Expense Reduction Analysts sew up $250,000 savings on Janome delivery costs

In Japanese, the word Janome means “eye of the snake,” an appropriate image for the largest sewing machine manufacturer and distributor in the world. Janome America, Inc. distributes sewing machines and accessories to over 600 distributors around the country.

But the expenses involved in shipping to so many locations can get out of hand if a tight reign is not kept to control it. As Janome’s expenditure on overnight delivery costs escalated beyond $1,000,000 per annum, the company’s executives knew something needed to be done.

Janome’s CFO, Michael McDonagh contacted Richard Halperin, Managing Director of Expense Reduction Analysts, Inc., with respect to reducing the costs associated with distributing Janome’s products in the U.S.

From the project’s start, Richard understood that on-time delivery, reliability, and delivery area coverage were Janome’s top priorities in addition to cost savings.

Furthermore, the technology capabilities of the supplier, particularly the ability of the supplier to integrate easily with the operations of Janome’s three warehouse locations, were a prime requirement.

Through discussions with Michael and Office Manager Carol Della Valle, Richard gathered the necessary data to establish the current “baseline” of spending on overnight delivery services.

After a thorough analysis of the data, and a trial with a competing carrier, Richard was able to negotiate more advantageous contractual terms with the incumbent supplier. It was a deal that sees Janome now enjoying savings of $250,000 annually on delivery costs.

Together, Janome and ERA will monitor the carrier’s shipping performance over the next months while Janome puts the 25% savings generated by this project straight back to their bottom line.

“ERA operated in a very professional manner, working with our team, keeping everything on target and managing the project. We felt comfortable with ERA throughout the process,” Michael said of the project.

Delighted with the results and the on-going support provided by ERA, Janome has asked ERA to now look at their inbound freight, and is considering other expense categories for review as well.

Source: ERA