Dept Store chain outsources Expense Mgt again

ST. LOUIS, US: Cass Information Systems, Inc., a provider of enterprise-wide expense management services, has announced that Stein Mart, Inc. has expanded its relationship with Cass to now include telecom expense management.

Since 1999, Cass has provided Stein Mart with utility expense management services whereby Cass processes Stein Mart’s facility-related invoices (such as electric, gas, and water expenses) and delivers energy expense data via an online business intelligence platform.

Stein Mart owns and operates 280 department-style stores across 30 states that feature discount prices on everything from brand-name clothing to home décor.

 “We explored several options to increase our efficiencies in managing telecom expenses,” noted Andrew Black, CIO, Stein Mart. “Because we’ve enjoyed a very good relationship with Cass for years, the decision to outsource telecom expense management to Cass made sense.

“We like Cass’ approach of automating and managing the entire telecom lifecycle. Both our IT and accounts payable groups look forward to this change,” he added.

Telecom invoices are complex and prone to errors. Through use of telecommunications expense management services, clients are able to increase data capture and eliminate most of the paper from the process; 85 per cent to 100 per cent of its clients’ telecommunications invoices are delivered to Cass in an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) format, a richer source of expense data than paper invoices. With sophisticated process controls and more granular data capture, it is possible to reconcile errors and eliminate erroneous, needless or extraneous telecom service charges.