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Delivering Value Through Insight™ with our Industry Insights

One of the core benefits of Expense Reduction Analysts is our global network of experts, many of whom have developed practical knowledge, experience and insight from extensive careers in relevant industries.

To provide further value, we’ve incorporated this real world knowledge and insight into a range of downloadable white papers, which are available for free and can help you learn more and gain a competitive advantage on a variety of topics.

Since our launch in 1992, we’ve also developed numerous professional relationships with recognized professional bodies and organisations whose insights we’ve also been able to integrate into our white papers.

Explore all of our industry insights and resources below

Explore our latest industry insights and discover practical knowledge and actions you can take to help improve your business. If you’d like to learn more about any of our downloadable white papers or how we can help your business, contact us today.

The European Finance sector remains resilient, and thanks to prudent regulation and supervision is in a good position to withstand the major macroeconomic challenges we now face: rising interest rates, inflationary pressures and subdued GDP growth, and the economic fallout from the pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Market tensions, credit and liquidity risks, and the challenge of digital transformation need to be managed by Finance organisations.

Bank’s business models are being challenged by the ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and banks are relying more heavily on third-party providers for their digital strategy.

So, an underlying need for particular expertise and resource exists.

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ERA’s Insight into the current economic landscape and how to navigate uncertainty.

The shocks that have shaken the global economy in recent years have introduced a new normal for turbulence. These episodes have lifted uncertainty to exceptionally high levels, which in turn can impact economic growth.

Navigating through these turbulent times can appear daunting, particularly when grappling with the pressures of inflation.

Across all sectors, we’re seeing companies take the opportunity to streamline their organisations, from reducing headcount to prioritising investments on key projects that are core to their operations. Every Pound, Euro and Dollar matters in a crisis, understanding your return on investment in key-projects or your supply chain is critical.

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Recent global economic disturbances have ushered in an era characterized by unprecedented turbulence. This heightened uncertainty can significantly hinder economic growth.

Steering through these tumultuous periods can be overwhelming, especially when confronting the challenges posed by inflation. We are seeing clients in the Healthcare sector seizing the chance to refine and optimize their organisations.

When we talk about inflation’s effects on the healthcare sector, several factors come into play, including increased costs of medical supplies, salaries of healthcare professionals, and operational costs. Tail spend in procurement refers to the lower value, often off-contract spend, which might not be actively managed or fall under the radar due to its fragmented nature.

Let’s delve into how inflation might impact tail spends in the healthcare sector.

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In the modern era, the agri-food sector is characterized by a high level of volatility, due to factors such as fluctuating commodity prices, changing regulatory landscapes, climatic unpredictability, and the impacts of global events like the COVID-19 pandemic.

To navigate these challenges and ensure long-term stability, it is critical for agri-businesses to focus on cost optimization.

Download our latest insights today.

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Three Ways the Retail Sector is Transforming

Retail and AI have become increasingly intertwined in recent years.

Artificial intelligence is making a huge difference for retail supply chain optimization, as there’s a greater need for fast delivery to shops and end customers, and an increasing focus on tight inventory control.

AI helps retailers understand exactly how their supply chain is operating, make improvements throughout and eliminate waste and overhead.

Download our latest insights today.

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Earlier in the year we released a piece of insight recommending a focus of ‘controlling the controllables’ for Hospitality and Leisure (H&L) organisations when it comes to boosting efficiencies in indirect procurement.

Now, we have 5 more suggestions to help get your spending back under control in a technology driven era:

1. Deal with the rising costs of commercial debit cards
2. Understand how open banking can benefit your business
3. Sustainability is key for the future
4. Energy
5. Insurance

Download our latest insights today.

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There are 5 key areas of IT that the financial sector needs to keep an eye on to stay competitive and meet evolving customer demands.

These areas are:

1. Cybersecurity
2. Cloud computing
3. Artificial intelligence and machine learning
4. Mobile banking and payments
5. Blockchain and distributed ledger technology

For more information, download our latest insights today.

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These are challenging times for the Agrifood sector.

We all know by now that the food production of one part of the world can be significantly affected by decisions and events taking place in another. Such occurrences can result in dramatic price increases, which can in turn reduce a company’s profit margins.

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the pandemic serve as prime examples of this phenomenon.

In our latest whitepaper, we discuss 5 of the biggest challenges facing the Agrifood sector in 2023.

Download our insights today.

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If you’re a business owner or manager, you may already be aware of the importance of procurement.

However, what you may not know is that procurement is often a deeply misunderstood business activity, resulting in a lack of recognition and glamour for the Procurement function in many companies.

The consequences of this can be potentially existential, as CEOs spend almost no time thinking about or actively engaging with how their companies spend over half of their budgets.

In this whitepaper, we’ll delve deeper into the critical role of procurement, how it affects a company’s operations, and why effective procurement is crucial for businesses and organizations of all sizes and types.

We’ll also explore how putting suppliers at the heart of your organization can help you extract maximum value from those relationships and prepare for the challenges ahead.

Download today.

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Healthcare is a dynamic industry, full of important transformations. Technology and other factors are impacting the industry each day and challenging the main players.

In our latest whitepaper, we explore the 6 latest healthcare trends and their implications on the industry, these include:

• Balancing Technology with ‘Care’
• Shortage of healthcare professionals
• Population Health Management and Access to Care
• Patient Experience
• Interoperability
• The Rise of New Specialized and Digital Native Players

Download our latest insights today.

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Sustainability has become a buzzword in recent years, and for good reason.

The concept of sustainability refers to meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

In other words, it is about finding a way to live within our means and preserve the planet’s resources for future generations.

Sustainability is essential because the Earth’s resources are finite, and we are currently using them at an unsustainable rate.

One way that businesses can contribute to sustainability is through sustainable procurement.

Read our latest insights today.

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2022 was a challenging year in Europe with issues such as war, inflation, energy security, and corruption scandals dominating the political arena.

Along with so many sectors, the coming 12 months are expected to be a significant year for Financial Services and its leaders.

We summarise here five drivers that are anticipated to shape Financial Services in 2023.

Download our latest insights today.

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The past two years have been tumultuous for the manufacturing industry.

As, arguably, one of the worst-hit industries of the pandemic, manufacturing suffered hugely from labour shortages, supply chain disruptions, and an uncertain economic climate.

Despite the stormy weather, there could be a break in the clouds.

In this whitepaper, we examine four key trends to consider for the manufacturing industry in 2023, and how to turn them into opportunities for business growth:

• Raw Materials & Logistics
• Temporary Labour
• Energy
• Cybersecurity

Download our latest insights today.

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In this issue of our Thought Leadership publication, Christian Bang Søndergaard shares his insights into the current state of the Agrifood sector as we leave 2022.

At the start of 2023, the global food industry faces a number of challenges. For a few years, the industry has been characterized by unstable commodity markets, where the price arrow has mostly pointed upwards. This has naturally pressured earnings, as strong mass retailers do not accept all increases in production costs being added to the price. In the cases where a price increase is accepted, it is typically with a delay, whereas commodity prices tend to take effect immediately.

Download our latest issue of The Thought Leadership today.

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The Innovation Game: Payment Solutions to Challenges Faced by Trade and Wholesalers

How can innovative payment solutions reduce risk and costs?

When we say that businesses are struggling with inflated costs, we aren’t telling you anything that you don’t already know.

It is likely that you are facing many of those costs yourself.

The picture of high costs is applicable to all sectors. But businesses belonging to the trade and wholesale sector are also facing reduced footfall as clients recognise that consumers will be tightening their belts in response to economic downturn.

There are fewer opportunities to pass on your increased costs.

Instead, you should – if you haven’t already done so – undertake a forensic analysis of your spending.

• Are your resources being directed to the most effective areas?
• Are you as efficient as possible?
• Are there any specific opportunities to get ahead of your competitors?

Addressing those questions, many companies race to their office consumables, energy tariffs and waste management, finding significant savings in their biggest areas of spend.

With this document we are recommending that you take that enthusiasm and address your banking and payments.

Download our latest insights today.

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Helping Hospitality: Solving the Sector’s Top Challenges

As you know, the pandemic sent the hospitality sector into hibernation.

Economically, few sectors suffered more; retailers took their business online, financial services saw insurance claims drop significantly, but companies belonging to the world of hospitality faced a long period of anxiety-inducing inactivity.

Short-stay accommodation bookings dropped by 46% between 2019 and 2020, EU tourism dropped by 61% in the same period, and restaurant bookings dropped by an average of 98%.

While many restaurants, hotels and leisure facilities used the downtime to renovate premises, improve processes and streamline back-office operations, some didn’t have the luxury of spare capital to undertake these projects.

Instead, an above-average number went into administration.

Illustrating the struggle of many hospitality businesses, the Financial Times reported that London has lost approximately 14% of its restaurants since 2020, and the Italian accommodation and restaurant industry lost approximately €15.6 billion as a direct consequence of the pandemic.

Download our latest insights today.

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Rethinking Retail: Tailor-Made Solutions to the Sector’s Top-Shelf Challenges

The World Health Organisation has declared that the end of the pandemic is in sight.

But retailers aren’t out of the woods yet.

Instead, they still have to contend with rapidly increasing energy bills (causing a cost-of-living crisis and, as a result, reduced high street footfall), supply chain disruption and a higher cost of doing business.

As a CPO, CFO or CEO, you may be feeling the pressure, more so than at any other point in your career.

We acknowledge that you don’t always have time to address these issues head-on, but we do.

In this whitepaper, we discuss the challenges facing retailers and a few of the possible solutions.

Download our latest insights today and discover how our expertise might prove the perfect tool to future-proof your business.

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Sustainability in Healthcare: Can it be Achieved Without Compromising on Care?

People are living longer than ever before1. On the face of it, that’s positive news. Of course, it is. In 1800 the global average life expectancy was just 30 years old. Today that’s risen to 73.

But as they navigate their twilight years, our older generations are experiencing a proportionally similar rate of chronic illnesses, such as type 2 diabetes, arthritis and asthma.

What do an increased life expectancy and an increase in people living with chronic health conditions mean for the healthcare sector?

They mean that the healthcare sector is under enormous pressure to provide long-term care.

But there is another concern that is becoming increasingly important in every sector and every area of our private and public lives.

Sustainability

So, the question that you might be asking yourself as a chief procurement officer or chief financial officer of a healthcare facility is this:

Can you optimize procurement to enhance your bottom line and help the planet without sacrificing patient care?

The answer to that question, in the eyes of our specialists, is a collective and resounding yes.

Where do you start? Download our latest insights to find out.

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The Value of Risk Reduction

Risk has been and always will be a key consideration when doing business.

As the world around us changes, its evolution brings challenges, sometimes predictable, often not.

Those challenges can expose businesses to risk.

But it is how they solve those challenges and deal with the risk that businesses can set themselves apart from their competitors, taking the opportunity to innovate or fall by the wayside as a result of not adapting quickly enough.

As we navigate the tail-end of a pandemic, come to terms with a European conflict, attempt to solve climate change and navigate a squeezed economy, many companies are becoming overwhelmed by risk.

Our consultants help businesses to navigate and capitalise on risk.

They’ve been doing exactly that for 30 years.

Download our latest insights today.

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What’s Next? How Financial Services Can Make a Procurement Plan for the Long-Term

From insurance to retail banking, pension specialists to accountancy firms, most businesses operating under the umbrella of financial services are looking at ways to simply survive these turbulent times. For many, the instinctive knee-jerk reaction might be to put cutting-edge ideas on the back burner and focus on what has proved profitable in the past.

Are they right to do so? Not always.

In fact, the opposite is often true. By adopting bold new ideas, your company may fair better than one that shies away from them.

Organizations that maintained their focus on innovation throughout the 2008 financial crisis, for example, emerged stronger than those who didn’t.¹

Your goal should be long-term thriving, rather than short-term surviving.

But to adopt those ideas and change your strategy for the future, you need capital.

This is where Expense Reduction Analysts can help. Download our insights today.

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Tackling Disruption in the Agrifood Sector

Right now, most sectors are experiencing turbulence.

Whether it’s a shortfall in labour caused by the pandemic, a steep rise in packaging prices, interrupted supply chains or skyrocketing fuel costs, 63% of companies are navigating some form of disruption.

The agrifood sector, however, is different.

That’s because it’s experiencing all these challenges and more, simultaneously.

Decisions and events on one side of the world can have significant impacts on the food production of the other. They can influence dramatic price increases, squeezing a company’s profit margins.

What’s being done to help?

Well, for member states, the EU is proposing a lump sum payment to farmers, who regularly bear the brunt of agrifood’s pain.

In the UK, however, the government has not yet confirmed plans to offer a similar lifeline.

Whatever action governments are taking, your business should be prepared to weather the ongoing storm.

What can you do?

One method is to optimize the procurement within your most significant areas of spend.

Download our latest insights today to find out how.

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Learning from history to navigate the choppy waters of recession and thrive

How many of you know how to run your business in a recession?

Grab a coffee and have a proper read of this, because whilst a recession is not guaranteed, the lessons of the past give stark reminders between those businesses that failed and those that thrived.

Will your business be one that fails or thrives?

Interest rates have been increased to slow inflation, but this also increases the probability of a recession.

The economy shrank 0.1% in March and 0.3% in April. Two or more consecutive quarters of falling GDP is a recession.

The hope is that any recession will be brief and shallow.

History tells us that the average length of a recession is one and a half years with the average fall in GDP 1.7% per annum.

Household disposable income is predicted to fall 2% this year, a large fall in the context of the last 200 years and one that is typically only observed during recessions and financial crises. As you will see below history suggests watching for the warning signs of recession.

Download the full whitepaper, written by James Rimmer, Principal Consultant at ERA, today.

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Financial Services: Manage Costs & Reduce Risks

Why look at Financial Services now?

• The Covid and Ukraine crises-induced inflation spurred Central Banks to increase interest rates. We see no end to this policy yet.
• Facing a period of stagflation, credit risk premiums will rise, not only for sovereign debt but also for corporate debt. As a consequence, funding will become more expensive and harder to get.
• Supply chain disruptions cast a shadow on payment terms, impacting cash flow and liquidity.
• Growing tensions on international trade, trend towards protectionism, impact on investment decisions.

The traditional banking model is in motion, new financing models appear, professional crowdfunding, digital solutions, and financial engineering.

Written by Danny Decupere and Marc Beyens, this whitepaper explores Financial Services as a cost category and how ERA can support you.

Download the full publication today.

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