Less time means less money. Ensure that telecommuters are full-time telecommuters. The problem is that telecommuters required to spend significant time in the office expect a fully equipped office area. That expense, added to an investment to outfit the home office, quickly erases any planned savings from telecommuting. Carefully time equipment and software purchases.
Timing is critical in purchasing and generally yields additional discounts.
Gartner Group continues to see slight increases in discounts at the end of each month. The discounting by suppliers is often even better at the end of a sales quarter. Traditionally, suppliers are most aggressive with discounts at the end of their fiscal years. Other events can increase negotiating leverage, too. In the notebook computer arena, for example, enterprises get the best prices when they time their purchases to correspond with Fall Comdex and the spring industry trade shows, such as CeBIT, PC Expo and Spring Comdex.