T-Mobile Case Study
T-Mobile is one of the largest mobile groups in the world. With wholly owned operators in Germany, the UK, the United States, Austria, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic, as well as major stakes in Poland (PTC - 45%) and Russia (MTS - 40.1%), T-Mobile serves the communications needs of more than 87 million people worldwide. The company is one of the four strategic divisions of Deutsche Telekom, Europe's largest telecommunications group.
Using a balanced scorecard, T-Mobile's approach to supplier management is strategic, measured and effective.
Being able to do the job, being efficient operationally, and giving excellent service are scored, but also expected as standard.
As Frank Arthur, HR Supplier Manager, puts it, "It's a given that you should do those things. The true test of an effective supplier partnership is based upon a supplier's ability and willingness to work together developing innovative solutions and processes that deliver benefits to both organisations.
And with Leasedrive Velo, we get just that.
Ninety percent of my focus is spent looking at where suppliers are adding value to T-Mobile as an organisation because that's where we enjoy the most significant benefit from using an external specialist.
We do not need suppliers that simply do what we could if we decided to allocate the necessary internal resource.
With Leasedrive Velo, we've had some really fabulous ideas that add value to our business. Some of these we probably would never have thought of ourselves - even with time to do so.
But it's not just a case of having great ideas.
What they excel at is that they come up with initiatives that will benefit us and they show us in a clear and structured way how that initiative will be implemented.
In a recent case, we were losing £90,000 a year in one area of our fleet. Having looked at the problem in detail the team at Leasedrive Velo came back with a solution that cost just £6,000 to implement and removed the £90,000 annual loss altogether. This idea alone will save T-Mobile more than a quarter of a million pounds over the next 3 years," said Frank.
"But it's not just about saving money, it's about adding more value," he continues.
"By taking an interest in our business, and what matters to us, they have spent time putting themselves in our shoes to determine what they can do to contribute genuinely to our goals.
They recently approached us with the idea of introducing a driver diagnostics safety device that could utilise T-Mobile SMS technology. Having piloted it with Leasedrive Velo, in addition to providing a safer environment for your drivers, it has created an opportunity for T-Mobile to provide the mobile technology in this growing area.
This is what we expect from added value. It's not just about saving a few pounds here and there. These are perfect examples of how a business relationship should be - and Leasedrive Velo is particularly good at it."
Since the introduction of the balanced scorecard at T-Mobile, Leasedrive Velo's ratings have continued to climb. And in the spirit of a true business partnership, the two companies have shared best practice, resulting in T-Mobile's Supplier Management Program now being utilised by Leasedrive Velo for its own supply chain.
"I was delighted when they approached us to ask about our Supplier Management Program", continued Frank. "If they are keen to adopt our best practices it will result in an even better service to us, and our cultures will become more closely aligned too.
So often suppliers expect customers to adjust to the way they do things. They have demonstrated that they are a flexible organisation who can mould their style to suit the client - not the other way round."
As an organisation that is very demanding with its suppliers, Frank admits that it is a huge testimony to Leasedrive Velo that they manage to keep everything running smoothly.
"No relationship is without its problems" concludes Frank, "and of course there are things that sometimes go wrong or could be improved.
But if you accept to some degree that any business partnership will have its glitches, the true test is how the total relationship is managed.
From the bottom upwards, which covers the day to day activities with the drivers all the way through to the strategic planning of the fleet, Leasedrive Velo is very strong.
They communicate openly, they bring concerns to the surface rather than try and hide them - and if issues from drivers are not being escalated to me because there are so few, I'm happy!
It also gives us time to work together strategically, and Leasedrive Velo has the quality of people with the commercial acumen to do this very effectively."