Savings by the book - James Bennett gains with Expense Redustion Analysts

James Bennett Pty Limited is Australia's leading library supplier providing commercial, non-commercial, government and specialist publications from Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the South Pacific, Europe, the UK and the US.

The Challenge

James Bennett is focused on providing clients with quality products at competitive prices. Cost containment is a priority and James Bennett is very focused on continuous improvement to exceed internal and external customer expectations. They initially engaged Expense Reduction Analysts to carry out a no-risk review of costs that would allow them to benchmark services and only pay a fee if hard cash savings were realised.

The Expense Reduction Analysts Solution

The review process started off with one cost category - Office Supplies, which offered James Bennett an insight into the high level of savings that could be achieved. Expense Reduction Analysts accounting services franchise made a detailed review of the current situation, looking at process, comparing the specifications of different products to ensure consistency of quality, and involving key stakeholders at each step.

Expense Reduction Analysts cost management consultancy franchise analysed the existing costs of office supplies and arranged for competitive tendering to demonstrate potential savings. Expense Reduction Analysts then negotiated with the existing supplier to bring them in line with market best practice. Through the management of this process, James Bennett were able to reduce their Office Supplies bill by 15%.

Expense Reduction Analysts' consultant Ian Kinnaird explains further, "Expense Reduction Analysts has extensive experience working with companies to investigate the costs of incumbent suppliers. Cost containment does not always mean that a company has to shift to a new service provider; it is often as simple as educating existing suppliers so they understand the value of the relationship and how their prices compare with others. Expense Reduction Analysts brings a great deal of this applied knowledge to the table in negotiating better prices for our customers."

Following this initial success, Expense Reduction Analysts business services franchise was invited to review six other cost categories, with similarly positive results. The experience with this review showed that Expense Reduction Analysts, through its specialist focus, is often able to find improvements that the client may not have the time or the expertise to uncover. Expense Reduction Analysts has now been requested by Warehouse Operations to review their packaging expenses.

Outcomes and Benefits

Expense Reduction Analysts was able to improve on cost savings in the following areas:

• Office Supplies: 15%
• Print: 24%-70%
• Contract Cleaning: 35%
• Electricity: 5%
• Telecommunications: Fixed line 20%, Mobiles 28%
• Landscape Maintenance: 23% Document Imaging: 17%

As a result of these savings the client wants Expense Reduction Analysts to review these cost categories every three years, to ensure that costs are kept at industry best practice levels.

Nandu Mehta, Financial Controller for James Bennett Pty Limited commented, "We were attracted to Expense Reduction Analysts because of the no-risk review. Once the process was underway, they undertook the administrative work of tendering, evaluation and analysis and ultimately this resulted in James Bennett benefiting from much more competitive service offers from existing suppliers. It was a good win for both the organisations and contributed to savings through the company. The relationship with Expense Reduction Analysts now also means our suppliers know we are serious about receiving value that is ongoing and will be subject to scrutiny on a regular basis. This means we are assured of receiving the best possible service at the best possible prices, which is the ideal outcome for us."