Opportunities are like icebergs – over $30k saved by searching below the surface
Sometimes opportunities are right in front of us, staring us in the face. But often they are disguised or slightly hidden, and we just have to look a little harder. Yet when we find them, and remove them from our blind spot, these opportunities are hidden gems. Totally worth the effort.
It occurred to us at REfficient that much of what could be available for sale was not necessarily being sold. It was going directly to recycling – or worse, landfill – or continuing to sit in warehouses collecting dust. Companies did not know if there was any resale potential or who might want it. They also did not have a process that would effectively allow them to seize the opportunity. Day by day, the value was depreciating.
This has been an unfortunate occurrence for a couple of reasons. From an environmental perspective, only a portion of reusable equipment was only being reused. From a financial perspective, companies were significantly missing out on potential savings, as well as potential cashflow.
We realized that the situation was like an iceberg, with the known opportunity sitting above the water, but the rest of the opportunity was below. If you know the metrics of an average iceberg, only 15% actually sits above the water. Surplus product represented a similar case.
In other words:
Product listed for sale – sitting above the surface
- Deemed for disposal and has gone through the disposal process – written off, etc
- Identified as having potential resale value
- Listed for sale
Other potential product available for sale, but not listed – sitting below the surface
- Surplus inventory but not yet written off
- Excess spares
- Equipment for which the resale value or potential unknown – therefore companies don’t know if it is worth anything and don’t want to invest any resources into it unless they know, as otherwise it’s a hassle
- Equipment which companies do not want publicly listed
The majority of available equipment is actually the latter category. And yet – there is so much value there for everyone involved.
One company saved over $30,000 on a single transaction, sourcing product they needed from another company’s unlisted surplus inventory. They did this using REfficient’s REsource service by posting a want-to-buy request, and the equipment was flagged.
Whether you are a small company looking to save money, or a CFO wanting to get value out your latent assets, this is another example of a smart solution that is already available today. We need be to open to these types of solutions; they may be new and alternative, but they can also be win-win. That’s what The REvolution Project is about.
After all, your next purchase may be sitting in another company’s surplus – new or used. Why miss out on savings and an opportunity to save the environment at the same time?
