VERALLIS is a cost management services company for private and public businesses and organizations. By examining a company's wide range of operating expenses, in areas like logistics, freight, energy, advertising, telecommunications, printing, insurance, courier, rent expenses etc, our expert analysts find opportunities for saving and provide solutions for cost reduction with optimal quality, customer service and value.
6. 1. Not Knowing what exactly to cut
9.3
9.0
8.3
8.3
8.0
5.3
4.7
3.0
2.7
1.0
1.0
0.3
5.6
28.2
27.2
20.6
19.9
18.6
16.9
15.6
14.6
25.2
43.2
Energy
Marketing
Logistics
Freight
Travel Management
Facility Management
Telecommunications
Maintenance
Insurance
Fleet Management
Packaging
Printing
Office Supplies
Taxes
Factory Consumables
Waste Management
Cleaning
Other
Couriers
Security
Industrial Gases
Uniforms
Merchant Card Fees
Up to three choices possible Source:EBS Business School & Expense
Reduction
“The first step on the road to cost
reduction is to identify what is
currently going wrong and what
expenses are vital to cut!”
7. 2. Not be proactive
“A lack of time is one of
the main obstructions to
effective cost reduction”
8. 3. Not Knowing how much you should
spend
“Most managers
believe that what our
company is spending is
the <<right>> amount
to be spent. However,
too often this seems to
be an illusion!”
9. 4. Not regularly measuring your usage
“Without a clear monitoring
and measuring system it is
impossible to gauge where
resources are being wasted”
16. Monitor and drive profitability
Improve business processes
Strive towards operational
excellence
Support various business units
Reduce expenses
Interact with multiple third
parties
Manage a team
17. “ I feel I’m spending too much time on day-to-day
stuff”
“I’ve not really the time to focus on some
important projects”
“I’m working too many hours, never see my kids”
“There are a lot of tasks I feel I cannot delegate ”
20. Monitor your activities for a few days
Analyze how to transfer from Q3 and Q4 to Q2
Repeat after a few months
21. 4 x 2 hours rule
2h day to day work
2h training & managing my team
2h working on new value added projects for the
company
2h for getting fueled (essential reading /
networking / training)
23. Don’t get disrupted by incoming emails
Check your emails 3 times max per day - one session will
be dedicated to answer emails which need more attention
Use only 3 folders to manage your in-box
1. answered
2. to be answered
3. forget it
25. Pick 2 - 4 talents in your team
Manage by objectives and by projects
Delegate
Give clear objectives / follow-up / give feed-back
Train them
27. Visit your clients, your suppliers, other company’s
locations
Read things on the internet
Investigate new technologies
Talk to colleagues / third parties
Network
Get some training
Most businesses have taken measures to preserve capital and control spending. These measures work well the first time, but often do not deliver significant beneficial effects on long term performance of the company as they tend to become obsolete over the time.
It is important to quickly reach a comprehensive understanding of the particular things you are doing wrong and the mistakes you are making before you can start to work on the solution. Managers do not focus on the hidden costs that continue to reduce the profitability of the business and ultimately the prospect of development. Often managers, under the pressure to act and achieve direct effect, take drastic measures that are not realistic in the long run and, if anything, target expenditures that do not add value to the business. In other cases, managers do not have the right information and expertise in cost reduction actions, thus take horizontal measures and not exploit opportunities for real savings.
ΠΟΝΑΕΙ ΚΕΦΑΛΙ ΚΟΨΕΙ ΚΕΦΑΛΙ
Too often other initiatives (e.g. sales and marketing) take priority over continuous cost reduction. As a result, most companies face the cost management as «one-off exercise» after some delay in their financial results and they are usually aimed at short-term costs with significantly limited effects on long-term rationalization of expenditure. Finding and setting aside the time to work out the best way to reduce your costs is half the battle.
To prevent that, managers should produce and regularly analyse a breakdown of their cost structure and actively seek ways to reduce cost.
An effective way of reducing costs is to outsource the entire process so as to benefit from the experience and expertise of specialists. Allowing the company to be examined by a fresh set of eyes can benefit the company enormously, as the outside company’s objective perspective will transcend the subjective gaze with which employees regard the company.
An objective view can shake and wake up the company from its languorous slumber and enlighten the managers to new ways of reducing costs. Their experience in this field means that their suggestions have been tried and tested.