Effective Ways To Reduce Your Business Costs

Hello,

I want to add some more tips there.

1. Improve Quality: Imai stresses how good quality is a prerequisite to making lean work. He even speaks about things like control charts which you don’t find mentioned in many lean books.

2. Improve Productivity: Productivity improves when less input produces more output. The book stresses how freed up human resources should be used for more kaizen (not fired).

3. Reduce Inventory: Inventory can be nasty stuff if not controlled. It takes up space, slows cash flow, and all kinds of other nasty things.

4. Shorten the Production Line: Long, football field like, assembly lines need to go. When shortened we reduce all kinds of muda (i.e. transportation, motion, waiting, etc.).

Thanks

I think another good way is keep tracking your income and expenses daily. It will give you a lot of information about your cash flow and hence make your think that it might be time for you to save some money.

Some company leaders feel they can reduce costs by simply downsizing or reducing the number of workers. If this is done after defining the exact role of every staff, it may be a necessary and effective method. Unfortunately, most businesses that reduce their headcount do so without really knowing the impact on the company's operations

Effective Ways To Reduce Your Business Costs:-
Search
Negotiate
Used Stuff
Plan Ahead
Online/Offline Auctions
Borrow/Rent
Free Stuff
Wholesale/Bulk

Hi

Reduce Machine Downtime: Next to quality, Imai stresses an excellent Total Productive Maintenance program is essential to TPS. Like jidoka, TPM doesn’t seem to get the love it deserves from western lean practitioners. Not sexy enough I guess. Funny I mention this lack of love since I just realized I have never blogged extensively about TPM before. Guess I just found my next series topic!

Reduce Space: Imai estimates that most manufacturing companies use four times as much space as needed. Like long production lines using too much space invites muda (i.e. inventory) to come. When we free up space we should aim to add more capacity after getting after our sales force to get us some more business!

Reduce Lead Time: This is perhaps the funnest aspect of lean. We simply determine the time it takes between getting an order and collecting payment for the finished product… and then shorten it. Once we shorten it we do it again, and again, and again. And that, my good friends, is what this stuff called lean manufacturing is all about.

Thank you

Hi

Used Stuff : If your business equipment and supplies don’t need to be new, buy them used. You can find used items at yard and garage sales, used stores, used stuff for sale message boards and newsgroups etc.


Negotiate : You should always try negotiate a lower price for any business equipment or supplies. It doesn’t hurt to try. Pretend you are talking to a salesman at a car lot.


Search : You can always be searching for new suppliers for your business supplies and equipment. Look for suppliers with lower prices and better quality. Don’t just be satisfied with a few.


Thanks

Many businesses could cut energy costs by over 10 per cent through cost-effective measures according to Carbon Trust estimates. Saving energy is one of the easiest ways to save money.

Although these steps may seem individually small, together they could make a real difference. The average annual saving for small companies is around £250, with savings for larger employers rising to £5,000 or more a year
Top tips for cutting your energy bills

* Get staff to turn off equipment when not in use - a single computer and monitor left on for 24 hours a day will cost over £50 a year. Switching off out of hours and enabling standby features during working hours could reduce this to £15 a year. Always switch equipment off at the end of the day, at weekends and bank holidays and do not just leave on standby. You can order stickers and posters to raise employee awareness of the importance of energy efficiency on the Carbon Trust website - Opens in a new window.

* Switch lighting to energy-efficient bulbs and make the most of natural light. Replacing high-wattage filament lamps or tungsten halogen lamps with compact fluorescent lamps or metal halide lamps will give you savings of up to 75 per cent on lighting bills. Remember daylight is free - keep windows clear and clean, and make the most of natural light by positioning workspaces and equipment close to windows. Find advice on reducing lighting costs on the Carbon Trust website - Opens in a new window.

* Control temperatures (hot and cold). Lowering the temperature by just 1 degree can reduce the heating bill for a typical office by up to 8 per cent a year. Find advice on reducing heating costs on the Carbon Trust website - Opens in a new window.

* Shop around between energy suppliers. There are many price comparison websites and good deals available for switching energy suppliers. There can be as much as a 50 per cent variation in cost between the lowest and highest rates offered.

Hi

Find strategic partners in industries that are related to your industry and enter into an agreement. For instance, if you own an office cleaning service, find a good landscaping contractor you can recommend to your customers. Painters, drywallers, plumbers, electricians, etc. Be the go-to person your customers call when they want a good contractor of any kind. You don't have to finance equipment, you don't have to learn the industry, all you do is call your strategic partner and arrange for a meeting with your customer. They do the work the right way, and you get a portion of their profits.

Thanks

1. Barter

If you have a business you should be bartering goods and services with other businesses.

2. Network

Try networking your business with other businesses. You could trade leads or mailing lists. This will cut down on your marketing and advertising costs.

3. Wholesale/Bulk

You'll save money buying your business supplies in bulk quantities

4. Free Stuff

You should try visiting the thousands of freebie sites on the internet before buying your business supplies. You can find free software, graphics, backgrounds, online business services etc.

5. Borrow/Rent

Have you ever purchased business equipment you only needed for a small period of time? You could have just borrowed the equipment from someone else or rented the equipment from a "rent-all" store.

6. Online/Offline Auctions

You can find lower prices on business supplies and equipment at online and offline auctions. I'm not saying all the time, but before you go pay retail for these items try bidding on them first.

7. Plan Ahead

Make a list of business supplies or equipment you'll need in the future. Keep an eye out for stores that have big sales. Purchase the supplies when they go on sale before you need them.

8. Used Stuff

If your business equipment and supplies don't need to be new, buy them used. You can find used items at yard and garage sales, used stores, used stuff for sale message boards and newsgroups etc.

9. Negotiate

You should always try negotiate a lower price for any business equipment or supplies. It doesn't hurt to try.

10. Search

You can always be searching for new suppliers for your business supplies and equipment.

Hello,
I want to add some more tips there.
1. Improve Quality
2. Improve Productivity
3. Reduce Inventory
4. Shorten the Production Line