Saving 4300 PLN per month on office supplies
Most company owners in Poland believe that office expenses are small change not worth fighting over. However, in a production company we worked with in March 2024, these small amounts grew to 12,000 PLN per month. After three weeks of analysis and introducing simple rules, the invoice for materials dropped by a full 4,300 PLN.
Where was the money leaking?
I started by reviewing binders with invoices from the last 14 months. It was tedious work, but the numbers don't lie. It turned out that five different departments ordered the same copier paper from three different suppliers. Prices differed by as much as 21% for the same ream. No one controlled stock levels, so everyone ordered goods in advance as soon as a package ended in their room.
Another problem was the purchase of household chemicals and coffee. The company bought expensive dishwasher tablets in a local supermarket, paying a retail margin. On coffee and cleaning products alone, they wasted 840 PLN per month due to a pure lack of organization. We see it in black and white: a lack of a central purchasing point is the shortest way to a hole in the budget.
We noticed that 23 orders over the year were unnecessary duplicates that were gathering dust on the shelves.
A three-step repair plan
We introduced the single window rule. From April 2024, only one person – Ms. Joanna from administration – is responsible for all office purchases. It takes her 3.2 hours a week now, but the process is transparent. We negotiated one contract with a stationery warehouse, which immediately cut prices by 16% thanks to larger orders.
We also resigned from buying small packages of mineral water. Installing two water filtering dispensers cost 2,100 PLN at the start, but the investment paid for itself after 3 months. The cost of water fell from 620 PLN to a symbolic 45 PLN for filter replacement once every six months. These are simple rules that give better results.
Specific effects after 90 days
After a quarter, we checked the account balance. The average savings amounted to exactly 4,287 PLN per month. That's over 51,000 PLN a year that stays in the company instead of landing in the bin. What is important, no one in the office felt a deterioration in the work standard. On the contrary, because now materials are always at hand and no one has to run to the store when the paper suddenly runs out.
We check facts, not promises, so we monitor these expenses every month. Thanks to this, we avoid so-called creeping costs that like to return as soon as discipline is loosened. For a company employing 47 people, this money is equivalent to the lease for a decent delivery van or the budget for a small advertising campaign on Google.
Saving 4,300 PLN per month is 51,600 PLN of net profit per year for this company.
How to start on your own?
You don't need expensive software to fix this chaos. Start by collecting invoices from the last quarter and entering them into a simple spreadsheet. Divide expenses into categories: paper, coffee, chemicals, toners. You will quickly notice that prices jump and order dates are random. This is the first step to regaining control over your own money.
If you don't have time for such fun, commission it to someone from outside. We at Orzeł Business Strategy perform such audits in 4-7 business days. Costs fell by a specific amount for each of our 83 regular clients who decided to take this step. Without unnecessary talk – it's simply math that always adds up. P.S. Most wholesalers give discounts on orders over 500 PLN, which they rarely mention at the start.
