Expense Reduction Analysts (UK) Ltd

As specialist procurement advisors, Expense Reduction Analysts (ERA) is a worldwide network of advisors intent on helping organisations to save money. We do this by giving recommendations on effective procurement, supplier management and spending habits.

Our process begins with research into your business and the areas that are affecting your profits, followed by a review of your saving options and us providing you with an impartial report of our findings. A unique plan is then constructed based on your requirements, with advice aimed at not only short-term benefits, but long-term results as well. We also evaluate internal and external factors to assure that your company maintains effective procurement in the future.

Profitability is an important aspect of any organisation, and put simply, the most obvious way to boost your bottom line is to sell more, spend less or both. ERA can help you to spend less through our expert analysis and market expertise, and we build long-term relationships with medium to large enterprises, so that we can provide continued financial benefits. We also understand that your suppliers need to run an effective business too, so we aim to help you develop mutually beneficial relationships with suppliers. This way, you, your suppliers and your customers can get the best service possible.

Specialist Procurement

At ERA, we know how crucial effective procurement is, and how often neglected it can be. While it may seem easy to outsource procurement to cost-cutting consultants or an in-house finance team, it can be used more effectively as a strategic function.

While consultants may provide only short-term savings, and in-house teams may have certain limitations, ERA are capable of delivering long-term savings and enterprise-wide benefits. Our procurement expertise covers a wide variety of supply areas and can provide a positive influence throughout the entirety of your supply chain. By guiding your organisation in developing more strategic and smarter spending, we can help to create profit for your business not just today, but into the future.

Long Term Benefits

Rather than providing guidance that will yield only short-term benefits, we deliver objective analysis, market expertise and sustainable business benefits, to assure that your company reaps more long-term benefits.

Our specialist ERA procurement advisors help our clients to develop a unique procurement management solution. These procurement solutions provide insightful supply chain advice, both short-term and on-going savings, and smarter spending with the intention of providing long-term profit improvements.

Procurement Solutions

We can provide unparalleled purchasing influence with suppliers, thanks to the reputation of our specialist procurement advisors. This reputation allows us to negotiate with suppliers to provide better long-term deals, deliver sustainable savings, and deliver tangible results for our customers. It also allows us to talk intelligently to every part of your organisation, be it the boardroom or the workforce.

But how do we know that our procurement advice works? Well, most of our clients end up keeping the same suppliers. Our clients benefit from having more profitable partnerships and improved supplier relations.

Supplier Management

The central aspect of our procurement advice is supplier management. To assure that your company can reap the rewards of long-term financial and operational benefits, ERA can help you to source, develop and manage your supplier relations. Through our guidance on effective procurement, you can develop mutually beneficial relationships with your suppliers. And when you're receiving the best possible service from your suppliers, your clients can receive the best possible service from you.

The Client Journey

In order to deliver real results to your company, we will take your on our ERA journey, which involves taking our proven methodology and mixing in a deep understanding of the individual requirements of your business.

First, we do our research. We get to know the key cost areas in your business that most directly impact your profits, then we perform an audit to assess your saving options, before producing an in-depth and objective report of what we have found. Next, we provide you with a bespoke plan based on your needs, and assure that business costs can be managed into the future. The final step is reviewing various factors to make sure that your business remains in a position of effective procurement.

Our Results

The fact that most of our clients end up keeping their suppliers should speak volumes about our results. With over 20 years of experience in the business of ethical and sustainable savings, we can assure that you receive tangible and long-term results. We have applied our impartial approach to thousands of businesses in a variety of sectors, delivering bespoke procurement and supplier management solutions that benefit companies today and in the future.

For more tangible evidence of our results, see below for case studies of companies that we have provided our service for.

Supplier Relations

Forging good relationships with suppliers is key for creating long-term financial benefits, which is why this is at the heart of our procurement service. As the UK's premier cost management experts, we know that not only do you need effective procurement for your business, but suppliers need to run profitable businesses too. So while we work with our clients to obtain great value from suppliers, we also aim to effectively manage client-supplier relationships.

For more information on how we do this, as well as our codes of practice, you can download a guide from our website.

Volkswagen Group Case Study

Believing that more could be done in terms of reducing their premiums, Volkswagen Group sought the expert advice of Expense Reduction Analysts Insurance Cost Management (ERAICM). The team soon realized that the main challenge was shifting the insurance industry's perception of VW UK from that of simply a motor manufacturer and trader, to more of an importing, distribution and marketing operation. The recommendations we gave VW UK included a multi-faceted review and changeover, which repositioned their risk profile within the insurance industry. This resulted in the attraction of more insurers to the table, giving VW UK significant savings in insurance premiums.

Kia Case Study

Kia's relocation resulted in a range of issues that ERA needed to take into account. As the company was relocating from a serviced office to their new owned offices, there were many new cost areas to take into consideration. In addition, relocating meant that some old suppliers were not going to be viable any more and forging relationships with new suppliers would be necessary. ERA's advisors tackled this issue by analysing Kia's revised service criteria and reviewing their financials, before providing Kia with recommendations. Significant improvements in profits and service levels followed each project, and left Kia keen to have ERA look into further areas of expenditure.

Lincat Case Study

Lincat's first project with ERA was on scrap metal waste, and resulted in Lincat acquiring favourable rates for scrap metal waste in a period in which the metals market had been particularly volatile. We have also helped Lincat to save significant sums on contract cleaning, PPE, workwear and waste.

Our ability to provide results in these areas was thanks to the inherent flexibility in our approach. Saving money in different areas required different tactics, with a change of supplier being necessary for waste management, while remaining with the incumbent provider of business print was the better option. Good profit improvement was also provided by consolidating engineering consumables suppliers.

Matrix Case Study

After ERAICM's successful first project with Matrix – an insurance review – a larger work programme was agreed upon. With Matrix growing quickly, and acquiring new offices, the ERA team needed to construct a template of suppliers, to speed up the bedding-in of the new offices while also delivering cost savings.

Different strategies are necessary for each category of expenditure; PPE required a new supplier to support the entirety of Matrix's network, while stationery was better supplied by the incumbent supplier due to a good relationship that could handle the increased workload. In the case of utilities, the superior strategy was the retain multiple suppliers and attain the best price from each.

AW Champion Case Study

An ambitious cost reduction exercise has allowed AW Champion to redirect money into attracting new business, and while they were happy with the service their suppliers were providing, enlisting ERA allowed them to locate the areas where real savings could be made. The process resulted in savings of over £73,000 on stationery, marketing and business print and merchant card costs.

As well as costs, the environmental credentials of suppliers were an important factor, with sustainability being a high priority for AW Champion. The printer they chose was not only competitively priced, but environmentally friendly as well.

S&S Distribution Case Study

During a review for another client, S&S Distribution arose as a potential supplier. ERA consultants provided S&S with a detailed purchasing profile, which allowed S&S to make a great offer to the client and go on to win their business. S&S were so impressed by the process that ERA were then invited to review categories for them, including insurance.

While S&S already had a good relationship with their insurance broker, they understood that an ERAICM review may find room for improvement. S&S's insurance risk was typical of a major transport company, but ERAICM managed to demonstrate substantial savings by highlighting the health and safety initiatives that S&S were managing.

Leicester College Case Study

With the college under pressure to achieve more with less money, and inadequate time and expertise to review costs themselves, ERA were brought in to carry out a cost management review. We identified £125,000 savings in office supplies, cleaning supplies, telecommunications and postage, while maintaining and improving the quality of service levels to the college.

ERA went on to confirm that water costs were acceptable, though savings were found in food expenditure. Expenditures on waste, transport, bottled water stations and security are now under investigation, with insurance and aspects of maintenance being noted for future consideration.

Country Park Foods Case Study

Despite feeling that they had a strong focus on cost control, Country Park Foods felt it worthwhile to have ERA check that they were receiving the best prices possible from their suppliers. The initial project was in the category of labels and was not straightforward due to the specification for the labels being changed multiple times, making it difficult to calculate savings. Packaging is another essential product for Country Park Foods, and we were able to save them £92,000 through a detailed review of packaging and cartons.

IBB Solicitors Case Study

Initially, ERA focused on the categories of document storage, office supplies and business print; areas in which savings of between 39 and 54% were achieved. Our relationship with IBB then progressed, and we were able to save them money on postage and photocopiers.

The savings that we achieve are often a result of our ability to consider the whole spectrum of options, as was the case with IBB's Mobile Communications. After thoroughly analysing all of the calls they made, we recommended that they totally change the structure of their phone package. Instead of paying a low handset rental charge but paying for every call, we prompted them to change to a higher rental charge with pre-paid call-time, which ultimately resulted in a 36% saving.