• Designing Cost Out. Offshoring production compromises all future design opportunities because it prevents Concurrent Engineering teamwork when Engineering and Manufacturing are not even working at the same time.

• Lean Production. Offshore plants, especially contract manufacturers, amortize their setup charges by building in batches (mass production) and then shipping across the ocean in batches. This makes it hard to respond to volatile market conditions when so much forecasted inventory is at the plant and in the long “pipeline” across the ocean.

• Standardization cost savings will be missed because each contract manufacturer will convert your quality parts to their “local supply,” meaning replaced with the cheapest local parts.

• Quality and Quality Costs. Without lean production, high quality standard parts, and the design-for-quality contribution of good Concurrent Engineering teamwork, quality and reliability will not be designed in or built in like it could be in integrated lean factories here.

“The hidden costs of offshoring are seldom taken into account when a company first decides to do so, then those costs are never measured or worse, ignored as just being the normal cost of getting things done.” says, Dr. David Anderson, PE, FASME, CMC. To avoid the hidden costs of offshoring, see

http://www.halfcostproducts.com/offshore_manufacturing.htm

You might be able to do the same thing he did and see the same results…

Large power users have several ways to reduce energy expense, depending on their utility service company.

One approach is to do a rate analysis which can cut utility expense by 15% or more without capital expense.

(See this 3 minute video on Energy Cost Reduction)

The approach Paul used was to reduce the price of his electric commodity purchases.

Prior to his arrival, the company was paying above market costs for power under a previous contract.

Although a variety of sophisticated products like caps, collars, floors, indexes, can be used to manage energy costs, a simple way to guarantee costs is through fixed pricing.

Paul locked in a 2-year fixed price below 6 cents/kWh and avoided unpredictable spikes in the regional MCPE index at the same time.

Call 1-888-395-0809 for a complimentary review of your opportunities

For a company either going through a sale or in a cash crunch, ending a key person life insurance policy is often wise, but be careful you don’t lose money in the process!

The insurer would love for you to either let the policy lapse or obtain a paltry CSV, but there’s a smarter way to go.

Most life insurance policies, including universal and convertible term, qualify as negotiable instruments if the insured is over 65 years old with $500,000 of coverage.

By selling your existing policy from the current owner to an institutional investor for a one time lump-sum payment or Life Settlement, your financial benefit can be much greater than the CSV!

Example: Ronco Bankruptcy. A $15MM term policy on the verge of lapsing was marketed, converted into a universal life policy and sold with the resulting proceeds of approximately $3.3MM delivered to the Trustee which yielded enough to pay off the senior lender, in full.

The process involves a Life Settlement Broker who conducts an auction-like process gathering bids on a contingent basis.

Doug Himmel of Melville Capital says, “In scenarios where insurance exists, the policy should never be allowed to lapse or be  arbitrarily surrendered without an appraisal of its market value.” For more information send an email to info@dcisolutions.net.

Call 1-888-395-0809 for a complimentary review of your opportunities

Call 1-888-395-0809 for a complimentary review of your opportunities

DCI is unlike any other cost reduction firm. We’re not a boutique firm and the comprehensive tax refunds and overhead optimization results we get are guaranteed to work every time…

Are you facing any of these concerns?

• Profit margin compression?
• Fewer staff and greater responsibilities?
• Limited time and money to focus on growth?

Would this make you happy?
Everyone stays focused on the tasks that they do best.

• You receive a report recognizing which of your costs are “perfect”.
• You increase profitability with substantial refunds and lower overhead costs.
• Your company celebrates the results of your cost reduction leadership.

Middle Market companies use DCI to make the above happen.  Here’s why they choose us.

1. Specialization – For specific overhead costs, our guys know more than your guys.
2. Versatility – we can find greater amounts in less time than boutique analysts.
3. Leverage – for every hour you give, we’ll give back five thousand.  Or ten.
4. ZERO change:  You want Kaizen, six sigma, and “lean”?  Don’t call us.
5. Risk-free: We always find money.  Always.

Some of our Clients

We increase cash flow and market value faster than can be accomplished by process regineering alone and less painfully than staff lay-offs. While your competition dithers, take the time to investigate with us the best ways DCI Solutions can help you.

Call 1-888-395-0809 for a complimentary review of your opportunities

Your IT department is focused on mission critical issues – and taking the time to do a deep-dive audit of the myriad possible telecom overcharges is NOT mission critical for them or for any IT Director worth his salt.  But it is mission critical for us.  DCI’s devoted team of telecom analysts and auditors consistently find substantial savings in Voice, Internet, and Data as well as in mobile telecommunications.

You may have a good contract with great discounts but telecom companies are notorious from misapplying the discounts they previously agreed to.  Expecting your staff to have the time to research and permanently fix all these problems is an unrealistic burdensome, to say the least.

At your service is DCI Solutions – we consistently find recoverable errors that can be brought back to you in the form of refunds and credits.

This will not be the only way we help you. It’s possible that you are being billed correctly and at the best possible price for services you don’t need or once needed but no longer use. In cases like these, it doesn’t matter how good your rate is, you’re always paying 100% too much.

Many companies will never know when they are over-trunked or using only a portion of the services for which they incur a monthly recurring charge (“MRC”).  Sometimes it's T-1 lines for which there is no economic necessity and other times it’s the lowly POTS line misplaced within a hunt group or a phone number that leads to nowhere.

The DCI telecommunications audit not only exposes the costs no one in your IT or accounting department has the time to find, it also identifies improved savings through competitive rates most companies never obtain on their without outside help.

Does your company get competitive telecom bids without any outside help?  If so, you’re probably losing money.  As strange as that sounds, “competitive bids” using internally created bid documents and processes won’t get you special pricing from any one vendor, just lots of good pricing from many vendors.  Less than one in ten companies negotiating on their own will get the absolute best rates from Verizon, AT&T, Global Crossing, L3, etc. and those who do often expend inordinate staff time that could be best allocated elsewhere.

Unless your company has a team with over 50 years of experience in crafting successful telecommunication RFPs for several dozen companies, your team will burn a lot of valuable staff time before and after the contract is signed and spend a great deal more than what you should for years to come.

For every $50,000 you spend monthly in voice, data, and internet, expect $60,000 to $250,000 each year in hard dollar savings.

Call 1-888-395-0809 for a complimentary review of your opportunities

Who Throws Money into the Trash?

• Hotels, Hospitals, Restaurants, Apartments, Retirement Communities, Manufacturers, Commercial sites, and well-run companies like yours.

You trash your cash when you

• pay for specialized waste services you don’t need or for hauls that are not required, or for the wrong sized dumpsters, or for services you should be getting free.
• You also waste costs when you do nothing because you are in a long term contract or when you do nothing because you are in a municipal franchised territory. Finally, and most importantly, you waste money when you do nothing, period.

Rescue cash from your trash.

• 52% savings for an Orange County commercial building.
• 17% savings for a Healthcare Company in the middle of 5 year waste contract.
• 13% reduction for a Northern California manufacturer.
• 19% reduction in waste disposal fees for a company in a franchised municipality.

Stop throwing money into your dumpster.  Call DCI Solutions. We talk trash.

Call 1-888-395-0809 for a complimentary review of your opportunities

Typically, fuel teams buy at one of five levels of strategic efficiency, and as you move from the tactical/manual fuel management practices of Level 1 to the strategic and automated processes of Level 5, you safeguard your company from the risk of volatility, run outs, leakage, and theft while winning dramatic savings of money and man hours…

Five Levels of Fuel Management

Level 1 = Supplier Managed

• Buy fuel on a delivered basis from a single marketer
• No transparency price/freight

Level 2 = Delivered Daily Spot

• Buy all volumes on a delivered business at published price
• Numerous suppliers
• Price floats w/ delivery

Level 3 = Delivered on Contract

• Delivery from few strategic providers via contracts
• Advanced inventory controls and contract management capabilities

Level 4 = Wholesale at Rack

• Buy most volume on contracts from the rack
• Robust freight procurement process
• Licensed distributor status in few key tax jurisdictions
• Coordinated risk management

Level 5 = Bulk and Wholesale

• Buy volume at both the rack and in bulk on contract above rack
• Licensed distributor for most/all operating locations
• Robust tax calculation and compliance capabilities
• Buy above rack and ship on pipeline
• Coordinated risk management

At Level 5 automation has successfully minimized all fuel-related costs including supplier and distributor selection, demand forecasting, inventory management, order management, dispatching, environmental compliance, and invoice reconciliation.  At this level retailers and bulk buyers can proactively counter unplanned disruptions, run-outs, and retains resulting from usage swings, inclement weather, and traffic.

Moving to Level 5

The first step is to authorize an in-depth spend and benchmark analysis of your fuel prices against OPIS (Oil Price Information Service) rack prices to establish clearly how far above/below the OPIS index your current fuel acquisition costs are.

The next step is to ascertain how much lower your fuel acquisition costs would be with the appropriate technology and best practices to drive excess costs and inefficiencies from your fuel management processes.

Let’s take the example of Raj Patel, the owner of eight Arco franchises, who was being outperformed by larger retailers with better economies of scale.

Relying on a handful of suppliers and data-poor manual processes to replenish and manage fuel inventory, Raj had limited control over fuel costs and under-optimized buy/sell margins compared to his competition.

After commissioning a thorough study of his costs and benchmarking current price vis a vis Opis, Raj was introduced to best-in-class automated technology, the virtual equivalent of an expert fuel team working on his behalf to drive excess costs and inefficiencies from his fuel management processes.

In less than three years Raj saved $1,000,000 while having a truly manageable supplier portfolio for the first time.

Of all the data-driven purchasing decisions he now makes, the chief sign of Raj’s new versatility and sophistication is his ability to exploit sophisticated fuel strategies such as load shifting.  Load shifting allows the timing and volume of fuel deliveries to be adjusted to take advantage of spot purchase pricing opportunities so that more fuel purchases are made when prices are low – while simultaneously mitigating the risk of run-outs and retains.

Any company seeking the same or better operational advantages of very large purchasers of fuel can and should investigate the financial and operational benefits of Level 5 fuel management.

Call 1-888-395-0809 for a complimentary review of your opportunities

Because a multi-page lease agreement allows for miscalculations and mistakes in future billing, your internal efforts in reviewing occupancy costs will certainly benefit from outside assistance.

Once your leased space exceeds 100,000 ft. you should generally expect your recoveries from an external tenant lease review to be at least .1% of your total occupancy costs from the preceding four years.  This is true for commercial, industrial, and retail leases.

The review goes deeper than a surface review of the lease abstract and drills down into granular detail to uncover unseen inconsistencies between what your lease agreement obliges you to pay and the amounts you were billed and actually paid.  Errors occur in a variety of component costs.

Of the countless ways landlords have overcharged tenants, here are a few…

1. Landlord charges for unallowable according to your lease like Holiday/Seasonal Décor.
2. Marketing and promotional costs misclassified as operating/maintenance costs.
3. Repairs done to other units.
4. Administration fees charged on management fees.
5. CAM charges not directly related to the common area.
6. Upgrade/capital improvements misclassified as maintenance.
7. Expenses applied in a single year instead of amortized.
8. Calculating CAM with denominator set at gross leased space instead of gross leasable.

Good tenant lease reviews require clear and courteous correspondence with your landlord. This is where DCI Solutions proves its value as we can partner with your internal audit team to ensure clear, pleasant, and effective communication that maximizes your refunds. Below is the type of correspondence we issue to property managers in the course of obtaining client refunds.

Dear ____________,

We are currently reviewing our occupancy cost disbursements and we have determined that, regarding our ______________ location, for the years 2008, 2009 and 2010 combined, we have incurred $64,937 in charges for which we are not liable pursuant to the terms of our Lease.

Section 4.3 of our Lease states that our Operating Expense obligation is limited to our prorata share of CAM costs in excess of the “Allowance.”  Section 4.3 of our Lease states that the “Allowance” is our actual 2008 Operating Expenses.

However, for each of the years 2008, 2009 and 2010 you charged us for our prorata share of all Operating Expenses causing us to incur $64,937 in excess costs as follows.

Note 1-The year 2008 is the Base Year

Note 2-Comprised of 2009 Operating Expense $21,131 less the 2008 Operating Expense $21,903, equals zero.

Note 3-Comprised of 2010 Operating Expense, $24,150 less the 2008 Operating Expense $21,903, equals $2,247.

Please review the contents of this letter and send a check or credit for $64,937 to my attention.

Call 1-888-395-0809 for a complimentary review of your opportunities

What you should not expect them to know or to have been trained in is the comparative analysis of freight tariffs – and this is precisely where large amounts of your money are either saved or lost.

You can be confident the DCI freight review will find savings especially if you answer , ”Yes” to one of the following…

1. Do you receive most freight invoices by paper instead of electronically?
2. Has it been more than two years since you received any external freight analysis?
3. Do you have a shipping policy developed and understood by more than one person?

Several misperceptions can cost you money: If your company is using a freight auditor, do not assume all is taken care of.  Some freight auditors are simply correcting arithmetic errors as they occur and checking to make sure that the carrier’s billing complies with the terms of the contract. That’s important, but no guarantee that you are on the lowest possible rate for the provider. In other words, a freight auditor checks to see that “2 plus 2 equals 4.” DCI asks, “Why is it 2 plus 2 instead of 1 plus 1?” Tariff analysis produces lower rates and lower than what you could get using the “least expensive” carrier.

If you use what you believe to be the “least expensive” carrier consider that one carrier who may have been least expensive at one time in the past for certain routs may no longer be the least expensive when times change or when carrier assets along those routs change.

If you do get a very low rate, you might still be shipping in the wrong mode.  Some companies ship by parcel when LTL is more effective, or by LTL when truckload is more effective, and by truckload when an intermodal approach is more effective.  DCI’s analysis does all this and takes into account the warehouse and distribution points to see if what made sense in the past is still the most time and cost efficient way to ship today and tomorrow.

Remember, it is common for have all vendors to offer large discounts of 70% to 80% or more so the discounts alone are not sufficient proof you are obtaining best pricing.   Neither is getting annual competitive bids -which often are misleading and result in lost savings.

DCI evaluates services and rates, and then conducts a cost benchmarking process whereby we compare your rates to the best rates your carrier has offered companies similar to yours.

After obtaining optimum rates, the next step is to identify improvements to routing guides and internal shipping policies. This produces the most cost-effective freight solution while maintaining or improving your overall shipping performance.

Most freight users have perfect costs in at least one component of their transportation system.  Few freight users have across-the-board perfection in all categories.  This is why, like most companies, you will enjoy large savings in freight by using DCI Solutions.

Call 1-888-395-0809 for a complimentary review of your opportunities