The cost and purchase
management specialists
Auditel was a founding member of the Utilities Intermediaries Association in 2006.
COST AND PURCHASE MANAGEMENT
Auditel's Unique Approach
The cost and purchase
Auditel was a founding member of the Utilities Intermediaries Association in 2006.Managing the total cost of doing
business, not just expense reduction
Managing business overheads effectively is about much more than just shopping around for the lowest price. Before you can even consider looking for ways to reduce your overheads, you need to know exactly which services you are accessing, who is providing them and what they are really costing you. Next you have to identify the most appropriate supply arrangements for your company's specific needs and, when you are confident you have these in place, you have to constantly monitor these arrangements, developments in technology, new legislation and changes in the market place to ensure they continue to meet these needs.
At Auditel, we have been providing cost and purchase management services to UK organisations since 1994. With a network of over 100 consultants, we have decades of combined experience, specialist knowledge and expertise, all of which will be at your disposal as an Auditel client. Just as importantly, we have an unrivalled reputation among suppliers who recognise the value and professionalism of the Auditel service. This means that while remaining totally independent, we can leverage buying influence on your behalf, not just in terms of price but also service levels.
6 steps to carrying out an overhead expenditure review
1. Retrospective Auditing
This forms the basis of the entire Auditel service. By analysing invoices covering a 12-month period we build a comprehensive expenditure profile for your organisation, including the services you are using, what you are paying for them and which companies are providing them.
2. Claim rebates and over-charges
Where our retrospective audit identifies billing errors or overcharges, we will deal with the supplier in question to negotiate refunds or rebates - not just for the 12 months we have reviewed but as far back as the error goes within the statute of limitations (6 years) and you have documentation. For example, one of our consultants has recently negotiated a rebate of £24,000 for overcharges on the electricity bills of a charity organisation going back over two years.
3. Establish Benchmarks
This means establishing and agreeing with you the prices you are currently paying and, just as importantly, the service levels you expect and need from your suppliers. These benchmarks will be used to determine the savings your consultant has achieved for you.
4. Identify savings opportunities
Only when we have carried out a retrospective audit and established your benchmark prices and service levels will we begin looking for ways to make savings for you. This might mean negotiating with your incumbent suppliers to improve your pricing, putting your supply out to tender, introducing new technologies or alternative service packages, or even looking at ways to improve your efficiency. Usually it will involve a combination of several of these solutions. To find out more about how we research the market to identify savings opportunities and appropriate suppliers, visit the "Our Specialist Knowledge " section of this site.
5. Implement our recommendations
All of our recommendations to make savings - no matter how small - will be presented to you, in person, in a simple Report for your authorisation. Your Auditel consultant will then take full responsibility for implementing any changes necessary to turn our recommendations into actual savings. Our aim is to ensure these are made quickly, smoothly and with the minimum of involvement from you or your staff.
6. Ongoing monitoring and management
Identifying savings opportunities is all well and good but the key to ensuring sustainable benefits is to constantly monitor and manage your business overheads. As well as checking your invoices every month for errors and overcharges, your Auditel consultant will regularly review your usage patterns for anomalies, sort out problems and issues, be on hand to give advice and monitor the market for further savings opportunities. This is an integral part of the Auditel service included in the basic performance-driven contingency fee, not a bolt-on extra.
What Next?
In this section we also cover the following topics:
- Tel: 0800 583 3355
- Email: info@auditel.co.uk
Our know-how means
improved profit on your bottom line
Auditel consultants can provide cost and purchase management consultancy to organisations of every size and in every sector. The overhead areas we cover include:
Decrease the costs in your business ...
If you would like to speak with us about these or any other overheads you want help to manage, book a meeting with one of our consultants:
Book a no-obligation meeting today.