A big theme of the emergency budget was (unsurprisingly) efficiency of public services. The Chancellor has committed reductions in planned public spending starting at £23 billion in 2011/12, and rising to £99 billion in 2015/16.

This Guide, produced by the Centre for Cost Management, responds to the challenge of efficiency savings in the public sector.

Click here to download white paper

You can also find some of our recent success stories, demonstrating how we have been able to help a variety of organisations uncover significant savings within their business.

I hope you find this issue of Profit News interesting. If you would like to arrange an exploratory meeting to learn more about our cost and purchase management service, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Click here to donwload Profit News

IBB Solicitors identify £142,000 savings

IBB Solicitors is West London’s leading law firm and recognised in Legal 500 as a South East regional heavyweight. A full service law firm handling complex legal work for both businesses and individuals, IBB Solicitors is headquartered in Uxbridge, Middlesex with offices in Chesham, Buckinghamshire.

The beginning of the relationship between IBB Solicitors and Expense Reduction Analysts was rather unusual, as David Rogers explains: “One of my colleagues had done some work at IBB a long time ago. Then, in 2008, with the recession looming, the partners very sensibly considered various cost saving measures, and the Finance Director, Martyn Green, remembered us. IBB rang Expense Reduction Analysts Group Office and I was fortunate enough to be asked to respond to the enquiry.

“I must say that IBB were a joy to deal with from the outset, and we quickly agreed to start by looking at three categories – Document Storage, Office Supplies and Business Print. My colleague, Derek Hodd, did a fine job and achieved savings of between 39 and 54 percent on each.

“Indeed, I have been fortunate, as the relationship has progressed, to be able to call upon the services of others in the Expense Reduction Analysts network – Nadim Vanderman achieved significant savings in Postage and DX Costs, and Brian Pinner joined the project to work on Photocopiers.”

The savings that Expense Reduction Analysts achieve is often down to our thorough examination of the client’s spend, and our ability to consider the whole spectrum of available options.

IBB’s Mobile Communications project was a case in point. Here, detailed analysis of every call made prompted us to recommend that IBB completely reverse the structure of their mobile phone package: where before they had enjoyed a low handset rental charge, but had paid for every call, we now suggested that they switch to a higher handset rental with a bundle of pre-paid call-time. The result was a 36% saving.

In all, the nine categories that Expense Reduction Analysts worked on for IBB yielded overall savings of £142,000, a figure that should be seen in the context of the recession.

As Martyn Green, Finance Director at IBB Solicitors, explains, Expense Reduction Analysts were a valuable partner at such a time: “Any business faced with a recession has to take action, and we were fortunate to form a strong partnership with Expense Reduction Analysts when we did. The savings that David Rogers and his team have achieved have been very helpful. They have assisted the firm in planning for the future by feeding their savings forecasts into our budget.”

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.

“There was a tendency to just make every procurement decision on a case-by-case basis with each hotel acting in silo,” explains Paul. “We needed to really look closely at our costs and take a fresh approach to how we purchased everything from janitorial products to catering supplies.”

This issue aims to provide a range of practical advice from experts in the financial services field.

It includes tips and hints on the following areas:

• International Freight
• Parcel Distribution
• Warehousing and Order Fulfilment
• Fleet Costs

Download your free guide here

Please find attached link to download your FREE copy of the April 2010 edition of Profit News, featuring the most recent updates and money saving top tips when dealing with insurance, banking and property costs which I’m sure you’ll find very informative.

You can also find some of our recent success stories, demonstrating how we have been able to help a variety of organisations uncover significant savings within their business.

We would also like to introduce a new Financial Services Cost Reduction Guide focusing on helping UK companies to find cost savings when dealing with insurance, professional advisors and employee benefits. I hope you find this issue of Profit News interesting.

 If you would like to arrange an exploratory meeting to learn more about our cost and purchase management service, please do not hesitate to contact us.

To download your copy click here

The Green Procurement guide is a step-by-step approach to help businesses move towards greener procurement. It will help you to make purchasing decisions that include the environmental impact as well as the cost.

Green procurement is about influencing your supply chain and working with suppliers to ensure the environmental impact is considered by both parties.

The guide will take you through seven steps on how to implement green procurement in your business and gives you a traffic light toolkit to help you review your current procurement practices.

Download your copy of the guide from the Envirowise website. http://www.envirowise.gov.uk/uk/Our-Services/Publications/GG921-A-guide-to-green-procurement.html?EmMailerKeywords=Green-procurement&dm_i=DA4,3XS1,1MK71W,C968,1

This issue aims to provide a range of practical advice from experts in the financial services field.

It includes tips and hints on the following areas:

• Insurance
• Professional advisors
• Employee benefits

Download guide here

The core focus of Maria Mallaband Care Group (MMCG) is on providing high quality care for all of their residents. During a period of rapid growth, it was imperative that Expense Reduction Analysts’ review of their costs did not in any way compromise this. In fact, as the project unfolded, MMCG’s management team benefited from Expense Reduction Analysts’ intervention: knowing that their key areas of expense were under expert control allowed them to focus more closely on the strategic changes they had to make in order to accommodate the expansion of their work.

Expense Reduction Analysts consultants Neil Cullen and Julia Goodfellow-Smith led a team of experts from the Expense Reduction Analysts’ network. Julia herself is an expert in office supplies, and the review has encompassed expense categories as commonplace as stationery and utilities, as well as those as specialised as medical supplies. In all areas, the consultants’ expertise has been apparent to MMCG.

“Debjani Duncan, Expense Reduction Analysts’ medical supplies expert, clearly knows the products and market place extremely well. Her review has meant that we now use a product range better suited to both our business and our residents, our staff are better trained, and we have made significant cost savings into the bargain.” – Vicky Craddock, Operations Director, MMCG.

With over 30 homes, Maria Mallaband Care Group is one of the UK’s leading care home providers, renowned for offering luxurious, modern facilities and outstanding services. Maria Mallaband ensures its residents receive a superior level of care, while maintaining a sense of dignity and enjoying a high standard of living.