Worldwide cleaning industry association ISSA, in partnership with Sustainability Dashboard Tools, has kicked off phase two of its Distributor Efficiency Analytics and Learning (DEAL) program.
DEAL incorporates learning, analytics and awards to help distributors, wholesalers and manufacturers benchmark their performance, streamline their operations, and realise significant savings in warehouse facility and transportation expenses.
According to ISSA, distribution companies are facing stiff financial pressure, but are wasting 10 to 30 per cent of their finances on facility and fleet operating costs.
[quote]“Reliable data gathering and analytics allows us to see the big picture,” says ISSA executive director John Barrett. “This systematic process helps companies identify inefficiencies, create realistic targets for improvement, ascertain their competitive edge, and last, but not least, gain recognition for their environmental leadership. [/quote]
[quote]“Through DEAL, companies can meet their customers’ growing requirements for supply-chain information, compare their performance to other cleaning-industry distributors and other distributors nationally, and receive ongoing, cost-effective consulting on efficient operations.” [/quote]
Connor Flynn, buyer at Alliance Paper & Foodservice Equipment and participant of the DEAL program, says one of the best things about the program is that it can review invoices.
[quote]“If a provider charges an unusually high amount for waste, water or electricity one month, DEAL will notify us,” said Flynn. “Identifying price discrepancies promptly, whether it is billing or operations related, saves a great deal of time and money.”[/quote]
Sustainability expert Brenna Walraven, Building Owners and Managers Association International (BOMA) fellow and president and CEO of Corporate Sustainability Strategies has recognised the DEAL program for its practical approach.
[quote]“Benchmarking gives you improved visibility on your performance to help teams better manage costs and performance,” says Walraven. “The great news here is that the DEAL program is a huge asset because it does the heavy lifting by managing the benchmarking process for you. Rather than being a data entry clerk, the ISSA DEAL program gives you the time to visualise the data and focus on opportunities for cost savings and revenue generation.”[/quote]