* Line rental and calls
* Siginificant cost savings
* Consolidated billing
* Online billing 24/7
* Account Management
* Localised approach
* Business efficiency

Background
Turning Point Scotland is a registered charity which was established in 1999. It supports adults with learning disabilities, autism, substance misuse issues, mental health issues and also provides criminal justice and homelessness services. Turning Point Scotland looks to help these people with various models of support, working in a person centred way.

The challenge
The charity has experienced rapid growth over the past 10 years and now has over 50 offices throughout Scotland. Each site had initially been in charge of their own telecoms supplies, so the charity was using a wide variety of different providers. As the number of sites grew, it became difficult to manage their telecoms effectively. In 2007, they therefore put their telecoms requirements out to tender to 6 suppliers.

They required just one supplier to provide all their sites with line rental and calls. Efficiency was key; they would not choose the cheapest supplier, but the supplier who could guarantee a smooth transition and deliver considerable cost savings.

The solution
HIGHnet was awarded the contract for several reasons. These included our pricing and our billing facilities, but also because we proposed to work closely with Turning Point Scotland to conduct an audit of their existing sites to see how we could best improve efficiency and lower costs. All sites other than those unfotunately tied into long notice periods now use HIGHnet for their lines and calls.

The results
The customer received high quality, cost-effective line rental and calls consolidating the majority of their sites. The audit indicated a number of sites had to give a minimum notice period of 3 years, and despite efforts by HIGHnet and Ofcom, the existing provider will not back down. These services will however be transferred to HIGHnet at the end of their contract, and they will benefit from truly consolidated telecoms.

• One bill for all sites
• Online billing and management information
• Competitively priced
• Personalised account management and support

“Dealing with HIGHnet is good. We have our own Account Manager (AM) who offers regular contact whenever required, and I know any problem will be sorted quickly. The attention to detail is really beneficial for us, for example, our AM noticed not all the sites were utilising the online billing facility, so she conducted on-site training. This applies with their support team too; there’s no large call centre so we have the same point of contact every time. It’s a localised approach which we wouldn’t get with other suppliers like BT.”

Jennifer Truesdale - Corporate Services Manager, Turning Point Scotland