Before You Finalize Your 2027 Budget: 7 Purchasing Costs Worth Reviewing
As organizations prepare their budgets for the coming year, reviewing everyday purchasing expenses can reveal opportunities to reduce costs, improve efficiency, and make every dollar go further.
Budget planning often begins with a look at last year’s numbers. Organizations review what they spent, account for expected price increases, and allocate resources for the year ahead.
But there’s an important question that can get overlooked in the process: Are you paying more than necessary for the products and services your organization uses every day?
Simply carrying existing expenses into a new budget can mean carrying unnecessary costs forward, too.
Before finalizing your 2027 budget, take a closer look at these seven purchasing categories. You may discover opportunities to reduce operating expenses without cutting essential services, sacrificing quality, or limiting your organization’s ability to grow.
1. Vendor Contracts and Recurring Services
When was the last time you reviewed all your organization’s vendor agreements?
It’s easy for recurring expenses to become part of the budget without much scrutiny. Contracts automatically renew, pricing increases go unnoticed, and services that once made sense may no longer meet your needs.
Start by reviewing upcoming renewal dates, current pricing, service levels, and contract terms. Look for duplicate services, unnecessary upgrades, and agreements that haven’t been competitively evaluated in several years.
Budget tip: Create a centralized contract calendar with renewal dates and required notice periods. Reviewing agreements well before they expire gives you more time to compare options and negotiate favorable terms.
2. Shipping and Freight
Shipping expenses can add up quickly, particularly for organizations that regularly order supplies, equipment, or inventory from multiple vendors.
Beyond standard delivery charges, costs may include fuel surcharges, expedited shipping fees, minimum-order requirements, and additional handling charges.
Consider whether departments are placing separate orders that could be consolidated. Review how frequently expedited shipping is used and whether better planning could reduce the need for rush deliveries.
You may also find opportunities to access more competitive shipping rates through pre-negotiated supplier agreements.
Budget tip: Evaluate your total annual shipping expenses rather than individual delivery charges. Even modest improvements in shipping practices can produce meaningful savings over time.
3. Technology and Telecommunications
Technology is essential to nearly every organization, but it’s also an area where expenses can grow without attracting much attention.
Internet service, phone systems, mobile plans, software subscriptions, cybersecurity, cloud storage, and equipment purchases can represent a substantial portion of operating costs.
As you prepare your 2027 budget, review whether your organization is paying for unused licenses, outdated service plans, overlapping software platforms, or equipment that no longer meets operational needs.
If you have multiple locations, consider whether standardizing technology purchases or consolidating service agreements could improve efficiency and purchasing leverage.
Budget tip: Conduct an annual technology inventory that includes equipment, subscriptions, service contracts, and renewal dates. Compare your current rates with available contracted purchasing options before automatically renewing.
4. Facilities Maintenance and Janitorial Supplies
Keeping facilities clean, safe, and operational requires a steady stream of products and services. Because many of these purchases are routine, they’re easy to overlook during budget planning.
Cleaning chemicals, paper products, trash liners, restroom supplies, floor care products, lighting, maintenance materials, and facility services all contribute to ongoing expenses.
Organizations with multiple departments or locations may be purchasing similar products from different vendors at different prices.
Standardizing commonly used supplies and consolidating purchasing can help simplify ordering, improve consistency, and potentially reduce costs.
Budget tip: Identify your most frequently purchased facility and janitorial products. Review annual quantities, supplier pricing, and product variations to determine whether standardization or contracted pricing could provide better value.
5. Office Supplies and Business Equipment
Office supplies may seem like a relatively small budget category, but frequent purchases across an organization can create significant annual spending.
Paper, toner, printers, computers, furniture, breakroom supplies, and other everyday essentials are often purchased independently by different departments.
Without a coordinated purchasing strategy, organizations may miss opportunities to consolidate orders, standardize products, and access more competitive pricing.
For businesses with multiple locations, these inefficiencies can become even more expensive.
Budget tip: Review purchasing records to identify commonly ordered items and preferred suppliers. Establishing standard products and purchasing procedures can help reduce unnecessary variations and administrative work.
6. Foodservice and Related Supplies
For healthcare facilities, schools, hospitality businesses, senior living communities, and other organizations that provide meals, foodservice can be a major operating expense.
Beyond food itself, budgets must account for disposable products, kitchen equipment, cleaning supplies, storage products, and related services.
Fluctuating prices and changing demand make it especially important to evaluate purchasing practices regularly.
Review your current suppliers, frequently purchased products, ordering schedules, and opportunities to standardize supplies across departments or locations.
Budget tip: Compare your highest-volume purchases against available contracted pricing. Consider the total cost of purchasing, including delivery fees, minimum orders, and product consistency—not simply the lowest advertised price.
7. Human Resources and Professional Services
Not every purchasing opportunity involves a physical product.
Organizations also spend money on services that support daily operations, including human resources, payroll administration, employee benefits, staffing, printing, consulting, and other business functions.
These services are essential, but their costs can vary significantly depending on the provider, contract structure, and services included.
As you prepare your budget, evaluate whether you’re paying for features your organization doesn’t use, whether services overlap, and whether alternative purchasing arrangements may offer better value.
Budget tip: Include professional services in your annual purchasing review. Comparing service packages, contract terms, and available supplier agreements may uncover opportunities to control overhead without reducing the support your organization needs.
Small Savings Can Make a Big Difference
One of the biggest mistakes organizations make during budget planning is focusing exclusively on large expenses.
Smaller, recurring costs can have a substantial impact when viewed over an entire year.
Consider what reducing unnecessary spending could mean:
- $25 per week = $1,300 annually
- $100 per week = $5,200 annually
- $500 per week = $26,000 annually
Now multiply those opportunities across several departments, locations, or purchasing categories.
The goal isn’t necessarily to buy less. It’s to make sure your organization is getting the best overall value from what it already purchases.
Make Group Purchasing Part of Your 2027 Budget Strategy
Reviewing operating expenses is an important first step. The next is determining whether better purchasing options are available.
That’s where a group purchasing organization (GPO) like Buygility can help.
Through its purchasing partnerships with Premier and Provista, Buygility connects members with pre-negotiated supplier contracts across a wide range of healthcare and non-healthcare categories.
Instead of negotiating every supplier agreement independently, organizations can explore purchasing opportunities backed by the collective buying power of a much larger group.
And because Buygility membership is free, organizations can evaluate available contracts without adding membership fees to their operating budgets.
Whether you’re managing a healthcare practice, school, hospitality business, or another type of organization, group purchasing can be a valuable component of a broader cost-management strategy.
Start 2027 with a Smarter Purchasing Plan
A new budget shouldn’t simply repeat last year’s spending patterns.
Taking time to review vendor agreements, recurring expenses, and everyday purchasing decisions can help your organization enter 2027 with greater confidence and a clearer understanding of where its money is going.
Even if your organization is operating efficiently, there may be opportunities to improve pricing, streamline purchasing, or reduce administrative costs.
