Consumers Pay Price for Businesses Lacking Utility Management
May 19, 2004
Cincinnati, Ohio — May 19, 2004 — Rising energy costs and increased distribution costs are among a variety of costs exerting downward pressure on retail profits, that according to the CEO of U.S. based expense management firm Cadence Network, Inc. Energy prices are expected to increase throughout the summer and could rise significantly by the end of 2004, which will cause bottom line expenses to skyrocket for organizations, particularly those with multiple sites using multiple suppliers.
Jeffrey Hart, Cadence president and CEO said, “the only certainty with respect to energy prices for the balance of 2004 will be volatility. Those costs will not only impact the shareholders, the end consumer will also share the pain.”
But, stakeholders indeed have a say and something can be done to mitigate this effect.
“The consumer plays the lead role in commerce,” Hart said. “Consumers have the swing vote on where they choose to purchase goods and services. The smartest businesses who hold the line on these expenses will ultimately win consumer business and be the most profitable.”
“Right now, the smartest move is to demand that business owners do what they can to conserve energy, implement comprehensive expense management programs that utilize finite resources responsibly, and streamline costs to better impact the bottom line,” Hart continued. “Companies cannot balance their budget with simple top line growth. It is imperative that they aggressively examine their expenses. Cadence allows businesses to be responsible with resources and save money.”
Hart explains that many businesses are faced with massive amounts of gas and electric bills, many of which are plagued with errors, overcharges and less than optimal rates. If executives are unclear on exactly what they are paying, what they should be paying and where opportunities for savings exist, they are wasting millions of dollars and they don’t even know it.
Hart says that there are numerous opportunities to implement business processes that maximize efficiencies, quality, and savings. Just as many companies outsource the processing of payroll due to the burden on internal staff, taxation and administration guidelines, and system requirements, so too should businesses look to outsourcing utility expense management services.
“Mismanaging bottom line expenses is a poor excuse to raise prices on consumer goods or not having as healthy a profit margin for the board,” Hart said. “Ask questions.”
About Cadence:
Cadence Network, Inc. is an expense management firm that delivers comprehensive expense management solutions for chain store and multiple site businesses in the banking, restaurant, retail, and grocery industries. The people and products of Cadence allow successful businesses to monitor and manage the third largest costs of doing business – electric, gas, water, sewer, trash, lease and telecommunications. The solutions designed are customized to address the unique business requirements of companies with many sites and many departments managing many vendors across many geographically dispersed locations. Cadence offers accounts payable outsourcing, web based software applications and professional services.
CONTACTS
Cadence Network Contact: Ben Dolan, Cadence Network, Inc. 866-CADENCE (866.223.3623) bdolan@cadencenetwork.com