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Insights
on Excellence | "Insights" Archive
Six Quick and Easy Ways Companies Can
Save
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
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 Stephen
Hawley Martin is
a former principal of The Martin Agency
in Richmond and the author of more than
half a dozen books including his newest,
Lean Enterprise Leader: How to Get Things
Done Without Doing It All Yourself.
He is editor and
publisher of The
Oaklea Press, a book publishing business
dedicated primarily to helping business
executives increase productivity.
He can be reached at shmartin@oakleapress.com
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by Stephen
Hawley Martin
for Virginia Business
January
31, 2006
There's not
an executive alive who wouldn't cut company expenses
if it could be done without sacrificing quality
or service, and if the move didn't take a lot of effort.
The problem is finding the time to figure out where to
cut and how such savings can be realized.
Patricia E. Moody found a way. Author of "The
Big Squeeze: Ten Ways to Cut 10% of Your Company's
Expenses Right Now," she set up a blog for executives
to share cost savings ideas and received hundreds of
responses, which she used to write her book. Here are
a half dozen that require very little time and effort
to implement:
1. Reduce
teleconferencing costs: Compare Web-collaboration
tools to big phone company teleconferencing charges.
You're likely to save significantly.
2. Cut costs
for computers and other hardware: Consolidate
IT equipment purchases with one supplier such as Dell
via a competitive bidding process.
3. Recycle and sell paper, plastic, metals and cardboard
to eliminate disposal fees and recapture cash.
4.
Hold a company yard sale on eBay: Sell equipment
and other items the business no longer needs or uses.
5. Go to
cell phone pooling: Via a
Request for Quote (RFQ), negotiate the best possible
total-minutes-used cost for the entire company.
6. Save
on marketing communications: Many companies use a number of firms and vendors for
different products and projects with
the result that their efforts are often duplicated. Consolidate
printing, PR, web design, and ad services with only a
couple of firms via a competitive review and bidding
process.
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Stephen Hawley Martin is a former principal of The Martin Agency in Richmond
and the author of more than half a dozen books including his newest, Lean Enterprise
Leader: How to Get Things Done Without Doing It All Yourself. He is editor and
publisher of The Oaklea Press, a book publishing business dedicated primarily
to helping business executives increase productivity.
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