A company shows a 12 million average annual inventory at the end of 2017, based on annual inventory purchases totaling 36 million. The manager of procurement for this company believes that inventory turns can be improved significantly through the application of smarter procurement and supply management strategies. Assuming an inventory carrying cost of 20% and assuming no change in annual inventory purchase dollars, what would be the annual operating expense savings if inventory turns were tripled by the end of 2018?