When Stanley Steemer set out to automate the more basic process of managing certificates of insurance for our approximately 200 franchisees and their vendors (read “Manage Certificates of Insurance so They Don’t Manage You,” for more details), we never anticipated we would be able to reign in our entire vendor management process (read “3 Tips for Successfully Managing Vendors,” for more details). But, we did, and it was transformative for the company.
Automating how we manage vendors end-to-end — including how we manage certificates of insurance — didn’t just streamline processes for our business and make life easier for our associates and vendors. It had both revenue-generating and cost-saving impacts that have translated into a real return on investment. Using integrated risk management technology has allowed us to:
- Expand Our Revenue Stream: We have shifted from primarily focusing on residential business to more aggressively pursuing certain commercial lines of business — a priority that had been cumbersome, but is now streamlined because we have adequate resources to appropriately manage our vendors. With more vendors in tow — and the confidence they are of the highest quality and compliant — we can provide more commercial offerings. In fact, one of our commercial lines of business grew from $3.5 million in revenue to $10 million in revenue.
- Maintain Our Headcount: Despite vastly improving our vendor and certificate management processes; drastically increasing our percentage of compliant vendors; and expanding our revenue stream, we have not had to increase headcount. Instead, risk technology has allowed us to continue to offer the great service customers expect; offer new services that commercial clients desire; and improve our associates’ workloads. Still, our expanded ability to bring on new vendors has meant more work for other small and reputable domestic firms in the United States — something we feel good about.
- Reduce Outsourced Services: Not only have we maintained a steady headcount, but we’ve actually been able to reduce our reliance on external partners — like brokers and third party administrators — for services we can now do in house. Formerly, our broker handled certificate management for us, which can be costly. Now that we have our own tool, though, there is no longer that ongoing expense, and savings have been tremendous.
Results like these are important for so many reasons. Obviously, increased revenue and reduced costs are good for any business. In addition, such results help to expand the role and relevance of the risk management department at companies. This is key to reducing risk across the enterprise.
At the same time — regardless of risk management’s presence throughout an organization — I don’t think such results would have been possible without the proper technology to cut across departments and bring together all areas of risk effectively and efficiently. Without a doubt, using integrated risk management technology has allowed us to reduce costs and enable insights that were previously unobtainable.
Are you interested in learning more about how to turn a technology solution into an opportunity for integrated risk management? Check out the following Stanley Steemer and Riskonnect webinar. Or, download the white paper, “The ROI of Automating Risk and Compliance.”
