How a Technology Assessment Can Help Offset Unexpected, Rising Costs
Even though inflation remains high, SMBs are feeling the pressure from rising costs, a tight labor market, and unpredictable fuel prices. Businesses are navigating these financial challenges while trying to maintain operations and growth.
For most people, disposable income is shrinking. I find myself in the dairy aisle weighing the cost of organic versus regular milk or making the difficult decision to cut my Netflix subscription, but what about business owners? The weight on their shoulders is increasing, and P&L sheets are taking a hit. Tough decisions are being made, from raising the cost of goods to contemplating layoffs.
Times like these call for creative measures. Readjusting departmental budgets is a start, but if you look closer, there may be wasted money hiding in plain sight. Where to begin? A workplace technology assessment is a strong starting point. It offers many benefits, with the immediate focus on recovering wasted expenses.
Here are five ways a technology assessment can help businesses offset financial constraints:
Reduce travel expenditures.
How much does your company spend on airfare, lodging, and daily allowances? It might be more than you think. Telecommuting can reduce travel costs by 30 percent and save $11,000 per employee per year. Identifying the right video conferencing solutions for your workplace can preserve face-to-face meetings, no matter where either party is located. The return on investment in both time and money can be recovered faster than going through a tedious travel process.
Process paperwork faster.
It takes many companies up to a week to get a contract signed. Bottlenecks like these can delay payments and impact customer satisfaction. Not to mention that 21 percent of staff productivity can be lost to processing documents. Pinpointing manual paperwork practices and converting them into digital, automated workflows can speed up shipping orders, purchase orders, employee onboarding, and more, so your business can operate more efficiently.
Bring printing in-house.
The last time you outsourced a print job, did you order extra brochures that have gone stale sitting on a shelf? It hurts to throw them out because you paid a lot for them. For some companies, bringing printing in-house has saved money over time by printing on demand at a lower price per unit. It might be worth your while to weigh the pros and cons of insourcing versus outsourcing for future print orders.
Reveal your total cost of printing.
What do you currently spend on printing? That calculation includes the cost-effectiveness of your printing devices, company-wide print usage, supplies, and service maintenance. Not knowing this can hurt you. An assessment can reveal your total cost and provide suggestions to minimize spending and curb wasteful printing. In addition to adjusting your print environment, Managed Print Services is another consideration. Organizations that have outsourced printer management have cut a significant portion of their total printing costs.
Identify cybersecurity threats.
This cannot be overlooked. Small and mid-sized businesses experiencedan average of three cybersecurity incidents annually, and any one incident has a significant chance of putting them out of business. A technology assessment can uncover vulnerabilities on your network and help you make informed decisions to protect your business and safeguard your important data from cybercriminals.
Before diving headfirst into an assessment, consult a trusted, knowledgeable office technology provider who will keep your organization’s cost-saving goals in mind. You might be surprised with what they uncover through their highly trained lens. Any amount of money or time recovered will certainly help ease the burden of these unprecedented costs.