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LEADING RETAILER
SD-WAN CASE STUDY

 

Uncovering Hidden SD-WAN Costs and Driving 40% Savings: How OneView Transformed a National Retailer’s Network Spend.

See how OneView empowered a national retailer to reduce costs by up to 40%, recover millions in SLA credits, and streamline SD-WAN cost control across 900+ stores.

 

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CUSTOMER OVERVIEW

 

Customer: Leading South African retail group
Industry: Retail
Scale: 900+ stores, 4 distribution centers, and global operations
Objective: Modernise from legacy MPLS to a multi-vendor SD-WAN infrastructure

This migration was part of a broader digital transformation initiative aimed at improving network resilience and controlling rising infrastructure costs.

However, the transition introduced new operational and financial complexities, including:

  • Inconsistent billing across multiple ISPs
  • Limited visibility into per-store or per-vendor costs
  • SLA credits going unclaimed despite regular outages
  • Manual cost tracking using spreadsheets which are inefficient and error-prone

The result?

A high-risk environment with hidden costs, budget overruns, and delayed financial recovery, making it nearly impossible to measure ROI on the SD-WAN rollout.

Why the Retailer Turned to OneView

The retailer faced several key challenges in it's SD-WAN transition.

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LACK OF COST VISIBILITY

With multiple vendors supplying connectivity, tracking expenses across different service providers, locations, and billing cycles was a challenge.

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HIDDEN COSTS

Duplicate billing, incorrect contract rates, and legacy network charges were not being identified, leading to unnecessary expenditures.

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UNCLAIMED SLA CREDITS

With up to 20% of stores experiencing outages in a given month, the retailer was eligible for millions in SLA credits, but had no way of accurately tracking or claiming them.

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MANUAL TRACKING INEFFICIENCIES

The retailer relied on spreadsheets to reconcile invoices, which was time-consuming, error-prone, and lacked real-time oversight.

WHAT WE SET OUT TO ACHIEVE:

01

Centralise visibility across all vendors, locations, and contracts.

02

Align cost data with financial and operational metrics.

03

Eliminate billing anomalies and recover historical overcharges.

04

Enable granular cost allocation to support ROI-driven budgeting.

05

Automate SLA credit recovery and vendor accountability.

06

Reduce manual cost management effort by 90%.

 

 

 

 

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KEY BENEFITS OF ONEVIEW ACCORDING TO THE CUSTOMER

By deploying OneView, the retailer gained complete financial control over its complex SD-WAN environment. Real-time dashboards delivered instant visibility into spend by store, vendor, and service type—eliminating reliance on spreadsheets and manual reconciliation. Automated SLA tracking ensured millions in service credits were accurately claimed, while contract compliance monitoring stopped billing anomalies before they reached finance. This shift empowered the IT team to make faster, data-backed decisions and reclaim significant value across their network estate.

ACHIEVEMENT HIGHLIGHTS

 

Significant Cost Savings

 

30–40% reduction in SD-WAN network costs

Millions recovered in SLA and billing credits

Enterprise-Scale Execution

 

900+ stores and 4 distribution centers migrated

International locations successfully integrated

Operational Efficiency & Accuracy

 

95% reduction in manual effort via automation

100% invoice accuracy in multi-vendor environments

Accelerated Delivery

 

18-month rollout completed ahead of schedule

Business outcomes and impact to the retailer.

Asset 6@2x-8

in direct savings from cost-optimised network contracts

Asset 8@2x-8

improvement in
network uptime

Asset 9@2x-8

reduction in SD-WAN costs by eliminating hidden charges.

        

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Reduction in manual effort through automated cost management.

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Full invoice accuracy achieved, reducing financial leakage and inefficiencies.

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Reduced operational costs through fewer callouts and faster resolution with SD-WAN.

FROM INSIGHTS TO ACTION: UNLOCKING CONTROL AT SCALE

OneView turned SD-WAN cost chaos into clarity with automating vendor accountability, recovering lost value, and equipping the business with real-time cost insights. With financial control restored, the retailer’s IT and finance teams now operate with speed, certainty, and strategic foresight.

The result? Strategic cost recovery, operational agility, and scalable governance across 900+ locations. OneView became more than a reporting tool, it became the nerve center for financial and operational control in the retailer’s digital infrastructure.

Discover How OneView Can Simplify Your SD-WAN Cost Management.
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Understanding SD-WAN Cost Management

 

What’s Driving SD-WAN Complexity?

  • MPLS vs. SD-WAN – Traditional MPLS relies on a single provider. SD-WAN enables multi-vendor flexibility, but also introduces billing complexity.
  • SLA Credits – Vendors are contractually obligated to refund for missed uptime or performance SLAs, yet few businesses have automated tracking.
  • Back-Billing Issues – Some vendors continue invoicing for decommissioned links, creating inflated costs.
  • Duplicate Billing – Without automated reconciliation, teams risk paying for the same service twice.