The U.S. stock market has experienced extreme volatility in the early part of 2022, as investors fret over mounting inflation and geopolitical tensions. The S&P 500 has slumped in late January, entering what the market considers a "correction" — a drop of 10% or more from its most recent high. The stock index is down nearly 11% from the high it set on January 4. That amounts to the worst-ever start to a new year for the S&P 500, according to Bloomberg.

Global inflation and market volatility has led to increased cost of raw materials and an increase in pricing across many industries. At Caliber, we are doing everything we can to avoid passing increased operational costs through to our customers. Unfortunately, there is no silver bullet, and the impacts of global economic upheaval may not be completely avoidable, but we are certainly aware of cost increases and are focused on minimizing their impact. Our cost-cutting strategies include:

• Updating site measurement and weather reporting tools to ensure the highest levels of accuracy for property data used in the estimating process
• Developing optimized pricing models that are customized by client and region
• Hybrid fixed and variable payment options
• Controlling de-icing spend by establishing minimum and maximum spend levels
• Quantifying and utilizing historical data to understand each contract and accurately predict performance, to avoid surprise costs for our customers
• Standardizing scopes of work to best fit service and property goals
• Leveraging strategic partnerships on a regional level to create economies of scale when sourcing resources, equipment, and labor
• Ludwig’s Equipment, our sister company, is a full-service dealership, rental house, and material provider for snow and landscape professionals, allowing us to maximize equipment and material savings
• Priority access to resources and supplies including 3rd party partners and programs
• Providing unique discount and savings programs to better enable cost containment
• Utilizing our extensive thought leadership and innovation to optimize opportunities throughout our service catalog
• Building financial tools into our core company operations to mitigate financial risk through working with AAA credit backed risk providers
• Snow removal budget protection through derivative hedging and risk transfer
• Interest rate swaps to lock in equipment and machinery loans
• Fronting seasonal contract payments to sub-contractors to ensure maximum service quality and efficiency
• Paying sub-contractors within 30 days of service using our bill pay program
• Integrating sustainable technology and practices to align with sustainability initiatives
• Locking in carbon credit purchasing to make Caliber Service Management and its partner companies carbon neutral by February of 2022
• Utilizing government programs to subsidize financing for sustainable equipment and resources
• Converting to equipment that is less dependent on fossil fuels to maximize carbon neutrality and savings

Reach out to Caliber Service Management today to learn how we can help with all your facilities and property management needs