CASE STUDY
Retail Portfolio Saves $1.85M+ and Cuts NextYear Budget 16.9%
Bearstone LLC’s BearGuard™ Expense Management Turns Line Item Chaos into Measurable Savings
At a glance results
- $1,852,314 in credits recovered (Jan 2023–Jul 2025)
- $2,122,436 in overcharges identified; $270,122 currently in process
- 16.9% reduction in expected telecom budget from FY2024 → FY2025
- 114 of 120 monthly invoices autoaudited in BearGuard™ (≈95% coverage)
Source & period: SPARC Value workbook + Bearstone overview deck (Jan 2023–Jul 2025).
The Challenge:
A multibrand retail portfolio (Aero/Nautica, Brooks Brothers, Eddie Bauer, F21, Lucky, Reebok) needed to control telecom spend across hundreds of stores while balancing openings, relocations, and closings. Complexity and billing opacity had created a familiar pattern: unused services, outdated rates, bundled surcharges, overtiered bandwidth, and charges at inactive sites—the five recurring errors Bearstone LLC flags most often.
The team also lacked a single, accurate inventory of all services and contracts—making it hard to reconcile invoices, dispute errors, or forecast with confidence. Bearstone LLC’s philosophy centers on monthly validation, transparency, and a customerfirst partnership, all of which were missing in the status quo.
The Solution:
Bearstone LLC onboarded the portfolio to BearGuard™, its cloud TEM platform and managed service:
- Automated invoice ingestion & audit of 114/120 monthly invoices; lineitem validation down to taxes, onetime fees, new services, and cancellations still billing. Incorrect charges are disputed and followed through to resolution.
- Always current inventory of circuits/lines by brand & store; BearGuard becomes the system of record that ties billing to services and contracts.
- Red/Yellow/Green variance report each cycle (to the penny matches are green; tolerances are yellow; exceptions are red) to focus the team only on true exceptions.
- Dispute management as a service: Bearstone LLC files on carrier forms with CSVlevel evidence, handling the administrative work endtoend.
- Vendor collaboration: regular reviews with Granite and AT&T; tracking issues and credits across providers.
Bearstone LLC’s process—monthly audits, full visibility, and hands-on dispute management—reflects its customer first, transparency driven brand ethos.
The Outcome:
Total financial impact (Jan 2023–Jul 2025)
- $1,852,314 in credits recovered across brands; $2,122,436 total overcharges identified; $270,122 currently open/in process. Source: SPARC Value.xlsx (Bearstone Value tab).
- 16.9% budget reduction from FY2024 → FY2025 through elimination of redundant services and rate corrections.
- ≈95% invoice coverage automated in BearGuard™ (114 of 120 monthly invoices).
Brand level highlights (Disputed → Credits → Remaining)
- Aero/Nautica: $975,194 → $872,747 → $102,447
- Brooks Brothers: $6,105 → $199 → $5,906
- Eddie Bauer: $267,975 → $367,225 → –$99,250 (credits exceeded disputes; historical corrections)
- F21: $531,001 → $286,295 → $244,706
- Lucky: $264,413 → $271,228 → –$6,815 (credits exceeded disputes)
- Reebok: $77,749 → $54,621 → $23,129
Source: SPARC Value.xlsx (Bearstone Value tab).
Operational wins
- Single source of truth for inventory & invoicing, enabling budgeting/forecasting with one click.
- Recurring error detection month over month (Bearstone LLC typically sees ~10% monthly carrier over-billing across clients), preventing reaccumulation of waste.
- Issues surfaced in both directions (e.g., Office@Hand underbilling variances) so finance can plan accurately and avoid surprises.
“We’ve never met with a company and not found overbilling—often without changing carriers.”
