UNTHA UK research has revealed some worrying findings when it comes to organisations’ investments in capital assets.
Our April poll found that, of all business owners and decision makers who took part in the survey, 71% do not calculate ongoing wear costs when purchasing high-value items like an industrial shredder.
This means that whilst factors such as an asset’s initial price tag may influence the decision to invest, organisations are failing to calculate how much that decision will cost in the long term.
So what does this mean in reality?
“Building a business case for a capital asset is far from straightforward,” explains UNTHA UK’s managing director Marcus Brew. “But multiple calculations must be made, to understand how much the purchase is truly going to cost!
“Of course the initial price tag is important, as is the availability of a suitable finance package if the asset can’t be bought outright from day one. But businesses need to also think about what bottom line implications they will encounter moving forward. Only when the full spectrum of relevant figures are taken into account, will it become clear whether the investment is really affordable, or whether it will simply become a fiscal drain on the organisation.”
But how easy is it to arrive at these more realistic financial conclusions?
“We are more than happy to proactively calculate clients’ likely wear costs, per tonne, so that they have full financial transparency long into the future,” Marcus continues. “In fact, when we talk prospective customers through these figures, this is often the deciding factor when it comes to choosing an UNTHA shredder over a competitor machine. With wear costs often less than 50p per tonne, the financial argument for an UNTHA shredder soon stacks up.”
There are many criteria to take into account when building a business case for a capital asset. Marcus’ top tips are to consider:
- Performance criteria such as (in the case of a shredder) uptime/availability, capacity, the proven longevity of component parts and the asset’s ability to truly deliver on its promises (often proven by a pre-purchase trial)
- Auxiliary costs such as power consumption or asset insurance premiums
- Asset warranties and guarantees
- Maintenance regimes, including servicing intervals, and the ease, speed and safety with which any works can be carried out to minimise disruption and protect employee wellbeing
- The cost and availability of spare and wear parts
- The ability to package the asset, service, maintenance and parts into one fixed monthly fee, for ease of budgeting, if required.
To build a business case for your next shredder investment or if you are concerned that the wear costs on your existing machine are too high, contact UNTHA UK on 0845 450 5388 or email sales@untha.co.uk.
