instance, elevator pitches can be given on short notice and without much preparation due to the pre-planning of the content being delivered within said pitch, making the listener more comfortable. Furthermore, elevator pitches allow the individual who is giving the pitch the ability to simplify the content and deliver it in a less complicated manner by providing the information in a cut-down fashion that gets right to the point.

In this 2021 business world the “Elevator Pitch” as morphed into what has been coined the “Meet and Greet”.   I have even heard it referred to as “Business Speed Dating” no matter how the interaction is referenced, it often is accompanied with a business card being offered or exchanged between the two parties.

Let’s take the convention center “Meet and Greet” scenario – This type of Elevator Pitch/Meet and Greet/Business Speed Dating has been around for decades – you are invited to a booth or get a punch card to visit many booths and then your full punch card is entered into a raffle for a wonderful prize.  At the booth, for as long as you will stand there a representative from that company will determine if your company is a fit to start building a foundation with.  You may be asked for your business card or on your own drop your card in their bucket or have your badge QR code scanned.  If asked for your business card by an individual or QR code scanned, be rest assured, notes about your discussion can immediately be documented for future reference.

True Business card story: I use to work for a company by the name of Medical Logistics 20+ years ago.  It was a startup, and the business cards were dark royal blue with white lettering.  The printer made an error and did the dark royal blue on both sides of the card, there was nowhere to jot down a note on the card! The male Client Acquisition Team members kept their business cards in a right top shirt pocket to easily hand them out at tradeshows – one morning it rained buckets, we all got drenched going into the convention center… the blue leaked onto their shirts! (mine were safely stored in a business card holder in my pocketbook!)

The goal of the business card or QR scan with notes is be able to continue the conversation where it was left off, “dog is Shih Tzu, kids are___” or “company has problems with name a vendor that supplies them X” the next time there is a conversation?

No matter the jargon – The Elevator Pitch/Meet and Greet/Business Speed Dating… the first step is making a connection with an individual in less than a minute… that is a skill very few people have naturally.

 Today an Elevator Pitch is to “hook” a person into truly listening… with our high population of the business world working via Zoom/Teams/Skype for Business etc. combined with being able to hide your face makes many wonders, who is listening? 

The University of Louisiana Monroe morphed to the times and held a Virtual Elevator Pitch competition in 2021 with a 1st place prize of $150?!  Stephen King has been quoted to say, “Sooner or later, everything old is new again.”   

Ilene Rosenzweig and Michael Caruso would be proud to know what they did and documented still has relevance in our long distance, virtual business world.

The bottom line, “The Elevator Pitch/Meet and Greet/Business Speed Dating” – the technique builds a comfort level.  Once the comfort level has been created then an introduction to “talk business” can truly begin.  

At Corcentric, we are often introduced to provide both Procurement support and IT related subject matter expertise. In working with IT stakeholders, we strive to develop and maintain the comfort level, listen to pain points, providing resources to improve the client-supplier situation that is creating angst; This enables the building of trustworthy partnerships with our clients.  









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on Friday, August 13, 2021 0

 



I recently needed to obtain a client relationship representative at five companies
for an RFP sourcing initiative I was executing.
I had no contacts in my on-line rolodex or direct connection through LinkedIn.
What a nightmare this simple task became.

My process:

Step 1 Reach out to people within the company I work for and inquire if anyone had contacts with the potential Suppliers. – No luck

Step 2, Look up each company website for a phone number to call –  the only option was  fill out a form and someone would get back to me – maybe… each website was seeking all kinds of information and there was no way to bypass this process and just state my request and press send…

I was not going to spend 10 minutes filling out fields for the supplier to decide if they wanted to engage in a conversation – how many employees, location, budget for the service etc.…

My frustration was building, Dang it – 
            All I wanted was a human voice to chat with and I would explain the purpose of my call.

Step 3, Go back to my email rolodex and reach out to former colleges that might have connections to any of these companies – No luck

Step 4, Go to LinkedIn and look up the individual companies to see if I could connect with a Client Relationship Manager or Customer Service Representative by sending a LinkedIn message – No luck. 

I was blocked!  I do not have a paid Premium Membership with LinkedIn which was required to contact members at 3 of the Suppliers the client wanted vetted.

             Of the two Suppliers where I could send a message to an employee… 
            one never responded (even though she did have over 300 connections).    

             The second person who received my message did respond 
            - with a link to fill out a form to see a demo – NOT WHAT I WANTED!

Do companies not want business??? My frustration was at a peak, plus I was baffled.

Have we become so automated that human interaction for business transactions has evaporated?

Every company website home page should have a phone number or contact us with direct contacts, 

this is my strong opinion… 

The result:

Two of the Suppliers that our client was interested in vetting for the RFP lost their chance to participate because I gave up…

Eventually through colleges inquiring to colleges they know in the telecommunications arena; I was eventually introduced to each supplier representative.  To obtain the correct contact person for the remaining three companies took over 8 hours of time during a week.  This is not a good business practice/face to present – it shouldn’t matter if you sell a hammer or managed security services or network hardware gear – a Supplier is a Supplier and all businesses need clients to survive…The doors must be open for a potential client to walk in and in my case the walk in required a telephone conversation.

The postscript: After my initial conversation with each supplier I asked for the CEO’s email address and sent a message.  Since receipt of my emails all three Suppliers have either added a phone number or way to write an inquiry through their website that does not ask vetting questions…

About Corcentric: Procurement Services are EASY to engage!  888-909-3894 or email me twankoff@corcentric.com and I will personally introduce you to the correct person in the appropriate department to answer your questions. www.Corcentric.com

Corcentric’s Sourcing team is made up of subject matter experts; covering areas from Telecommunications hardware/software/voice and data services, to Managed Security Services and IPaaS solutions.  Our strengths include providing real-time insights to the requirement building, carrier identification phase including but not limited to just the sourcing and negotiation phases.  We take a strategic approach in facilitating and managing a RFP process where we identify opportunities that align with both the short-term vision and long-term objectives of our clients.  

Corcentric leverages our proven process and best practices, keeping carriers engaged and motivated about the opportunity.  By managing the carriers throughout the process, we ensure our clients have visibility into all viable options for its requirements in terms of carriers, technologies, contract, and pricing approaches.   As an outcome of the sourcing process, we provide our insights so that our clients make informed decisions regarding which carriers are best matched to their specific requirements and future state growth.






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on Friday, July 30, 2021 0

 


I believe that the health of a department depends on the strength of their systems – especially in the realms of procurement and strategic sourcing. As a consultant with over 10 years of experience, I’ve worked within the procurement departments of numerous, global organizations. These days, I can quickly assess whether a team will meet its goals simply by understanding which systems (if any) they have in place.

The truth is: when the proper systems are put to work, everyone’s work life is better. When they aren’t, everyone’s work life is hell.

In a previous role, I experienced first-hand what it was like to work on a procurement team with little to no systems. Instead of complaining at the virtual watercooler with my colleagues about how messed up things were, I chose to do something. I decided to advocate for the implementation of more solid systems. And since this article is designed to help you understand the reasons why things like this are critical to the success of your teams, let’s just jump right in:


1. Strong systems dramatically reduce email inbox clutter and instant message pings

Being a successful strategic sourcing professional requires focus. One must properly prioritize their ever-growing to-do list and expertly manage their time.

In my 10+ year career, I’ve found email and instant messaging to be one of the biggest time drainers. Still, as a team it’s important to have multiple channels of communication because things can and often do change in an instant. Essentially, striking balance in how much time you spend communicating with your team is critical to the success of any strategic sourcing team. After all, no one can get work done if they’re constantly wading through email or if they often have to divert their attention to answer a “quick question” via instant message.

At my former organization, I quickly realized the procurement team was very unorganized. Some members of the team saved contracts and other important documents to their desktop or personal One Drive. Other members of the team saved files in shared folders like BOX, or on the Teams site. However, everyone on the team didn’t have full access to all items in the BOX drive, which hampered productivity severely. For instance, if I needed to see current contracts to understand the history of a vendor relationship, I would have to reach out directly to a member of the team. However, oftentimes, that team member would inform me that they didn’t have access to said contract. This would result in hours of wasted time attempting to track down where the contract was saved. This became very frustrating, because internal stakeholders who inquired about specific information within a contract would have to wait an unreasonable amount of time to get an answer to a basic question, which didn’t reflect well on the Procurement team.    

That’s why strong systems are important and need to come into play. When everyone is on the same page, knows where all the files are, knows who is working on what, teams are more productive. There’s less time and energy spent on reaching out to ask and answer the same repetitive questions and more time spent getting things done.



2. Strong systems make collaboration a breeze

Prior to me joining the team, my former company had recently divested from its parent company. Subsequently, the company acquired another. All this change took place within the span of six months. With this massive change, teams were left to their own devices to get things done, which meant there was no centralized information hub or efficient processes. Trying to collaborate on anything always felt like an uphill battle – mostly because everything was always so all over the place.

I implemented a centralized hub: a Procurement Tracker and Contract Repository that innovated the way the procurement team communicated, managed vendor and stakeholder relationships, shared information, and stored contracts.

The new system I created tracked the Supplier Name, Vendor Contact Name and Email, Title/Purpose of Project, the Internal company the Supplier’s Location, Country in which the work is being performed, the Region in the country, the Level of Urgency, the Current Steps Taken in the project, the Next Steps to be completed, the Date the project was assigned to me, the Date the contract was Executed, the Expiration of the contract, the Dollar Value of the contract, Budget Approval status, Funding Approval status, Savings (if any) of the project, the Type of Document being executed (i.e. MSA, SOW, Order Form, etc.), who the Internal Stakeholder is, and their Contact Information, Vendor Onboarded status, and where the signed contract would be stored (i.e. Teams, Box).

I did this because I knew everyone on the team needed to know where to locate important documents like contracts and invoices at a moment’s notice. There’s nothing more frustrating than not being able to find a file to reference while on a call with a stakeholder or vendor.


3. Strong systems create solid teams who communicate well

I know no one particularly leaps for joy at the thought of attending meetings but having strong systems in place makes them more effective (and shorter!).

Before implementing new systems at my previous organization, I noticed many team members worked in silos and rarely met as a collective to debrief and request help. When we would meet, there were multiple instances where we discovered redundancies because there were team members often working on the same tasks or projects unknowingly. This was another red flag that I brought to leadership’s attention.

So, I introduced the idea of consistent weekly meetings, which became extremely important because the time together allowed us to calibrate, and back someone up if they were out of the office. Nothing is fun about trying to cover a colleague out of the office if you don’t know what they’re working on! It’s almost like drinking out of a fire hose.

Communication is a core reason why many teams fail and succeed. The best systems make it so that communication between team members isn’t overwhelming or even frivolous, but instead intentional and impactful.

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on Thursday, May 20, 2021 0




We are in the world of “Specialized” ,“We are the best...” type Suppliers – We have all encountered companies of this type.  A company that makes it clear: Take our contract terms as written we do not make contract changes.

 I recently negotiated a contract for a client where the Supplier "Specialized" in a software management product. The Supplier provided a quote in the body of an email, the SLA’s and and contract terms are publicly displayed on their website and the actual “contract” is just an order form – how many licenses do you need at what level? – The price is X.

• The Supplier didn’t care that the company I was representing is a Fortune 1000 in revenue in the United States.
• The Supplier didn’t care that the client wanted to start with 25 to see how it goes and then increase the order
• The Suppler didn’t care that my client wanted a 3-year term agreement – the supplier only issues a 1-year term agreement and renewals after that.

How can anyone negotiate under these circumstances????

• Research the Actual Costs – it is truly rare to only have one supplier selling a specific type of widget.

• Know the Lingo – when speaking with the Supplier representatives during the decision of purchase - learn and speak the lingo.

• Discover/Discuss the mutual gains – Our logo represents X amount of potential future clients

• Quote Alternative Suppliers – politely discuss that you could purchase the widget from X for % less….

• Identify Supplier Freebees - Look for items that cost the vendor nothing to provide but are a value add to your company.

What I was able to negotiate:

• Additional training hours beyond the 10 for administrators within the first 30 days became 20 hours over 3 months.

• Two extra licenses for the same cost as the 25 we began with

• Reduce the written notice to not renew from 60 days down to 30 days.

• Test drive a different product they are selling for two users for 6 months. 

We will always be in a business world with "Take it or leave it" type companies...and in most cases we take it because time and effort had already been extended to make the decision of who to engage with; starting over or requesting a contract from the second choice on the list will not truly fill the need.

What have you been able to negotiate in a take it or leave it situation? 
I'd like to hear/read your thoughts... twankoff@corcentric.com

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on Thursday, April 29, 2021 0








Did you know under a microscope a single grain of salt appears in a cubed non-pattern?
Each grain of salt is approximately 0.03mm and visually is the color of brown sand. 

A connectivity network viewed from a high level appears very different than looking at it from a granular point of view; when trying to obtain what the value of each connection is and the type and amount of traffic it can support.  There is money to be saved, time elimination to be obtained, and technology options for service and speed to be explored through a microscopic approach = Rationalization and Optimization.

What is Rationalization?
Rationalization is to reduce the total number of suppliers which will reduce costs and presumably introduce efficiency.

What is Optimization?
Optimization is to focus and refine the supplier base which includes:
Streamline Services - To analyze the services and suppliers your company uses to determine the merits of adding, retaining, or deleting services each telecom vendor provides.

What can be documented or created? 
(and these are just a few grains that can be shook from the shaker)
  • Contract term status report – expired and/or due to expire.
  • Vendor Services not under a current contract· Services not in sync with current contract terms
  • Contractual Rate Errors
What are the focus areas?
That depends, is there is currently a service provider is not meeting contracted obligations or providing sub-par service responses? If the current situation is good, these are some of subject areas to focus on:
  • Audio/Video Conferencing Services
  • Broadband Services
  • Cable/Internet Services
  • Data Network Services (LAN/WAN)
  • Fiber Services
  • Landline Services
  • Leased Telecom Equipment
  • Legacy Voice Services
  • Maintenance Services
  • Managed Services
  • Music on hold services
  • Security and Alarm ring down lines
  • SIP Trunks
  • Toll Free Services
  • TV services
  • Voice Traffic
  • VOIP Services
  • Wireless Services
What are the benefits to engaging a company that specializes in Rationalization & Optimization?
Telecom vendors have a myriad of jargon for the same services and pricing can be all over the map when comparing and vendor to vendor services and costs. In addition, contractual language, SLA’s (Service Level Agreements) and real-time responses to your concerns will be vastly different from supplier to supplier for the exact same connectivity.

This type of audit; down to the granular level produces cost saving – consolidation, elimination of no longer used/needed services, and creates a way for a clean dialog to begin which can be the pathway for technology service advancements and better yet - COST SAVINGS!

If you have questions on this topic please email twankoff@corcentric.com.
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on Wednesday, April 08, 2020 0


With the recent shift to remote work for many Americans in response to COVID-19, companies are relying on Enterprise Conferencing Software to stay connected. Whether with internal teams or with clients, having a reliable product is important. This eases the lost connection and potential hit to productivity that can come from the separation inherent in remote work.

Home Office Desk With Computer On Remote Conference CallMany software options are available to get the job done while we are dealing with the Corona Virus pandemic. There are household names like GoToMeeting and Zoom, and less known but effective options like CyberLink and Bluejeans.

So how do you know which to choose for your company, and even more importantly, how do you get competitive pricing? Although the common sourcing strategies still apply, there are some additional things to consider.



 The first consideration is to make sure the software can handle HOW your corporation will use it. 

If you commonly have meetings with 50 or more participants, you need to be sure the software is built to handle that volume. Most options will offer different tiers to accommodate more users. GoToMeeting, for example, offers a plan with a maximum of 250 users and an Enterprise plan with 3,000 users max. However, for a small company, free options could be available. Google Hangouts, for example, could get the job done.

The second consideration is to make sure the software meets your company’s mobile or online expectations. 

Not all conferencing solutions offer an app. If your employees are on the move, this could be an issue. GoToMeeting offers the highest rated app, but CyberLink U Meeting is strictly web-based. However, you pay for what you get. If web-based is all that you require, do not pay for unused features.

The last recommended consideration is to make sure that the product support meets your company’s requirements. 

A larger software company will typically provide a larger support staff. For example, Cisco’s WebEx has incredible service, but some smaller players will offer much higher limitations on what comes free with their product on the support end. Deciding what works for you is an important analysis to be done prior to rolling out your decision company-wide.

Once these other considerations are decided upon, typical strategic sourcing strategies will come into play. This is the bread and butter of what those in the Strategic Sourcing Industry offers. The process ensures that you do your due diligence and can sleep at night knowing your decision was well thought out. The following steps should be completed to actually make your final decision: Data Collection, Baseline and Benchmarking, Go to Market, Negotiate, and Implement.

Data collection is the process of gathering a rolling 12 months of real General Ledger spend data. Also, gather data from each of your current suppliers to confirm that the totals align. Baselining and Benchmarking are the processes of creating an actual current state in a digestible format. Next comes the RFP (Request for Proposal) or RFQ (Request for Quote) process to allow each supplier to put their best foot forward. This will include qualitative and quantitative analysis. Finally, negotiating and implementing the best solution tie up the effort, and will distribute the product to your organization for use.

Perhaps the most important of these is the Baselining and Benchmarking step. 

This step allows you to be dynamic and tailor the process to the category you are sourcing. Indirect Sourcing includes a wide range of spend, and it is important to make sure you are considering the most valuable features of the product you are sourcing. With Enterprise Conferencing Software, for example, a Supplier Presentation would be paramount to build an accurate Baseline. This would provide the opportunity for the supplier to show off their product and allow you to see if the product fits your needs. Baselining will also provide a current state that can then be compared apples to apples to the other products being considered.

This process proves effective with most categories we have applied it to. The strategy will certainly apply to your companies conferencing software. For further reading, read the book written by our own Senior Management team Managing Indirect Spend. It can be purchased here.

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