Sourcing VS Buying – Putting it in Perspective – Final Part 5 of 5

June 8th, 2012

Do you source services and goods for your company the same way you shop for your family?

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

This week we have been looking at how the concepts that influence how people purchase for themselves personally can be applied to the procurement world to help overcome hurdles and to better understand how to approach their own difficult procurement projects.

In today’s blog we will conclude by looking at how we as consumers love to save but hate the work that sometimes goes with it.

The Joy and Pain of Coupons

In our house I painfully watch as my wife spends what seems like hours clipping coupons each Sunday before going shopping.  It is something I do not know if I could do, but when she shows me the receipt showing $20-$50 in coupon savings I am very pleased.  All of that said, and in spite of knowing the potential savings I could, get I still don’t know if I would take the time to clip those coupons and I know I am not alone.

In so many ways, this reflects the attitude of procurement departments everywhere when you mention strategic sourcing processes and tools as something they should be doing.  They all agree with the potential savings numbers but are often not willing or able to spend the time to do the right things to get them.

Just like the scenario above where my family gets savings because my wife takes the time for us, procurement departments have that same option in 3rd party strategic sourcing companies that will take the load off of them to research, communicate, prepare, collect, analyze and report the savings for them.  By partnering with an eProcurement vendor, companies can have the opportunity to get great savings without having to invest the hours it takes to get those savings with their own team.

We hope you have enjoyed this series and for more information about how we can assist with sourcing projects for your company, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.  

We look forward to your comments.

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