Thursday, September 01, 2011

Not Dead…Yet

Today’s online Wall Street Journal has a great graphic outlining the history of U.S. telecom consolidation, and how the top 5 carriers came to be who they are. In particular, it paths AT&T's complicated landscape of mergers, acquisitions and divestitures that gave birth to the whole tangled web (remarkably similar to a NYC subway map!)

Despite recent action by the US Department of Justice threatening to block the merger between AT&T and T-Mobile USA, the deal is not dead…yet. It’s just so dangerously close to changing the competitive landscape forever.

Says the DoJ, the transaction could  lessen competition for wireless services, resulting in higher prices, lower quality, fewer choices and fewer innovative products for millions of consumers nationwide.

Back in March, I posted a blog here discussing how if the deal went through, the US market would dwindle to just 3 big players as (smaller) deals seemed to flow fast and furious. At the end of the day, AT&T needs this deal to happen to address a capacity crisis led by the explosion of data-hungry smartphones. Networks are virtually choking on data, and adding T-Mobile’s network would fix this…at least temporarily. But truth is every carrier is experiencing the same shortages, and with fewer and fewer networks to acquire, today’s DoJ action may be the catalyst that finally forces the industry to have another look at addressing the load. 

Posted by Lisa Clark • Category: Industry Trends • Permalink

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Sold to the Highest Bidder!

Among the 100 or so telecom executives I’ve spoken with over the past few months, there appears to be little appetite for retaining de-installed network assets longer than required – and justifiably so. Decommissioned material sitting idle in warehouses consumes precious space and resources, and depreciates in value with each passing day.

For many, the fastest remedy for off-setting the logistical burden and rapid decline in value of excess equipment is to simply sell entire lots of equipment to the highest bidder. Rarely – if ever – does this approach yield true market value nor does it lend itself to the potential for reuse of select assets within network operations. 

In an industry as dynamic and competitive as telecom, go-forward asset disposition and investment recovery strategies must aggressively push aside convenience in favor of approaches better suited to achieving service delivery objectives and cost reduction. While many carriers are pre-disposed to selling excess material for what amounts to pennies on the pound, reuse strategies such as the one employed by Telenor Norway, are proven to increase financial benefit and cash returns by 2-3X. And in the process, drive the sort of operational efficiency and cost reductions these executives truly seek.
 

Posted by Billy Balfour • Category: Asset Value Recovery • Permalink

Friday, August 19, 2011

Trade Wings @15

Looking back from today -- our 15th anniversary -- Trade Wings’ commitment to delivering customer value has truly transformed its mission. Between 1996, when the company was founded, through 2007, Trade Wings’ core business was sourcing hard-to-find technology components such as semi-conductors. But as the pace of change within the Telecom industry accelerated – and in the face of a challenging economy – we realized that by applying Trade Wings’ expertise to help carriers and OEMs understand the strategic importance of asset visibility for more intelligent reuse/resale/recycling decisions, the company could forge deeper, more profitable client relationships.

The results? Since evolving the company’s strategic focus, Trade Wings has grown considerably. In fact, a significant percentage of our annual revenues are now derived from sources that didn’t exist prior to 2009. At the same time, the company has become a truly global organization, opening offices around the world to facilitate material flows for some of the world’s largest Telecom providers. With momentum for our solutions increasing, I have only Trade Wings’ outstanding employees to thank for their vision and tremendous commitment to our customers everywhere.
 

Posted by Todd Adelman • Category: Company News • Permalink

Wednesday, June 08, 2011

As the Conversations Continue…

We are seeing the beginning of the Reuse Markets. Early adopters. The “out of the box”, “I know this is the right thing to do” individuals are managing excess inventory by spreadsheet as best they can (mixed versions, bad data), and then trading some material on these lists with the one person at the nearest other facility that suffers with the same psychological profile.

The profile?....they are at the point in their careers where the waste is making them crazy.

It is happening.

It is growing.

It is ad-hoc.

It is anything but efficient.

It stops during vacation.

It is not systematized.

But it grows. And grows.

It makes sense.

People have been watching layoffs and belt tightening everywhere. There is a sense of urgency. Thoughtful urgency. They see the waste. Most are not thinking that Opex and capex numbers can be significantly impacted, or that cash generation and asset velocity will grow. They are mostly thinking “this waste is stupid. If I don’t help fix it, my job is next”. They see real money to be saved by the company that employs them.

We often wonder why C-level management aren't more aggressively tasking teams to implement tools globally in support of these savings. P&L turf conflict still trumps vision. We are definitely in the early adopter stage and we are thrilled to be working with some great and early thinkers in this industry. Let the awards keep coming to our customers. 

Posted by Mark Portu • Category: Permalink

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Whose Job it is to Save Millions?

As I listen daily to the challenges of telecom executives around the globe, I can’t help but wonder who in the organization ultimately owns the responsibility or “problem” of driving the sort of measurable change that can reduce waste and save millions?  
 
For starters, there are the sustainability teams, yet many of these continue to function in silos apart from core operating teams making change difficult, if not impossible.  There’s finance, but the natural predisposition is to move assets out of the business as they come out of service, regardless of their quality, condition or ability to service internal needs. Then there are the supply chain/procurement people who work so diligently to source lowest cost solutions, yet have no mechanism for sourcing within their own excess before heading out to the open market and repair partners for the best price.
 
By seeking “change” I don’t mean disruptive processes, systems or restructuring, I’m merely talking about a new way of thinking – the thought that you could employ your own excess and decommissioned inventories for the purpose of instantly fulfilling internal equipment demands, if only you had an easy way to load it, see it and “socialize” it across the organization. Automating the relationship between supply and demand lists through services like Re:, for example, supply teams can easily refactor the most critical material back into the service chain as replacements and spares (instead of buying new), finance can resell marketable items no longer needed at greater than scrap value, and the sustainability folks can rest assured that the company is doing everything possible to reduce waste.
 
So whose job is it? You could say everybody, but in the end it’s the executive who wants to save millions, reduce risk and achieve results without disrupting the business. Could that be you?

 

Posted by Todd Adelman • Category: Reuse Best Practices • Permalink