Creative Print & Design Group - a case study

Creative Print & Design are a print and design company with 3 operating locations in the UK. The company has expanded in the last few years with the opening of a new facility which specialises in the production of soft and hardback books.

Assessment

CY Associates were commissioned in 1999 to undertake a high level purchasing audit to document and understand the current purchasing activities. We needed to identify the strengths and weaknesses and highlight any potential opportunities for improvement and cost reduction. An important element of the brief was to assess the core cost of the sales items.

Audits were undertaken at the 2 main sites. Personnel involved in Purchasing were interviewed and the systems/processes analysed. The Purchasing process was viewed as a transactional necessity by which goods and services are acquired as opposed to proactive, dynamic and value adding.

Findings

CY Associates were able to identify a number of strengths, weaknesses and opportunities in the purchasing activities of Creative Print & Design. We presented to the client areas in which current procedures and purchasing activities were ineffective. These included staff with little purchasing experience and no formal training. There was limited budget and management information available to enable people to make an informed decision. Details of the market or supplier driven prices for main products was futile and the invoicing process was inadequate.

Summary

The audit allowed us to identify potential areas for significant improvement within the company's purchasing procedures, which would result in ongoing cost savings. The resulting review identified a potential saving of £200,00 per annum, 5% of direct costs and 15% on support costs. There was also a reduction in headcount by eliminating duplication of effort in the administration process.