Expense Reduction Analysts (ERA) New Zealand used its expertise to help hand tool and auto service equipment specialist Sulco achieve savings of more than 20 per cent in three of its key areas of expense.
Diverse business divisions
Formed in 1971, Sulco is a privately owned and operated New Zealand company which operates several diverse business divisions, marketing a range of quality products sourced from leading manufacturers worldwide. These products include hand tools, workshop equipment, specialised automotive service equipment, corrosion protection coatings for steel pipe lines and many other consumer products.
Freight requirements Sulco imports products from all over the world including Asia, USA and Europe. In a bid to manage its freight requirements more efficiently, the company asked ERA to examine its operations to see if any reductions could be made. ERA freight specialist Peter Snow carried out the examination and was able to make recommendations that would help Sulco achieve significant savings.
Freight forwarders
In conducting the research, ERA found that Sulco was using up to 20 different freight forwarders, often on the advice of suppliers. This also created a considerable amount of administration which required extensive following up. Peter Snow was able to reduce the number of freight forwarders to two, based on the country of origin. Coupled with the reduction and streamlining of administration, ERA recommendations helped Sulco achieve a healthy saving of 18 per cent per year on its freight operations.
In addition, ERA's research also helped Sulco achieve savings of 27 per cent on its office products and 18 per cent on its insurance costs, making a 22 per cent reduction altogether.
"In addition to the substantial savings achieved by ERA, other things that stand out are the improved service we receive from the new suppliers as well as the fact that the ERA people are great to deal with," says Sulco general manager Andrew Millar.
21-Aug-2007