How Not To Outgrow Your Purchases
Whether it’s choosing a service provider for payroll or business insurance, buying CRM software, or choosing a new telephone system, you should make sure you plan for the future as you’re making your buying decision. The more you spend on a major purchase for your business, the more important it is to make sure that it will last you as long as possible.
The main concern for most buyers is that their business growth can surpass the capabilities of the original purchase before it’s time to replace it. That can be as straightforward as hiring more employees than your phone system can accommodate, or slightly more involved, such as a desire to increase the rack height in your warehouse that’s limited by your forklift reach height.
There are three main ways to stay ahead of growth: buying more than you need, expandability, and modularity.
Buy More Than You Need
The simplest way to account for growth is simply to buy more than you need initially. Unless the expansion is happening quite soon, you may find that this isn’t a cost-effective way to do business. You’ll pay more up front, and depending on the purchase you may pay more in operating costs as well.
On the other hand, for some types of equipment, this is the only good choice. Buying a copier, for instance, it’s always best to buy one that can handle at least 15% more monthly volume than you currently see – just to avoid overworking the machine.
Expandability
Expandability is often the most cost-effective way to make sure technology purchases can grow with you. The distinguishing factor is that excess capacity isn’t built in – so you’re not paying for it before you need it – but the overall system can easily accommodate your growth. For example, an expandable phone system lets you add additional ports, and software licenses let you add users as your office grows.
Modularity
In contrast, a modular system simply adds more of the same units to increase capacity. Examples include simply buying another piece of equipment: a second copier or hot drinks vending machine.
Which approach is best?
It should be clear that the exact approach to take will vary based on the product you’re buying. What matters is that you think through these options before you buy, so you know exactly which expansion path you’re on.
Note that this advice is really about planning during your purchasing process. There are other critical steps to take to get the most out of your purchase, depending on the exact product or service you’re buying: regular maintenance for heavy equipment, regularly installing updates and patches for software, and keeping regular lines of communication open with service providers.
It all combines to show you that getting the most out of your investments is never a one-time activity.
