Controlling Costs

It’s time to take a step back and examine the components of the cost side of your business. Consider and act on the following questions:

• What can our company do about energy costs? The less you consume, the more you also become “green” by reducing energy demand and greenhouse effects.

• What can our company do about rising transportation costs? There are shipping alternatives that are less expensive. Find out which ones would be acceptable to your customers.

• Are there options on employee benefit costs? It is time to call in your benefits provider and sharpen the pencils for next year. There are some creative solutions that can be surfaced with some research.

• Are travel costs under control? Make sure your travel department is as efficient as possible.

This type of questioning can be asked about many different components of your company’s expenses. It takes some perspective and different thinking to protect margins in inflationary times. The sooner you address these challenges, the better off you will be.

- Michael Oleksak   2007