Olympic Steel – Schaumburg, IL Team: Chuck LaTour and Patrick Bradshaw

Reviewing purchasing procedures and suppliers can reap big rewards.

The Schaumburg, IL Division’s growth and added specialty metals processing over the past 18 months also came with added packaging costs. The Division’s lumber expense increased by nearly 15% over this time. Patrick Bradshaw, Second Shift Supervisor, volunteered to re-source and purchase lumber. Chuck LaTour, Operations Manager, helped Patrick by providing vendor contact names. Even before new prices were negotiated, Patrick lowered expenses by approximately 3% through more efficient purchasing practices. He then contacted three vendors for competitive prices and secured a 20% cost reduction, saving the division an estimated $200,000 annually. The savings will also be realized at the Gary and Berlin divisions with an additional $50,000 annual cost reduction in the region.


Lesson Learned:


It costs nothing to request a quote; reviewing purchasing procedures and suppliers can reap big rewards.

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