Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 8:27 pm
by John Middleton
WOW I can see I need a lot more work in my contents processing side of things.

I've mentioned elsewhere that we're doing an upgrade of our contents processing facility... if you can call it an upgrade, more like a new facility compared to what we're using currently.

Anyway, the problem I have is how to charge.

Obviously, things will be processed quicker and thus cheaper for the insurer.

Soooo how do you realise greater profitability for the company to offset the investment, yet still sell the cost savings to the insurer?

We currently do everything on charge up. As Ken says above, that's the least profitable way to go. Hourly rate wise, we're almost twice some of our competitors.

Yet we don't do a full scale inventory like I've seen in the estimates above.

Because we've got a relative monopoly and are the only service provider for pack out -> contents processing -> storage, we rarely get a request for quoting/estimating PRIOR to the job. So we keep track of hours, expenses and consumables and charge up at the end of the job.

We're in a low population region and have only got 3 full house packouts this year so we're not talking HUGE workflow.

For you guys that inventorise everything at the packing stage in the home, do you KNOW at that point what your bill will be? As in put the data into your system/software and it spits out the likes of the above and then if you can get through quicker, it's more money in your pocket?

Just trying to get my head around a few things.

John