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Archive for August, 2011

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Here’s an exceptionally green retail concept. Could a retailer get any more green than this?

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

The team behind Agropolis, agropolisfarm.com, seems to have the future of green retailing pegged. Agropolis is a retail concept that combines the farm, restaurant and the grocery store in one environment. Imagine walking into Agropolis and purchasing fish and vegetables that were raised and grown onsite then sitting down for a meal prepared using ingredients that were also grown onsite. The concept is interesting and it is also very environmentally friendly.

Where does your produce come from? Is it trucked in from some far away land where the growing process includes pesticides and uses acres upon acres of land? Probably. At Agropolis, they have solved the issue of fresh produce by growing onsite. They have also promised that there will be no use of pesticides. Further, they will not grow their produce in soil. Even the nutrients created by the fish will be reused onsite.

It gets better; the fish that created those nutrients also came from the store’s own tanks. The conservancy efforts also include the lighting used throughout this new concept. They will use the latest in LED lighting.

Personally, just knowing where my produce came from (you would actually see it) would be phenomenal and reason enough to be a happy patron. But the knowledge that my selfish desire for better produce also supported our environment would provide a longer lasting sense of satisfaction.

For more information on Agropolis, please visit their website, agropolisfarm.com. And if you are looking to integrate green technology or processes into your facilities or supply chain, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service representative.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

Posted in Green eProcurement Practices, Uncategorized

When does demand dictate it is time for a spot buy versus standard replenishment?

Tuesday, August 30th, 2011

Posted in Retail Supply Chain

“What types of companies find procurement services beneficial?”

Monday, August 29th, 2011

If you’re a business owner, large or small, CEO, CFO, or President of a company you should be asking yourself if your company can benefit from procurement services.  Depending on the size of the organization you may or may not be familiar with all the goods and services that your company is purchasing.  This is where procurement services can come into play! 

According to Wikipedia procurement is “the acquisition of good and/or services.  It is favorable that the goods/services are appropriate and that they are procured at the best possible cost to meet the needs of the purchases in terms of quality and quantity, time and location.”

This sourcing professional believes that if a company were to review at least 10% of their annual spend, they would find many opportunities to improve the bottom line.  Below you will see a few of the times that would be most beneficial to take advantage of procurement services.

  1. 1.Reviewing/Resigning a current contract with an incumbent supplier.  –   If you’ve been with the same supplier for the length of multiple   contracts, it’s time to re-evaluate.  You may not be interested in switching vendors, but by taking advantage of procurement tools you will be able to negotiate a better rate for the goods and services that you’re purchasing.
  2. When you start a new task/department within your business. – Every time your business grows or expands is an opportunity to take advantage of procurement tools.  Even if the goods and services that you’ll need to operate this new department are things you’re currently using, the quantity of these items would be a great opportunity to evaluate how much you’re spending to have the goods and services you’re using on a regular basis.
  3. When you are analyzing you upcoming budget – Each year when your company monitors your profit margin and areas within your budget that cause you concern is a great time to evaluate what procurement services would be beneficial for you.  For example, you may find areas of your business that are critical for your end product or service, but you feel that you are spending too large of a percent of your budget to produce such results. 

Just think of all the different areas you bottom line is affected by.  Each of these is an area for potential savings thru the use of procurement tools.  By partnering with a procurement professional, you’ll be able to evaluate more than a few areas of your business where you can start saving for your next purchase or contract for your goods and services.

For more information on SafeSourcing and how we can help you evaluate your savings opportunities, please contact a Customer Service representative.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

Posted in E-procurement, E-procurement Solutions, E-procurement Tools

Purchasing through a Cooperative Part V of V

Friday, August 26th, 2011

Today’s post is by Mark Davis; Vice President of Operations and CTO at SafeSourcing.

As we close out this week’s series on Retail Purchasing Cooperatives we want to focus on one last cooperative that can trace its roots back to the early 20th century; Unified Grocers.

Unified Grocers which is now the combination of three successful west coast cooperatives (United Grocers, Certified Grocers and Associated Grocers) is the largest retailer-owned wholesale grocery cooperative in the western United States.  In an industry where major companies compete fiercely for very small margins, this is a savior for small grocers.

Looking at our final cooperative some of things that Unified Grocers is offering today provide tremendous value to its members.

Store Resources – From schematics & merchandising software and services; to retail pricing consulting; to in-store development, Unified offers a host of valuable services and products to its members.  From a technology standpoint Unified Grocer members have access to Interactive Ordering which is a technology that allows instant access to ordering information from a handheld unit right on the floor.  Some of Unified’s members may not have even had an opportunity to have this type of technology without their ties to the cooperative.

Consumer events – Unified is a huge supporter of public events including 6 major marathons; an Air Show and Women’s Show and the annual Seattle Seafair bringing hundreds of thousands of consumers to a month long celebration.  Through these events the Unified members can get directly involved and benefit from the exposure at a level most members could only dream of on their own.

Professional Services – Being a smaller retailer can make some professional services difficult if not impossible procure.  Unified has the capability with its size to offer significant savings on professional services to its members.  Logistics, Real Estate and Insurance services are key to the Unified members but on of the key services are the financing services where Grocers Capital, a subsidiary of Unified Grocers has provided over $125 million in financing to its members to help grow.

As we have detailed this week there are many great cooperatives out there helping retailers compete in industries that are getting tougher and tougher and to compete in.  Many cooperatives offer tools and services to their members to help leverage the power of the group to procure products and services with some offering specialized benefits and opportunities as we have described over the past week.

For more information on the retail industry’s cooperatives or other ways you can leverage the buying power of a purchasing group, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative. 

We look forward to your comments.

Posted in Sourcing Strategy, Strategic Sourcing

Purchasing through a Cooperative Part IV of V

Thursday, August 25th, 2011

Today’s post is by Mark Davis; Vice President of Operations and CTO at SafeSourcing.

In this week’s series we have been looking at the retail cooperative and in particular focusing on some of the organizations out there in different market segments and what they are doing to separate themselves from other groups.

One of the most successful retail purchasing cooperatives is one that many people do not even know is a cooperative because of how well they are organized and branded; ACE Hardware.

ACE Hardware, which also includes True Value and Do it Best, represents the purchasing power of over 13,000 independent stores.  Founded in 1924, by a small group of Chicago hardware store owners, the organization has become one of the most successful cooperatives in U.S. Retail history, allowing smaller stores to compete even in landscapes with larger competitors.

Some of the things that have made ACE so successful are the capability to convert your business to an ACE location, the capability of International opportunities and a huge support system for advertising and marketing needs. 

Conversion – One of the unique benefits this group offers to companies is the capability to convert your existing business to an ACE, True Value or Do It Best format.  With this benefit comes a slew of professional services that help owners with the transition into the ACE family.  With every conversion a customized plan is developed to ensure the easiest and most efficient transition occurs.

International – With the ACE brand being one of the top 100 most recognized brands in the world, the opportunity for international cooperative services and purchasing power opens doors in a way that would traditionally never be accessible to most retailers. 

Advertising/Marketing – As with some other cooperatives, one of the big benefits ACE, True Value and Do It Best bring to its members is a cost effective marketing programs that can drive sales and traffic at a level on pace with the larger national chain hardware stores.

For more information on the retail industry’s cooperatives or other ways you can leverage the buying power of a purchasing group, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.  

We look forward to your comments.

Posted in Sourcing Strategy, Strategic Sourcing

Purchasing through a Cooperative Part III of V

Wednesday, August 24th, 2011

Today’s post is by Mark Davis; Vice President of Operations and CTO at SafeSourcing

In this week’s series we have been looking at the retail cooperative and in particular focusing on some of the organizations out there in different market segments and what they are doing to separate themselves from other groups.

Today we are going to be focusing on the Chain Drug Consortium.  The CDC is a collective group that represents 1150 retail Drug Stores with over $8 billion in revenue.  Its 18 members span the United States and service hundreds of thousands of customers.

Each day the CDC provides its retail members “an innovative savings approach through key purchasing programs and services, which help maximize market opportunities.”  Some of the specialized programs the CDC provides it members are detailed below.

Product Lines – The CDC offers two corporate product lines to its members; Premier Value and Premier Traditions.  With over 1,800 products that span over the counter medicine, HBC and general merchandise, the Premier Value brand provides its members a huge value in alternatives to National brands at a low cost to them.  The Premier Traditions line includes Christmas seasonal items such as lighting and tree products.

Conferences – The larger the cooperative/consortium is the more opportunities to provide members valuable activities such as National Planning Conferences become for the entire group.  The CDC provides its members an annual planning conference which allows all of the member presidents an opportunity to present their business strategy and receive high level executive collaboration to build more successful programs.  This is a valuable benefit the CDC and other cooperatives can bring their members.

Member Chirp – Through the member portal the CDC provides its members a forum for members to access import program information ranging from seasonal program offerings to latest updates of activity within the organization.  This is also a place for the pharmacy members to be able to access national and private brand label pharmaceutical information.

The CDC is just another great example of how a cooperative/consortium can provide great value to members who belong to it and how they can continue to grow with the clients with new and innovative to services and offerings such as aggregated purchases or both product and services.

For more information on the retail industry’s cooperatives, the CDC or how consolidating your purchase activity with other similar companies can benefit you, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.  

We look forward to your comments.

Posted in Sourcing Strategy, Strategic Sourcing

Part II of V Purchasing through a Cooperative

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011

Today’s post is by Mark Davis; Vice President of Operations and CTO at SafeSourcing

Continuing with our series on cooperatives, today we are going to take a look into the hospitality industry by focusing on the Hospitality Services Group (HSG).  This group, formed in 1989, provides small chain and independent hotels, restaurants, and retirement communities the purchasing power of a large company and is one of the most successful cooperatives in the United States.

The HSG is a fee based system that focuses on hospitality businesses in the northeast and touts some very useful benefits to its members that are 100% focused on the procurement process. 

Industry focused expertise and planning – The HSG offers several tools, whitepapers and articles geared toward helping hospitality businesses plan for their most efficient and cost-effective operations.  From menu planning and pricing to managing vendor agreements to a database full of product specific facts, the HSG is more than just a Buying Group.

High powered software – The HSG offers all of its members high powered software that allows them to track their costs, create recipes that allow for easier improvements in managed costs, and manage purchase orders from beginning to end.

Delivery & invoicing – By working with the HSG, companies have much less to worry about, as product is delivered straight to their building and the vendors invoice them directly.  The HSG handles the relationships for their customers so that their customers can focus on running their business.

Research – Part of what the HSG offers its members in the way of purchasing is by researching new products, standards and technologies for producing the items they are purchasing to continually look for ways to reduce their customers cost-of-goods.  This frees up the owners to be able to focus on their restaurants and hotels providing better service to their customers without worrying about staying current on everything in their industry from a procurement standpoint.

For more information on the retail industry’s cooperatives, the HSG or how your cost-of-goods can be positively affected, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.  

We look forward to your comments.

Posted in Sourcing Strategy, Strategic Sourcing

Purchasing through a Cooperative Part I of V

Monday, August 22nd, 2011

Today’s post is by Mark Davis; Vice President of Operations and CTO at SafeSourcing. 

Throughout the years many industries have discovered that their smaller companies and independents can benefit greatly from cooperatives; business organizations that are owned and operated by their members for the mutual benefit of pooling their resources in a more productive manner.

As time has gone by, and more and more companies merge and consolidate into huge super-corporations, these cooperatives become even more important for their members as they try and compete with companies 10 times their size.

This week we are going to take a deeper look at some major cooperatives in different retail verticles and focus on some of the similarities and differences between them as well as some of the unique things that each is doing to provide greater purchasing power for its members.

Although there are some obvious differences between retail “co-ops” that coincide with how their industries work, there are a few items that are shared by all.  We will start today by looking at some of those common advantages.

Economies of scale – One of the main reasons companies join a cooperative is to be part of an organization with the purchasing power of a large corporation, benefitting from the lower prices achieved by purchasing much higher quantities of goods than they could on their own.

Group Training/Education – In many cases smaller companies must either forego much needed training and education opportunities because of the cost or they must settle for online or webinar courses.  As a cooperative, the group can easily schedule and host multiple training and education sessions throughout the year that would normally be available only to the biggest companies in that industry.

Enterprise product/service opportunities – As mentioned above, purchasing as part of a larger group can reduce the cost of things you are already buying.  As a cooperative, companies also have the opportunity to purchase enterprise products and services such as enterprise software that they could never possibly have afforded on their own.  With so many software companies offering Software as a Service (Saas) models, this is becoming a more important benefit of cooperatives every year.

These are just a few of the basic advantages for becoming part of a cooperative.  The rest of this week we will be taking a closer look at some of the different retail industry cooperatives and what they are doing to help their members with purchasing different products and services.

For more information on the retail industry’s cooperatives or how your cost-of-goods can be positively affected by joining one, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.  

We look forward to your comments.

Posted in Sourcing Strategy, Strategic Sourcing, Supply Chain Procurement

A repost to think about, Are you wining your supply chain battle?

Friday, August 19th, 2011

It could be said that much of today’s thought relative to supply chain management is rooted in the history of human expansion. In fact there are many examples of how expansion which many times happened or was planned in conjunction with the conquest of others was either successful or failed based on the ability to keep supplies flowing to the expansionists or armies associated with them. If you are a growing retailer with your own expansion plans some careful thought as to your supply chain and the necessary contingencies may be your most important activity

According to Wikipedia in military science, maintaining one’s supply lines while disrupting those of the enemy is a crucial—some would say the most crucial—element of military strategy, since an armed force without resources and transportation is defenseless.

Obviously this takes us back to our opening question; are you winning the supply chain battle? What would you do today if one or more of your current suppliers were to go out of business or enter bankruptcy (a real possibility)? Have you made plans as to how your company would replace the goods or services provided by these suppliers?

A recent example that may come to mind happened during the recent H1N1 (swine flu) outbreak first detected in the United States during April of 2009? Drug store chains during that time of panic became the first stop for much of the population in search surgical masks or other anti bacterial supplies. Many retailers ran out of stock and many suppliers were unable to meet the increased demand. Most retailers were not sure where else to turn for additional supply based on the increased demand. The trickle down effect of this could have gone on an on well beyond the impact of surgical masks or anti bacterial product shortages.

The obvious follow on question is which back orders would suppliers fill first and where would your consumers go to get them. The answer is probably not at your stores. The obvious reason is because hospitals, governments and large retail companies like Wal-Mart buy more of these products than you do.

Is winning the supply chain battle important? You bet it is! Do you have the right tools in place?  This author believes the answer is absolutely not.

Ask your solution providers how they would help you in a situation like this.

We appreciate and look forward to your comments.

Posted in B2b Supply Chain

When did sustainability become synonymous with the environment?

Thursday, August 18th, 2011

In this case sustainability has less to do with the environment and more to do with process, discipline and execution. Which can also impact green programs focused on  a company’s carbon footprint

According to Wikipedia a simple definition of sustainability, in general terms, is the ability to maintain balance of a certain process or state in any system. It is now most frequently used in connection with biological and human systems. In an ecological context, sustainability can be defined as the ability of an ecosystem to maintain ecological processes, functions, biodiversity and productivity into the future.

Sustainability has become a complex term that can be applied to almost every system on earth.

From a corporate perspective many investors look at sustainability as a framework for disciplined and responsible management, a key success factor in achieving economic gains.  Relative to e-negotiation this means being able to run the same process (events) over and over again quarter after quarter and year after year as the standard way in which  a company endeavors to improve quality, workflow and compress prices. To the extent that this process supports companies social initiatives relative to the environment and humanity new terminologies such as the term triple bottom line are emerging in discussions at the board level.

The Global Sourcing Council tells us that although sustainability has found its permanent place in corporate boardrooms, execution is still a challenging journey. Implementing sustainability in global sourcing operations becomes even more complex as it creates its own unique challenges.

Global service providers that subscribe to sustainable strategies will benefit by gaining competitive, green advantage with the global organizations.

Ask your e-negotiation service provider how they intend to implement a sustainable program for your company.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

Posted in E-procurement, Sourcing Strategy, Strategic Sourcing

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