Ten Alps’ savings peak at 42%

Ten Alps Publishing is a subsidiary of Ten Alps plc, the leading factual media company, producing business and public sector content for TV, online and print.

The initial meeting between Derek Morren, Finance Director at Ten Alps Publishing and Expense Reduction Analysts came as the result of a routine telemarketing call. But there was nothing routine about the savings Expense Reduction Analysts demonstrated had already been achieved in similar businesses. Derek was impressed with this track record and open to the idea of our exploring the possibilities of reducing his own spend. We quickly identified the office supplies category as the place to start, with copiers and contract cleaning the next to be investigated.

Expense Reduction Analysts’ experts Julia Goodfellow (office supplies), Brian Pinner (copiers) and Neil Cullen (contract cleaning) worked on their respective areas and were soon able to show savings. Expense Reduction Analysts pride ourselves on delivering the best discounts for our clients, and we work proactively to ensure that these are maintained over time. To explain what this means in practice, Julia takes up the story of the office supplies savings: “What we try to do with office supplies is to identify what we call a ‘core list’ of items that account for about 80% of the client spend in this category. We can then focus on getting the very best discounts on these items, as well as excellent deals on other items. “Ten Alps’ requirements changed significantly while we were working with them. Having actively managed the contents of the core list, it continued to reflect their needs, but I thought that the supplier had added margin with the additional items, so, on our recommendation, it was re-tendered to make sure prices were maintained at a competitive level.”

Carol Hollett, Facilities Manager for Ten Alps Publishing and responsible for day-to-day co-ordination with Expense Reduction Analysts, sums up the project’s value: “First of all, the savings are significant – saving 42% on copiers, 24% on contract cleaning and 18% on office supplies is great. But Expense Reduction Analysts mean much more to us than that. Having someone check all of the invoices line by line was a hugely beneficial time saver, freeing up key members of staff for other duties. And I myself didn’t have to spend lots of my time managing stationery suppliers! “Thinking that there must be a cheaper and better way of doing things is one matter; having the time and resources to prove it is quite another. Expense Reduction Analysts know instantly whether there are any cost savings to be achieved. They know better than anyone exactly what is happening in any given sector and having them to call on for impartial advice in any product area is invaluable.”