Reviewing a prior years expenses can lead to cost savings. Every year I make a point of taking the time after year end close to review expenditures for the previous year. Without fail there are some opportunities for savings. In some cases the savings comes in the form of changing plans or services and in others it is in the form of automation.
The automation opportunities are not always as obvious or as easy to calculate the savings on but they are generally the only cost cutting measure that has the potential to provide an improvement to the organization. They are also the only cost cutting measure that generally requires a cash outlay before there is a benefit.
Below are some suggestions that may lead to cost savings for your organization in 2010.
- Cell Phone Plans
- Voice and Data Plans
- Service Contract
- Document Management
- Hosted Applications (Software as a Service)
- Automation and Technology
Cell Phone Plans
Every 6 months I make a point of reviewing the cell phone plans for the company. This year they made it easy for me. Multiple articles were published announcing the rate wars between AT&T and Verizon which led both companies to drop their Nationwide Unlimited plan from $99 to $69. That is a $30 a month savings per cell phone. Both carriers announced that you could make this change regardless of contracts or existing rate plans. They also offered a mixed bag of data plan changes. The best path is to call the customer care center for your wireless carrier and ask them if there is a better plan.
Voice and Data Plans
Just like the wireless carriers, the land line carriers change rate plans without notice. It is always worth the call to see if there is an opportunity for your organization to save money. If you have a large number of land lines or complex telephony network then it make sense to consider using a service to help make sure the telephone company is not over charging.
Many of the companies that provide this type of review charge a fee based on a percentage of the savings they bring to your organization. If there is no savings then there is no charge.
Please contact us at acumaticasupport@swktech.com if you would like our assistance in identifying a service provider.
Service Contracts
Many service providers revise their billing structures on an annual basis. In some cases they have tiered pricing based on volume or number of items under a master contracts. These items can be copier machines, printers, faxes, as so on.
Over a period time many companies end up with several small contracts or contracts by office/location or by item as the organization changes and grows. Rolling all of these pieces of equipment into a single agreement can in some cases help reduce overall costs. When you renegotiate contracts you may also include upgrades to what may be aging equipment. While this may not be a savings opportunity for all organizations it is certainly worth taking a look.
Document Management
How much time do you spend looking for a specific piece of paper? What percentage of your office space do you use to store historical documents? Do you rent additional space to store historical documents to only pay additional fees to have them shredded years later.
Searching, storing and shredding paper documents has a cost which is sometimes overlooked. This is leading many organizations to investigate Document Management.
There is a wide variety of solutions that range from general application to industry specific or integration specific. For Microsoft Dynamics SL customers we generally recommend ImageLink from Computer Information Enterprise.
If you need assistance selecting a Document Management solution for your organization please contact us at info@swktech.com.
Hosted Applications (Software as a Service)
In recent years, outsourcing your applications has gained in popularity and improved in stability. While outsourcing is not for every company the best way to find out if it fits your organization is through research.
Some common applications that are outsourced include but are not limited to the following:
- CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
- Email (POP Accounts, MS Exchange, Web Mail, etc.)
- Web sites
- Hosted Fax Services
- Hosted PBX
What most customers I have spoken with seem to agree is that a mix of hosted an on premises applications is the most cost effective and efficient approach.
Automation / Technology
While Document Management and Hosted Solutions are great opportunities and possible examples of how automation and technology can help your organization there is always more that can be done. The trick is to find the balance between what can be automated and what is cost effective to automate.
The first step towards automation is understanding the opportunities. Take the time to discover within your organization the labor intensive tasks that cry out for automation.
Be sure to balance the top opportunities with your organizations ability to absorb changes in these areas. Sometime the best opportunities for automation can be overwhelming. Always start with the low hanging fruit. Once you have some successes with automation you can move on to the more challenging opportunities.
If you have any questions or need assisstance with your Microsoft Dynamics applications please contact us at acumaticasupport@swktech.com.
