On the Importance of Follow Through: Mattern Phase III – Install, Monitor, and Maintenance Offering

We have seen many firms spend a great deal of time and effort negotiating various contracts for office services functions – only to be disappointed with their implementations and on-going performance.  The firms have put their trust in the service providers to deliver services as committed, but because of a variety of reasons, sometimes you eventually just give in to being somewhat dissatisfied.

In response to these voiced concerns, Mattern has implemented a new Phase to our consultancy offering that assists firms in implementation oversight – as well as on-going monitoring of contractual obligations and acting-liaison between the firm and vendor to address situations that arise.  We think the program is so significant that Mattern did not have to negotiate your initial contract with your vendor in order to take advantage of this service.

Here are a few highlights of the program, and some of the concrete benefits firms are realizing:

Implementation Oversight:  This  phase includes Mattern’s involvement to ensure that the implementation execution of your contract is complete and seamless and removes as much burden from the firm’s staff as possible.  For instance, we:

• Provide firm-announcement language for vendor or equipment changes.
• Coordinate and participate in firm/vendor meetings, conference calls, and employee interviews.
• Ensure timeliness and readiness for any equipment/technology installations, vendor transitions, or service start-ups are met.

Service Level Agreement (SLA) Monitoring:  Mattern ensures that SLAs continue to be met over the life of the contract.  Just one example:

• Mattern had included language in one  large firm’s outsourcing contract that required the vendor to provide monthly credits to the firm for staffing underage.  When several months of invoice review went by without any staffing credits, we began to question the vendor for staffing reports.  We were able to recover over $8,000 in credits due the firm.

Invoice Monitoring:  Mattern not only ensures that the initial invoice includes the agreed upon pricing terms, but we continue to monitor invoices to make certain of their accuracy.  While reviewing invoices, we discover all types of discrepancies, some as large as this:

• Output “click” rates being billed that include paper; while the service provider is still billing paper on a per case basis without reconciling the output volume.  In just one example, we saved a firm over $216,000 by uncovering this situation.

Firm/Vendor Liaison:  Mattern continues to assist our clients with any vendor performance issues, serve as point-of-contact for all contract-related questions, and review any necessary addenda to the initial contracts.

We think the importance of follow through cannot be overstated.  If you’d like to talk to us about some of this program’s benefits, don’t hesitate to give us a call.