Archive for February, 2010

Quality retail e-negotiation in a time of heightened Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Friday, February 12th, 2010

Why do some companies succeed while others continue to implement program after program with no measurable benefit. First among these is the recognition that effective e-negotiation initiatives like any successful program requires strong support from the executive suite. In Retail this is important because the industry lags well behind other industries in utilization rates of e-negotiation tools. At a minimum in order to get off on the right foot, this means the involvement and sponsorship of your CEO, CFO, CLO or CPO is critical. Once you have this involvement directives can be issued. This will help in the required next step which is to identify savings targets across all corporate spend categories. Once these targets are identified and ranked, a category specific attack plan can be developed that best maximizes savings opportunities. It is important to note, that savings alone do not create a successful e-negotiation plan. What can not be sacrificed in the name of cost reduction is quality, which can include safety as well as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) goals including environmental support programs.
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A key challenge for any procurement team directed to implement e-negotiation tools across all of their unique spend categories, is to not over complicate the process into something that can?t be maintained. At a high level, the following 10 steps which are in no particular order offer some assurance that you are headed down the right path.

1.?Identify and rank all opportunities by spend
2.?Locate all contracts and identify termination language
3.?Document your safety and environmental goals
4.?Develop a total company strategy
5.?Source qualified suppliers
6.?Identified fragmented or maverick purchasing and aggregate
7.?Negotiate final terms and conditions
8.?Award of business
9.?Contract completion including review of evergreen and termination language
10.?Results Analysis

Most quality e-negotiation? solution providers have well developed and well thought out plans that will aid you in developing and implementing your best practices while maintaining quality and supporting your CSR initiatives.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

China is at it again. Are we being vigilant enough?

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

A blurb in Today?s News Briefing section of USA TODAY was titled China recalls 170 tons of tainted milk powder. On the surface one might think this is good news because the product was detected and removed from the supply chain. The bad news is we thought the same thing in 2008 about the same exact product. Not the same issues with a new product, but the exact same product that was to have been recalled and destroyed but was repackaged and then distributed again. The product again is milk power tainted with melamine which I have posted on in the past.

The product mentioned above may not have been destined for or ever have made out side of China. The real issue is what is being done by companies to check for and insure the ingredients, formulas and makeup of products they are buying overseas when unscrupulous individuals or poorly run companies try to pull the wool over our eyes. Who is your internal agent that asks the right questions? Who are your service providers that do the same on your behalf? It is something that most companies do not think about and need to.

Below are four posts from previous years on related subjects. Please review and refresh your efforts on the behalf of your consumers to make sure that your offshore purchases have less risk associated with them.

1.?Do we get quality products from China?? When will we and how much will it cost? 9/08/2008

2.?At what cost profit? Procurement professionals need to exercise great care when sourcing food products from China. 10/22/2008

3.?Let?s review a good idea from China and build on the traceability discussion. 10/08/2008

4.?Part II of II What should grocery product procurement professionals know and do about Melamine. 12/01/2008

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

SafeSourcing trains hundreds of suppliers every week to use e-negotiation tools to their benefit.

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

SafeSourcing Inc. places a great deal of value in our SafeSourceIt?? Retail Supplier Database of over 350,000 suppliers located in Mexico, Canada the United States, China, Korea, The United Kingdom and the European Union? Additionally we also place a great deal of value on each individual supplier regardless of size. We believe that well thought out next generation e-negotiation tools can provide significant benefits to buyers and suppliers whether they are hosting or participating in e-negotiation events such as reverse auctions of RFI?s.?

Some but certainly not all benefits that suppliers can anticipate from SafeSourcing are:
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1. An easy to use e-negotiation tool limited to a single page view where a supplier can be completely comfortable that their company?s best foot is being put forward to the soliciting company.

2. An increase in new business opportunities through engagements they would otherwise not be exposed to.

3. Clean data about the soliciting company and an accurate listing of their event guidelines, specifications, terms, conditions and other information necessary to build an accurate and successful pricing strategy.

4. Best practice training in event participation and strategy development.

5. A clear focus on what?s important beyond price in next generation e-negotiation tools such as supplier safety certifications and practices as well as their environmental programs that will differentiate them from other suppliers.

6. Closed loop reporting of results of the specific e-negotiation event a supplier participates in as well as a detailed supplier feedback questionnaire report.

7. Significant time savings associated with new business development that becomes more and more costly as fuel and other related prices continue to rise.

8. Industry pricing trends extrapolated from their view of low quote information during the event if allowed by the soliciting company.

9. Use of the same e-negotiation tools for their own procurement needs.

10. Introduction to an educational website that provides all sorts of free tools for procurement professionals use including a daily safety alerts from over 25 sources, a daily sourcing blog, a? sourcing wiki and SourceBook? the industries only social network for procurement professionals.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

The USDA attempts to make school lunches safer.

Monday, February 8th, 2010

Have you ever heard the phrase ?A camel is a horse created by committee?? Well read on.

According to a February 5th article by Blake Morrison and Peter Eisler of USA TODAY titled School lunch safety shored up, The United States Department of Agriculture or the USDA announced steps to ?assure the safety and quality food? purchased for the National School Lunch Program.

This author discussed this subject in a post on 12/10/2009 titled I loved school lunches and in a related post on 01/21/2010 titled Where?s the Beef and how do we trace it? As my previous posts point out this is not just a beef problem, a recall management problem, a poultry problem (spent hens) or a traceability problem. It is all of the above and more.

Beyond what the USDA can do and what meat packers and processors can do is what the schools can also do. From a pure sourcing perspective, the question is are our schools just buying what the government has to sell in terms of commodities or are they actually asking questions as to where the products came from, how they were grown and what standards the growers and processors are beings held accountable to.

In another post titled Food Safety requires a community effort I quoted President Obama as having said ?There are certain things only a government can do. And one of those things is ensuring that the foods we eat are safe and do not cause us harm.? So congratulations to the USDA for stepping up. But let?s remember that it is a community effort and as procurement professionals we can not let our guard down just because another program comes along.

Our children and our communities are counting on us.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

Giving it your best is more than a practice.

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Best practices only become best practices through a thoughtful paying forward of one?s careers learning to others in order to shorten their educational curve to the ultimate benefit of customers, partners and other stakeholders they may interface with in the hope that they will do the same thing.

According to Wikipedia a best practice asserts that there is a technique, method, process, activity, incentive or reward that is more effective at delivering a particular outcome than any other technique, method, process, etc.

When a company indicates to you that they use best practices, does this mean they are supporting what is the best practice for the entire industry they serve such as the procurement space. Or does it mean they are the best practices for just their particular product family?

This author does not believe that a best practice is just following a standard way of doing things that can be carried out by multiple organizations. A best practice is a life long process that by its nature has to evolve over time as tools, businesses, and existing processes change so that a current practitioner performs similar tasks more efficiently or cost effectively.

If one uses best practices, the result should?be an ideal state that a person or an organization set out to achieve in the first place. In fact if the process used is actually a best practice shouldn?t all of a companies customers use exactly the same process. I?m not sure that this is ever a question one asks when looking for a referral about a companies service offerings. Please tell me about your companies? best practice? Are they consistent and carried out each and every time to the desired result?

One way to ensure good quality results is to provide templates that can be used over and over again and are evaluated at the completion of each practice or session of a particular deliverable and changed as need be. This then requires passage to other customers in order to insure the integrity of the process. This elevates the actual process beyond just a buzzword and moves a particular process in the direction of becoming a best practice that drives similar results on a consistent basis regardless of customer.

This author will continue to refer to our services offerings as high quality process techniques focused on continuous improvement that deliver anticipated results. Our customers, supplier participants and business partners will determine if they are best practices for them.

We look forward to and appreaciate your comments.

What is The Transportation Intermediaries Association or TIA?

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

The Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) is the premiere organization for third-party logistics professionals doing business in North America. TIA provides resources, education, information, advocacy and connections to establish, maintain and expand ethical, profitable and growing businesses in service to their customers.

There are a number of certifications offered through the TIA that signify the quality of transportation providers. Please read on to learn more about them.

TIA – Certified Transportation Brokers:
Since1986, the Certified Transportation Brokers designation has signified the highest level professionalism and integrity in logistic brokers. The CTB program tests the knowledge of participants on brokerage, legal and regulatory requirements, as well as the latest trends in transportation and business management.?

TIA – Performance Certified:
The TIA Performance Certification Program is the first business certification program for professional 3PL businesses with proven expertise in logistics. This certification takes the best features of TIA’s? P3 and GPP products, and combines them with the TIA name.

The Platinum Performance Program (P3):
A main feature of this program is that participants are identified by the P3 logo as service providers committed to a set of operating best practices designed to deliver the highest level of customer service. The name Platinum Performance Program and its logo are becoming a standard by which customer service is measured.

Ask your e-negotiation solutions provider how they evaluate the transportation companies they work with and what certifications they hold?

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

OPIS is the leading U.S. provider of retail fuel price information.

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

With prices at more than 100,000 stations, no other source offers more timely or accurate data than OPISretail.com.

Whether you are looking for a feed of actual site prices in real-time throughout the day, rolled up averages of a data subset, or historical data for trend analysis, OPIS puts all the information you need at your fingertips.
All major players are included, from traditional major brands to regional independents to aggressive convenience store chains, as well as the supermarkets and big box stores.

For the 6th consecutive year, OPIS has compiled, crunched and condensed its retail and wholesale data into one exclusive and highly valuable report.

The OPIS Retail Year in Review and 2010 Profit Outlook Report delivers a 360 degree look at last year?s retail landscape – revealing the brands and markets that dominated and the ones that were most challenged.

Inside this year?s report, you?ll find critical data needed to benchmark your company?s position in 2010 including historical price changes and in-depth analysis of the changing relationships of the entire supply chain, from the futures market to the individual outlet owner.

Please vist OPIS.net to learn more about their valuable services.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.