Are You Serious About Cost Reduction?
By Stephen Machin, CMA

Cost cutting may not be glamorous but it is a strategic component to every successful business plan.  The problem most executives have is that they have far more costs that require management than they have available resources.  Fortunately, consultants such as ERA Canada are available to help manage costs.  ERA scrutinizes the areas that are often overlooked but taken together can add up to big costs.  This includes things like telecom, couriers, printing and WSIB.  Once reviewed, ERA offers solutions that are tailor made for each client.

One of the most common questions I am asked is: “I pay good people to do this for me, why would I engage ERA to do the same thing”.  This is an excellent question.  My response is that as good as these people are they usually just don’t have the time to learn everything about every category in which the company spends money.  The biggest return on their time is to focus on the company’s core costs.  Because ERA is organized by industry specialty we are able to bring together a team of experts that is determined by the unique requirements of each client.  These experts have many years of experience in their area of specialty and know the market inside and out.  They also have access to current benchmarking data that enables them to quickly assess whether given a company’s profile they are on par with the market or are paying more than they should.

ERA Canada works as a partner with our clients and if we are successful in reducing costs then we share in the savings.  However, if no savings are identified then there is nothing to share.  Effectively, the fees are funded out of the savings; therefore, there is no financial risk to the client to work with ERA.

An assessment can be completed with very little time invested on the part of the client but the potential positive impact on the bottom line can be significant.  The savings that ERA generates range from 15% to 45%