Our studies show that organizations have savings ranging from 7% to 15% hidden from their view in utilization misalignments (over-utilization or under-utilization of products, services, and technologies) that need to be ferreted out if you want to truly control your in-use costs. It is our estimate that utilization misalignments are costing the average corporation tens of millions annually that aren’t even on anyone’s radar screen. These savings could be hidden in your purchases of office supplies, chemicals, or even paper towels, without you knowing it. To assist you with your search, our studies have uncovered two primary reasons for utilization misalignments in organizations: Old technologies and new technologies.

Old technologies such as printers, imprinters, etc., that your organization has had for more than five years are prone to spit out too much paper, rip and mutilate forms, give false alarms, require more supplies than needed, and require a huge amount of maintenance to keep operational. A targeted effort therefore should be made to evaluate all old technologies that have gone beyond their useful life to ensure that they are still meeting their performance specifications.

New technologies such as disposable products and automated supply cabinets are purported to be faster, better, cheaper, and glitzier, but all too often they are less reliable, wasteful, supply intense, and costlier than the technology they are replacing. These new technologies should also be evaluated to uncover waste and inefficiency in your supply chain.

All organizations (regardless of size) need their methods and practices placed under a microscope continuously to weed out utilization misalignments in the thousands of products, services, and technologies they are purchasing annually. This is a best practice that should be an ongoing process, because “things change and people change” even if manufacturers and distributors remain the same.