Ten Simple Ways to Save Your Business Money in 2009

By Thomas Deverell

Are you overspending on documents and related expenses? Pick up a current issue of any news publication and chances are you’ll be reading about the tough economic times Corporate America is facing. Businesses across the nation are seeking ways to reduce overall spending while maintaining--and even increasing--profits.

According to InfoTrends, an independent market research firm, corporations are spending, on average, six percent of their annual revenue on documents, office machinery and other related expenses. Research also shows some companies are spending upwards of 15 percent. The question becomes where is your spending--at 6 percent or at 15 percent?

In either case, there are 10 simple steps a business can take to start saving on all levels of document production, document management and document distribution.

First, you need to identify the signs of overspending:

• Budget busters (such as inkjet printers and outdated equipment)
• Multiple vendors (more than one supplier for printer equipment and office supplies)
• Inadequate monitoring
• Lack of a document management plan

Among the top budget busters are inkjet printers. While they appear a sensible choice, don’t let discounted prices and factory rebates fool you. Operating costs can be as much as 10 times the amount of newer, more efficient printers and all-in-one or multifunctional devices.

While many companies reimburse employees for purchasing warehouse and club products, in the end, those organizations usually foot gigantic bills to cover the cost of supplies. If you search closely, you’ll find toner cartridges cost slightly more than inkjet cartridges but print into the thousands, versus inkjets, which only print in the hundreds.

The bottom line is that you need to calculate your cost per copy. You can start the process by:

1. Take an inventory of your current office equipment

2. Verify your operating costs with accounting

3. Create a supply log to confirm any overspending

4. Replace equipment with more efficient devices

This doesn’t mean you need to run out and buy 20 new printers to replace 20 old inkjets; on the contrary, it means you need to be smart about the type of office machinery you purchase going forward, and you should have an idea of how much desk-top devices are really costing you, as well as what they are being used for.

The next budget buster is multiple vendors. Organizations commonly acquire or inherit copiers, color copiers, printers, scanners or fax machines based on an isolated need and a revolving budget. Over time, this hodge-podge of equipment results in too many devices, outdated equipment and unreliable technology, such as analog copiers or dialup fax machines.

Multiple vendors also create inefficiency for employees as they spend time ordering supplies, tracking services and maintaining each device. Additionally, with various invoices, accounting winds up entering and cutting a check to each vendor. In this case, a clear-cut solution would be to:

5. Differentiate equipment by vendor

6. Consolidate technology to one vendor (as terms expire)

7. Purchase supplies from one technology vendor and/or install a program that is all-inclusive

When you list equipment by vendor, you may find you are using numerous companies to supply just a few items for each department. By combining equipment, services and supplies to one consolidated invoice, businesses will experience a dramatic savings and witness a more efficient, productive staff.

A further key to identify overspending is document monitoring. Knowledge is power, and knowing the types of documents and how many are being produced is paramount to cutting costs.

Ask yourself:

• Are documents being printed that could instead be archived?
• Are accounting and sales printing the same document multiple times?
• Are employees abusing equipment with personal use?
• What is our waste ratio?

In order to distinguish who, what, where and how many documents are being produced, simply:

8. Place and monitor recycling containers near copiers and printers, keeping a close eye on what is printed and any waste that is occurring

9. Install monitoring software and archive technology

You can’t fix what you don’t know is broken, and you can’t start saving until you are able to recognize specific areas of over-produced documents, redundant circulation and technology neglect. In some cases, you might even have equipment that is not fully being utilized. Again, knowing what documents are being produced will help you accomplish your goal: TO SAVE MONEY.

Paramount to all other solutions, the only real way to eliminate overspending is to:

10. Create a document management plan

Sure, if you replace your budget-busters with more efficient devices, you will cut costs significantly. And yes, your organization will be on the right track if you consolidate vendors and install document management software. But without a plan, you may be jeopardizing an opportunity to trim expenses and thrive during these tough economic times.

Don’t risk it! To learn more about a no-cost document analysis which can help your business create a plan to save as much as 40% on your document production, management and distribution, as well as to learn more about other cost-saving solutions, contact us.

Thomas Deverell is the President of Officia Imaging, Inc., a California-based service leader in the document imaging and management industry. Tom has more than 30 years of senior level industry leadership experience with proven expertise in business turnarounds, acquisitions, revenue growth, process improvement, management development, employee satisfaction and customer retention. Tom has a BS in Finance and Marketing from Albany State University.