Trucking Enterprise Saves Hundreds of Thousands in Wasted Mobile Spend with AI/ML Solution
Mobile devices are critical to virtually every industry today. Office and field workers rely on phones and tablets to do their jobs and stay connected with customers, coworkers, and the apps that drive productivity and efficiency. However, managing the devices and the services that enable them can take a huge amount of effort and time. Bills can be hundreds of pages long, making analyzing them each month unfeasible. If you’re like most IT leaders, you probably assume if the invoice totals roughly the same amount as last month, you approve it so you can move on to the most urgent fire, right?
The good news is that AI/ML-driven mobile expense management has arrived, and your life just got a whole lot easier.
When Mobile Devices Get Out of Hand
Just ask Jason Cosley, Director of IT at Hirschbach Motor Lines, a large—and growing—nationwide trucking enterprise. Hirschbach, a MicroAge client, has a fleet of over 2,500 refrigerated trucks and thousands of drivers, each provided with a mobile device and antenna to create their own hotspot. With thousands of devices and three separate carriers, it’s not surprising that mobile expense management got unwieldy.
Luckily, MicroAge Account Executive Paul O’Connor made a client visit to see Jason at Hirschbach earlier this year, accompanied by MicroAge Carrier Services and Communications Practice Manager Rob Cook. Rob had recently introduced GoExceed, a mobile expense management software company, to Paul.
“The GoExceed solution, Mobile(X), leverages machine learning to manage an organization’s wireless devices and carriers and make decisions in real-time to save money,” says Rob. “GoExceed acts on the client’s behalf to facilitate management, via API with each carrier, of any or all of their mobile devices: cell phones, Mi-Fi’s, hotspots, basically anything with a SIM card.”
By using machine learning, Mobile(X) understands the devices, the carrier contracts, and the users. It applies the rules the client sets up initially and immediately implements them.
“When Jason indicated that they have around 5,000 mobile devices issued to employees and drivers, I knew I could save them a ton of money with GoExceed,” says Paul.
Paul and Rob prepared a proposal for Hirschbach featuring Mobil(X), followed by a demo with a GoExceed representative.
“Jason Cosley and his team immediately saw the value in the solution and expressed regret over not acting upon it sooner,” notes Rob. “From day one, a client can lower their mobile costs between 30 and 40 percent.”
Mobile Expense Management Powered by Machine Learning
The next step was a proof of concept for a 30 to 45-day billing cycle. The client provides needed information from each carrier to GoExceed, after which Mobil(X) goes to work understanding the number and types of devices, usage patterns, plans, and carrier contracts.
“The results of that 30-day analysis were staggering,” notes Paul. “Hirschbach discovered hundreds of ‘dead’ devices that they were still paying for; some could have had heavy data plans, but they were just sitting in a drawer somewhere.”
“A human might be able to review contracts, devices, and users once a quarter or so and make changes going forward, but you’ve already overpaid for the prior quarter,” adds Rob. “Mobil(X) is learning the behavior patterns of all your devices, working within contractual allowances from each carrier, and making decisions and changes on the spot, so you’re never overpaying.”
Jason is thrilled with the savings and efficiency.
“We are grateful that Paul O'Connor at MicroAge introduced GoExceed to Hirschbach trucking. We manage over 5,000 mobile devices, and our experience to date is substantial price savings; their asset management saves us countless hours per month, and their portal and ticketing software helps us manage our multiple carriers spread between our fleet. Whether you have a fleet of 50 mobile devices or 4000, I recommend you look at GoExceed.”
Jason CosleyDirector of IT for Hirschbach
GoExceed’s Director, Marketing Operations Joshua Brutzkus notes that since Hirschbach came online with Mobile(X) nine months ago, they have identified and removed more than 500 zero usage lines and mitigated overages based on the client’s real-time data usage, resulting in over $140K in monthly savings.
AI Asset Management Saves Even More
“The value of GoExceed goes beyond just the monthly savings on the carrier bills,” adds Paul. “They can handle the time-consuming job of asset management, as well. The technology can integrate with the client’s existing systems, such as HR, help desk, asset management, ERP, and MDM, to completely handle the inventory of devices, including the repair, sanitization, and imaging of new and used devices.”
And the savings continue.
“We’re excited to be piloting a new project that will provide unlimited data plans to all of Hirschbach’s truck-based routers,” adds GoExceed’s Joshua Brutzkus. “Before our analysis, drivers were incurring $30-$40K in monthly overages and were instructed to turn off their routers when approaching certain data thresholds. With our cutting-edge technology and experienced team, drivers no longer need to worry about data overages, and we were able to put approximately $400K+ of additional savings back into the client’s budget while streamlining their processes.”
“I love being able to save clients money,” says Paul. “I know how tight budgets are, and if I can save a client a substantial amount of money in one area that then allows them to afford a needed upgrade or improvement in another, that makes my day.”
Need to wrangle your mobile assets? Let’s talk.
Whether it’s mobile expense management, device management, or an overall mobile strategy overhaul, MicroAge can help you find the right solution for your unique situation. Call us at 800-544-8877.
