Small Ticket Cost Cuts Add Up
There may be any number of costs lurking in your everyday activities and procedures that just don’t get noticed simply because they aren’t big ticket items. But that doesn’t mean they can’t add up to a
significant spend nonetheless. Look around and see if these tips can help drive down costs before making any drastic decisions that may come back to haunt you later.
Fuel
- Organise your errands so you can take care of several on the one trip
- Arrange delivery schedules, sales calls or installations according to the shortest route between them rather than zigzagging across neighbourhoods
- If delivery is a courtesy rather than an integral part of your sales process, then consider cutting it out, offering it to only your best customers, scheduling it in late morning or early afternoon
when traffic is lightest, or introducing a fee for it
Utilities
- Turn off equipment that’s not in use - computers, photocopiers, lights, air conditioning
- Switch to energy efficient light bulbs
- Use high efficiency rated appliances
- Install automatic light switches and put the aircon on a time switch
- Make use of natural lighting where possible
Office supplies
- Put a moratorium on buying all but essential supplies
- Reduce printing to essential documents and use the reverse side of paper for copying draughts and internal documents
- Use recycled paper
- Buy from office warehouse companies or discount stores
- Purchase locally – shipping costs from distant distributors can more than double costs
Office equipment
- Before buying new furniture check out second hand office supply dealers
Communications
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Cut back on unnecessary phone service add-on features like music on hold
- Price compare phone service providers
- Consider a VoIP solution
- Take away mobile phones from employees who don’t rely on them to do their job
- Price compare website hosting service providers
- Consider next afternoon or two- or three-day service instead of express shipments
- Use email instead of postage mail whenever possible
Make cost cutting a continuous improvement programme
While you may have been pushed into a cost cutting exercise by the current economic situation it’s smart to make cost review a normal and regular part of running the business. Now that you have carried out this review, ensure the process of actively searching for cost cutting opportunities stays alive and keeps contributing to increasing your profitability.
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Small Ticket Cost Cuts Add Up
