How Much Legwork Do You Do To Prepare Part III of III?

August 4th, 2016

Do you focus on knowing your own company and its goals?

 

Today’s post is from our SafeSourcing Archives

Does your preparation matter that much? Will your discovery work lead to the best decisions you can make?

In Part I of this post How Much Legwork Do You Do To Prepare we discussed knowing/understanding your market around the particulars of the Market Trends, Pricing Trends, Hurdles and Product Content. In Part II we discussed Knowing Your Product with details like Specifications, Substitutes and Alternatives and Knowing the Suppliers with details about Location, Product Line and issues such as Environmental Responsibility.

In our final post of this three part series we focus on knowing your own company and its goals so that you can interpret and understand the results.

KNOWING YOUR COMPANY

  1. Sustainability – Sustainability is a way of working and living that balances immediate needs for commerce, living, habitation, food, transportation, energy, and entertainment with future needs for these resources and systems as well as the liveliness and support of nature, natural resources, and future generations. Where does your company currently stand and where is your company going in this area? Knowing this can benefit your company long-term.
  2. Target Market- This is the group of consumers that the business has decided to aim its marketing efforts and ultimately its merchandise towards. A well-defined target market is the first element to a marketing strategy. The marketing mix variables of product, place (distribution), promotion, and price are the four elements of a marketing mix strategy that determines the success of a product in the marketplace.

KNOWING YOUR GOALS

  1. Desired Results/ Defined Goals – Knowing where you want to end and what you want to achieve will help guide you in the direction to do so. If you do not clearly define your goals and desired results, then how will you know when your work is done and you obtained the goal(s)?

KNOWING THE RESULTS

  1. Desired Savings Achieved – Although cost savings is always the primary goal for renegotiating contracts with suppliers, it is also as important to have a Service Level Agreement (SLA) in place that will be obtained by the awarded supplier. While savings are key to the financial leadership of a company, the more important concern is that the operators are satisfied with the incumbent or newly awarded vendor.
  2. Success – The success with any initiative is determined solely by you. It does not always come in the form of cost savings. Success can also be determined by the time invested to accomplish the desired outcome. Too much time or delays in making a decision can cost companies additional expenditures. Additionally, success can be determined when considering the many impacts a decision brings; i.e. green initiatives/environmental impacts, company diversity goals, contract duration, and flexibility.

For more information on how we can help you with all of the legwork required to fulfill your procurement needs or on our “Risk Free” trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative. We have an entire customer services team waiting to assist you today.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments

 

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