7 Ways to Control Your Costs

Are steep rises in prices and interest rates putting your business under pressure?

At a time when normality seemed a welcome and realistic prospect after the pandemic, steep price rises are putting companies under pressure. At Total Office we understand the situation – and what we can do to help your business to maximise its potential and minimise costs.

What’s happening?

Increases in the cost of goods, fuelled by strong demand from consumers and bottlenecks in supply chains, are one factor behind rising inflation. The Bank of England raised interest rates to 1.25% in June to try to control inflation, which it predicts will peak at 11% in October.

Businesses are feeling the pinch, as this combines with the rising costs associated with doing business including raw materials, wages and general overheads. The cost of energy has skyrocketed, and businesses are not protected by a price cap in the same way as consumers. There is already evidence that energy prices are impeding business growth.

A survey by the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) published in February found that many firms are being forced to scale back planned investment or make other cost cuts. In the same survey 73% of firms say they are increasing prices in response to rising costs. Reasons given were the price of gas and electricity, and higher wages.

Unilever, the parent company of Dove, Marmite and Hellmans increased prices by 4.1% in the three months to September 2021 due to supply chain cost increases. Alan Jope, Unilever’s CEO, said this was a reluctant decision made necessary in the face of “the highest inflation we’ve seen in ten years.”

Shevaun Haviland, Director General at the BCC, is calling for more help from the Treasury warning that, “the surging cost pressures produced by the cost-of-doing-business crisis will continue to lead to increased prices and fuel the cost-of-living crisis currently being faced by people across the country.”

At such critical times it’s vital that businesses make decisions which positively impact their efficiency and keep their costs as low as possible.

Total Office can help you work smart by finding strategies which reduce your costs and bring long-term value to your business. We have over 60 years’ experience of proactive account management providing sustainably focused, cost-effective business solutions.

Total Office can support your business to:

1 Consolidate Your Supply Chain

By consolidating multiple providers, we optimise your resources at the same time as minimising wasted time and maximising efficiency. The optimum goal is one order, one invoice, one delivery (or fewer deliveries?).

2 Check Product Alternatives

Working with your account manager we can ensure you have the best priced and highest quality, tried and tested products for your needs. False economy is short term gain and can bring damage to your brand and frustration for your team. We can also manage your variable costs using core list and user permissions to control or restrict off-core spending.

3 Maximise Energy Efficiency

We are focused on sustainability; it runs through the heart of our business. In turn, we work with customers to help increase your sustainability where we can.

Reviewing the environmental credentials of your workplace can make a big impact. Small things can make a big difference, such as:

• LED lighting. It’s 90% more efficient than incandescent light bulbs saving on electricity usage.
• Always switch off appliances that are not in use. Appliances in standby mode can use up to 50% of the electricity they use when operating.
• Never leave lights on in unoccupied rooms. Install light sensors that automatically turn on when the room is occupied and off when it’s not.
• Make use of blinds. Useful in both extreme heat and cold, window blinds can help regulate temperatures and prevent heat loss.
• Select the most efficient energy-rated kitchen equipment.

Talk to our Workspace team for help in these areas.

4 Outsource Repeated Tasks

Everyday tasks like organising deliveries, arranging, and maintaining plant displays are all essential to keep your workplace running smoothly. From delivering straight to your stock cupboard, to delivering fresh fruit and milk, leave it to us. We’ll take care of it – freeing your time to concentrate on your business.

5 Sustainable Stock Management

Effective management of your marketing literature and stock items can help you to significantly reduce your costs. By setting minimum stock levels and tracking usage, we can help you to minimise waste and obsolescence. Our analytics predict trends and seasonal peaks, ensuring that business-critical stock is always available.

6 Adopt an Effective Managed Print Strategy

We are experienced at creating managed print strategies for businesses of varying size and complexity. The way you manage documents is a key driver of sustainability and can have a crucial impact on your CSR. We work with you to reduce the amount of consumables you use; minimise print and copy costs achieve significant cost savings.

7 Optimise Your Office Space

A well-designed interior is essential in maintaining a happy and healthy workplace, as well as inspiring staff and potential clients. Our team will work with you to optimise space for the modern office. Whether creating break-out areas, hot desking or permanent diskspace it pays to ensure that every inch of your space is working hard and not wasted.

Working Towards Sustainable Efficiency

People think that sustainability or ‘buying green’ costs more money. And sometimes it does. But we truly believe that sustainability goes hand in hand with efficiency.

By streamlining your business our solutions also maximise efficiency, minimise waste and improve sustainability. For example, by helping to manage your paper usage, we can reduce deliveries, resulting in both reduced cost and reduced carbon emissions.

Consolidation improves your supply chain to make it more sustainable and brings efficiency and resource advantages for your team, with no more double handling of items or workload. In fact, approaching cost reduction with a sustainable mindset will benefit your budget by promoting long term cost reduction. 

Book an Audit today

To find out how Total Office can work with your business to weather the current economic storm Contact Us

We offer Green Audits as standard. We’re passionate about helping you to source sustainable product options that meet your needs and your budget.

Call 020 7536 2345

Email sales@totaloffice.co.uk