AW Champion

AW Champion identify over £73,000 in annual savings; established more than 80 years ago, AW Champion is a timber specialist with nine branches across the South East. The company sources its own timber and markets itself on providing quality wood at competitive prices.

While the business has continued to grow in recent years, an ambitious cost reduction exercise has enabled the company to redirect more money into attracting new business.

Steve Bowden, financial controller and company secretary, embarked on a detailed review of the company’s suppliers on a project-by-project basis.

“We initially looked at specific areas such as print and stationery, before expanding our review to include a range of costs, from waste disposal to merchant cards,” explained Steve.

“Whilst we were happy with the level of service we were receiving from our suppliers, we wanted to make sure we were getting the most competitive rates. By enlisting the help of Expense Reduction Analysts, we were able to get a clear view of where real savings could be made.”

The company’s marketing team were closely involved in the process and savings of over £15,000 were made on marketing print alone.

“The money saved has allowed us to redirect our marketing spend in a more targeted way. We now focus more funds on attracting new business and extracting more business out of existing customers,”

said marketing manager Mike Bird.

As well as reviewing costs, suppliers were also examined for their environmental credentials. Sustainability is a high priority for AW Champion and suppliers are independently audited for the Responsible Purchasing Policy (RPP) of the Timber Trade Federation and Forests Forever.

“The printer we chose was very competitive on price and also environmentally friendly. They understood why such considerations were really important for us,” added Mike. Overall, AW Champion saved over £73,000 combined for stationery, marketing and business print and merchant card costs from the review, which included a saving of 40 percent on stationery, 28 percent on marketing print and over 16 percent on merchant cards.

“Our approach is to bring together like minded companies, which helps improve relationships throughout the supply chain,” said Paul Gannon, the consultant at Expense Reduction Analysts who carried out the review.