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on revenue growth to improve the bottom line. Astute managers are looking to unlock the profit opportunities that lie hidden within their businesses costs. They know that the impact of a 1 percent decrease in costs can equal a 2 percent increase in profits.

Companies that are successful in controlling their costs have adopted a “No-Drip Culture.” Such businesses attend to every “leaky tap.”

Here are some simple ways you can start to reduce your company’s expenses and find extra profit:

Centralize purchasing. You may be buying the same goods from different suppliers. Maximize discounts through bulk purchasing power.

Get a second opinion. Obtain alternative quotes on everything. Advise existing suppliers that you are going out to bid and give them a chance to reduce their prices.

Call in a bad guy. Don’t allow the person in daily contact with a supplier to negotiate price. Use the good cop/bad cop approach. The “bad cop” removes emotion from the process, and the “good cop” can preserve the established, day-to-day relationship with the vendor.

Ask for ideas. Take advantage of your suppliers’ expertise and for suggestions on how to improve the way you work together. Would ordering weekly instead of daily reduce their administrative costs? Would they split the savings?

Review product specifications. Ensure that products being used do not exceed requirements. Can you use secondhand pallets for transportation? Recycled toner cartridges?

Clean up. Are factory items such as mats being cleaned more often than necessary?

Don’t go to waste. Your garbage bins may be emptied well before they are full. Can you cut back on the frequency of collections? Also, do you produce a byproduct that another company would purchase?

Consider couriers. Understand how your couriers charge. Local services may be best for early-morning deliveries, while worldwide carriers may offer lower prices for local delivery of letters and packages scheduled for later in the day.

Watch out for automatic renewals. Contracts for leased equipment such as copying machines automatically renew. This locks you into subsequent years at the same terms as the original lease.

Beware. Service agreements, too, have evergreen clauses and need to be terminated in writing during a specific time window.

Try Brand X. Use suppliers’ private-label products. This can reduce costs by up to 30 percent.

Stop the presses. Always use standard paper sizes. Although printing larger quantities at one time means lower per-item costs, if you only need 7,000 brochures, it’s still cheaper to order that number at $3.30 per unit than it is to pay for 10,000 at $2.80. Companies tend to over-order to get the price down but then don’t use the stock.

Rob Peterson is a director in West Des Moines with Expense Reduction Analysts.