About CRS

 
Our track record includes over 20 years of experience developing and implementing cost-recovery, cost-containment, and profit-improvement solutions for a variety of companies. Founded in 1992, Cost Recovery Solutions (CRS) entered the marketplace specializing in procurement and travel management.
As a result of our proven track record, we have evolved into a more comprehensive contingency-based firm with services spanning 8 key areas:
             
  Freight & Supply Chain   Utility Cost Management  
             
  Accounts Payable Audit   Document Fleet Management  
             
  Real Estate Management   Healthcare Cost Control  
             
  IT Cost Control   Travel Management  
 
   
Gerard Smith
  “We are a new breed of consulting firm with the expertise and vision
to deliver bottom-line results—
we know how to help you
translate costs directly into profits,
bringing quantifiable value to your company.”
 
    —Gerard Smith  
 
Gerard Smith is the founder and president of CRS. Mr. Smith’s success in obtaining a $30 million annual cost-reduction during a 3-year period at Northrop Corporation, a Fortune 100 aerospace company, led to his entrepreneurial journey. His business philosophy is rooted in developing a contingency-based consulting practice driven by trust, intellectual capital, and state-of-the-art technology to provide a solution that is on the cutting edge of excellence and client savings.

Mr. Smith is considered one of the leading authorities in the area of preferred vendor negotiations and is a featured speaker at conferences and seminars throughout the world. He is a USC graduate with a B.S. in Public Administration. He is frequently interviewed and quoted by such periodicals and news media as Fortune Magazine, USA Today, and Cable News Network (CNN). He was recently profiled by Millionaire Magazine as an accomplished entrepreneur. He is the author of Celebrating Success, Mastering Preferred Hotel Rate Negotiations, and Generation to Generation.

Mr. Smith leads our team of professional consultants. With its network of employees and subcontractors, the CRS team offers extensive cost-recovery and profit-improvement expertise. Our team collaborates with companies by augmenting their intellectual and technical resources—at no cost to them—to reduce expenses. Using CRS’ extensive benchmarking databases and proprietary software, our industry-expert professionals, who are well versed in unique pricing matrices and best practices, are able to provide our clients with superior service in all aspects of the cost-recovery and cost-containment process. CRS’ accomplishments are frequently highlighted in such publications and news media as Fortune Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, USA Today, Cable News Network (CNN), and the Associated Press.

Our expertise has benefited such diverse and recognizable companies as Champion International, Chemical Bank, Jacobs Engineering Group, Mattel, Mobil Oil, The RAND Corporation, and World Vision. We are confident that we can provide your company with beneficial cost-recovery and profit-improvement consulting services.
 

Vision and Values

Cost Recovery Solutions has an exciting vision for your future: to translate costs directly into profits, bringing quantifiable value to your company. As one of the nation's leading cost-management consulting firms, the CRS team offers a unique approach to managing costs from a single source. With state-of-the-art technology as the cornerstone of our services, we provide a total solution that is on the cutting edge of excellence.

Partnership Opportunities

CRS is always interested in partnering with non-competitive firms interested in introducing CRS' Suite of Services to their clients. Our partners benefit by providing additional value to their clients in the form of dramatic cost reductions while earning lucrative compensation for all contracted referrals. Contact us to learn more about these opportunities!
 

Frequently Asked Questions

 
What exactly do you do, and how will it help our company?
  CRS assists corporate executives and managers in finding ways to save money, cut costs, recover lost profits, and improve ongoing profit performance. Our team has the industry expertise to identify cost center areas that are certain to produce cash results. We review and analyze policies, procedures, and contractual obligations, and we initiate and manage the recovery process. Your company could well benefit from thousands of dollars recovered by having us identify and correct overpricing, double-billings, rate/tariff errors, etc.  
     
How much will this cost us?
  All compensation to CRS is strictly performance-based and calculated exclusively on a percentage share of any recoveries or new savings our services generate. The value of our services is quantifiable in specific dollars and cents—there is no opportunity for “fee misinterpretation” and no “gray area” to worry about. If we cannot generate cash refunds, rebates, price reductions, etc., in the chosen areas of concern, you owe us nothing. It’s that simple.  
     
Will this interrupt day-to-day operations? Does this require a lot of time?
  The beauty of our technology-driven service is that the collection and evaluation of data requires very little time or effort, if any, from the company’s in-house workforce. Information is gathered by our experts directly from your company’s existing information-reporting systems, internal documents, and third-party sources, with the analysis performed off site. Your staff can go about its daily routine with minimal disruption.  
     
How long before we see real results?
  Once our required data is received, results in cash recovery can be realized in as little as 60 days—sometimes sooner. Certain contracts may be renegotiated and implemented as soon as they are available from the service providers; others may require a waiting period until expiration depending upon current terms. Typically, the recovery of overpayments, rebates, and cash refunds translates into immediate income.  
     
Who is your competition?
  There are a number of large and small consulting firms competing for your business. Most large consulting firms tend to focus on a multitude of areas of cost control without specializing in specific areas and are compensated on a fee basis. Smaller consulting firms often limit their services to only one area. CRS has taken great care to identify and service only those areas that have proven track records of quick and significant recovery results.  
     
We do not want to do it all right now. Can we pick only the areas we want?
  Your company can choose one or all of the service areas. However, at no risk or cost to your company, a simple, simultaneous review of multiple areas of operation is the best way to impact your profit performance quickly and achieve maximum results overall. Time is of the essence when it comes to recovering lost profits and improving your company's bottom line.  
 
Start realizing your savings today! Click here to see CRS' Suite of Services.