Finding More Pennies

Now that we’ve celebrated Independence Day and at the same time have seen the 2009 PAR report, we can safely conclude that Ben Franklin, one of our founding fathers, who is also known for his kite experiment, must have been in the electrical distribution business.

Why you ask?

He also coined the phrase “a penny saved is a penny earned.”

And with electrical distribution being a penny business (net profit-wise) it is important to look for as many pennies as you can – especially when the industry’s average net profit in 2009 declined to 1.1% according to the PAR report!

While much can be done through inventory management, price management, automating operations and effective personnel management to name a few, have you considered that pennies can be found by:

• Renegotiating your long distance phone bills
• Renegotiating your cell phone charges
• Checking cell and phone bills to make sure you are using all of the lines you are being charged for, let alone using the ancillary services that these companies charge for … if you’re not … cancel them!
• Using e-invoicing (it saves time, paper, postage and ink while providing better service to your customer and possibly helping you get paid faster)
• Rebidding your bank lock box service (all banks are looking for service revenue!)
• Rebidding all outside services (i..e landscaping, security, etc.)  Sometimes all you need to do is ask for a lower price.
• Reducing the number of price overrides that your salespeople are doing

These are just some ideas.  Where else can you find pennies in your business

And remember, pennies count.  Ben Franklin’s will shows his wealth. Good luck in stacking up your catch.