How Auditel’s team of consultants could sit in the saddle for your business…

For the last two decades, Auditel, with their extensive network of highly-skilled professionals has built a reputation as trusted advisors to over 3,000 medium and large companies across all the major industries and the third-sector.

Managing Director Chris Allison says, “Our specialist consultants possess a powerhouse of knowledge, experience and support. These can be called upon to help you to accelerate business performance, boost efficiency, reduce waste, deliver sustainable profits or to gain a competitive advantage."

Here is one of our case studies.

Vale Brothers Limited

Established in 1786, Vale Brothers is a world-renowned and respected Saddler, by appointment to the Queen.

The company makes a large range of premium bespoke fitted saddles, for sale across the world. It owns and trades through the widely known Harry Dabbs range, the Thermatex range of clothing and horse rugs, and also E. Jeffries, a renowned Saddler and specialist handbag manufacturer (Brady Bags).

A lack of in-house procurement skills

In 2014, Managing Director Peter Wilkes, then the President of the Society of Master Saddlers, appointed Auditel to perform a comprehensive business review.

He explains, “We knew that as a company we were very good at growing the customer base and offering top quality products. However, we recognised that we didn’t necessarily possess the management skills in-house to procure the best deals and to manage suppliers tightly. Some of our relationships were longstanding and we suspected that savings could be made.”

A complex cost base

Over the years, Vale Brothers had developed a diverse set of complex products. These require a disparate range of raw materials and had led to a challenging supplier base. With the ongoing takeover of a similarly sized competitor (E. Jeffries), Auditel had also to consider the best way to merge the businesses procurement processes.

A comprehensive review

It was agreed that Auditel would handle the procurement routines whilst the client retained control of quality. Auditel set to work on key raw materials used in the making of saddles and horse rugs, clothing supplies and plywood. A team of sector specialists within Auditel were brought in to review Freight, Couriers and Packaging.

The Saddlery industry in the UK has its centre in Walsall. About sixty different companies are located within a few square miles. For many products, one or two local suppliers serve almost the whole marketplace so Auditel ran a competitive tender process in the UK, Germany and Italy and reported and analysed the results.

Relocation

With two of their three factories along with Jeffries’, moving into a single bigger building, Auditel turned their attention to Gas, Merchant Card fees and Telephones. The move allowed Auditel to renegotiate current contracts and achieve very commercial rates.

Auditel offer total flexibility…

Peter Wilkes reports, "What we liked about the Auditel offering was that with their range of experts they were able to offer total flexibility." They could take on any cost that we asked them to. We knew that someone with relevant industry experience was talking to our incumbent supplier and potential new suppliers.

“My team does not have the time to perform the vast amount of work that Auditel undertook. They provided focus and pace to make sure that the job was completed. It was all done with very little fuss. They were always careful to involve us when we needed to make a decision.”

Some of the results achieved included:

Leather Hides -16%; Franking Machines -70%; Acrylic -21%; Clothing -4%; Plywood -13%; Freight -19%; Landlines-calls/lines –50%; Merchant Card Fees -21%

Following these fruitful results, Auditel were given a number of additional cost areas to investigate.

Chris Allison points out: “Our clients confirm that with our valued advisers in place, it’s like having an additional dedicated management team working for them. We quietly take care of all your complex management issues, leaving you to focus on your core business, delivering highly effective and sustainable solutions for the long term.

“If you would like your organisation to enjoy the tangible benefits and peace of mind that Auditel can offer, contact us today to book your Strategic Cost Review.”

About Auditel.

For over 20 years, Auditel has been improving business performance and bottom-line profits for thousands of organisations throughout the UK and Ireland. Their clients range from small businesses to global brands such as Pizza Express, YMCA and Oxford University. Auditel's flexible fee structure gives clients' the choice and the ability to manage their strategy for the long term.

For more information about Auditel, please contact Norman Grossman on 07966 436717 or by emailing norman.grossman@auditel.co.uk