Archive for September, 2017

We got what you need!

Tuesday, September 26th, 2017

 

Today’s Post is by Eli Razov an Account Manager at SafeSourcing.

What is your procurement process? How do you find the products that are required to keep your company operating? Weather it is the raw materials to create your products or the packaging you use to ship it out, there are multiple places to choose these products from. But how do you choose the best? Is it based off of price or maybe the quality? What do you consider value? From sugar to corrugated cardboard there will always be options. Maybe you go with the simple approach, call vendors you hear of from word of mouth. Or perhaps a friend or co-worker works with someone from a particular company and can get you that “in”. You can also take the tech approach and become best friends with Google or a similar search engine.

Great now you have found a few companies, so what to do from here? You call or email for a quote. You talk to someone on the sales side of things and get the information you need by divulging every aspect of your business to try and get a lower price. It doesn’t end there because now you have to do that maybe five more times because you’re not doing yourself any favors by stopping at the first price you get. So now you maybe have five or six quotes. What is the next step? Not sure? Maybe you haven’t gotten this far before or maybe you have and are a seasoned vet.

Well the next step is to discuss terms and nail down specifications. Now what? Where do we go from here? Do you choose the lowest price or maybe look up some reviews? The next logical step is to get samples and compare them to what you have, want or need. Excellent! Now maybe you found the right one but wait, it’s the most expensive! Do you go back to the drawing board or just fork over the dough? All of this process can take weeks and a lot of time out of a company’s already hectic schedule

That is where we come in! Here at SafeSourcing we take the headache out of the procurement process. From start to finish we help with it all. We will find the vendors for you; tailor the specifications to your exact needs. On average, across all companies in many different markets, we drive down pricing around 21% on average. We will do the leg work for you and open up your schedule to do what matters, your business.

Contact us please.

 

 

 

Holidays and your Business

Thursday, September 21st, 2017

 

Today’s blog is by Margaret Stewart, Manager of HR and Administration at SafeSourcing.

Many of you may have noticed stores beginning to stock up on decorations and goods for the next big holiday. While it may seem a bit early for your Christmas shopping or buying Halloween candy, you may be surprised that most businesses plan for these holidays months in advance.

Generally, companies begin sourcing holiday goods about six months before the actual holiday. This means that they already have a plan of what and how much will be purchased. Accurate planning and forecasting is of great importance when trying to predict an upcoming holiday, so researching what and how much was sold historically must be done first.

This general rule of 6 month plus prep work not only applies to holiday goods purchasing, but for other seasonal items and services. If a business will need its lot cleared of snow during the winter, it may need to begin sourcing in the spring or summer. Likewise, if mowing and landscaping are needed, the plan should begin during fall or winter.

Next time you are browsing your local shopping spots and see holiday goods out a couple months before the holiday, remember how long the planning must’ve been and how much prep work went into getting all those goods ordered, sourced, shipped, and displayed.

For more information on SafeSourcing can help with your holiday or seasonal sourcing needs, or on our Risk Free trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service representative. We have an entire team ready to assist you today.

 

Opportunity for Change

Wednesday, September 20th, 2017

 

Today’s post is written by Ivy Ray, Account Manager at SafeSourcing Inc.

As we approach the end of the third quarter of the calendar year, many of us are reflecting and assessing how we faired this year.  Did we accomplish what we had resolved to do?  Statistically, the top ten (10) New Year’s resolutions made, involve making better choices, whether it is for a healthier lifestyle, spending more time with family, or making better financial decisions.1

The end of the fiscal year is the time when businesses take an accounting of how well the company is performing, financially, and making an effort to finish the year strong.  Planning and forecasting financial goals for the next year also focuses on a plan for making better choices.

This calls for better financial management, cost control and less organizational waste.  Many organizations are beginning to re-evaluate their purchasing processes, and identify new ways to control spend.  We have e-procurement tools that will meet their needs.

Identify Opportunities

Opportunities are usually triggered by a business requirement for a product or service.

  • Equipment
  • Components
  • Raw materials
  • Completely finished products
  • Hazardous waste handlers
  • Transportation carriers
  • Maintenance service providers

Supplier Evaluation

In-depth evaluation is required for major purchases of products and services. It begins with a list of potential suppliers. Existing suppliers with good track records should not be ruled out.

SafeSourcing helps buyers save considerably on costs by providing tools that enhance the ability to do business in a better, smarter, more streamlined and cost effective way. To learn more about SafeSourcing’s innovative products and services that have been developed exclusively by retail professionals for retail professionals, please visit the SafeSourcing website.

A goal without a plan is just a wish. (quote: Antoine de Saint-Exupery)

For more information on how SafeSourcing can assist you in exploring your procurement solutions for your business 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 your comments.

 

1 http://www.statisticbrain.com/new-years-resolution-statistics/

 

Never Too Late to Revaluate

Wednesday, September 13th, 2017

 

Today’s post is from our  SafeSourcing archives.

Several years ago lawmakers introduced a bill (HR 5255) the purpose of which is to reorganize how the federal government purchases IT product and services.   In the face of the highly questionable success of the newly launched federally operated health insurance exchange website, many believe that the government is stuck in a pattern of buying technology that is not current, solutions that are not the right fit, and running projects that take years to implement once they have begun.   While this bill focuses on federal government and IT categories the reason for its need could easily be applied to other companies and categories.

Complex procurement processes  – One of the main reasons this bill was introduced was the complexity of the procurement process adopted by the federal government.  Its voluminous RFPs and RFQs are so difficult and confusing to complete that only very large companies with staffs proficient in submitting federal RFP responses are competing for the business.  This leavesmany quality, capable suppliers out of the mix.  What is usually left to choose from is not necessarily the “best of the best” it is more like the “whose left that has the resources to respond?”  Like the federal government, the question companies should being asking themselves is “How easy are we to do business with?”

Rigid guidelines – Along the same lines of complexity is the problem of being too rigid in the procurement guidelines that have been developed.  Even companies with streamlined procurement processes can run into challenges if they are not willing to slightly adjust those processes from project to project as the need fits.  An example of this would be a company that has a strict rule not to take spends less than $100k through their normal procurement processes.  They become so entrenched in the letter of the rule that they fail to go further.  They never explore that $80k spend that could begrouped with either another category serviced by the same suppliers or grouped with another company to get a larger spend as an impromptu GPO.

Build Champions – HR 5255 would have a narrower focus of a roll-out starting with only 5 government agencies participating.  This approach is similar to one that any company should follow when making changes to how they procure goods and services.  Start with departments that need procurement help the most and that are open to having the procurement department and/or 3rd party sourcing partner assist them.  Focus on some projects that can build momentum in the way saving time, money or resources with the outcome.  Once the initial departments are running and satisfied with the process it will be much easier to take that process to the rest of the departments in the organization.

SafeSourcing helps our customers every day develop new sourcing strategies and examine the processes that have grown “long in the tooth.”  For more information on how we can help your team 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 your comments.

Sourcing Temporary Labor, Day Labor and Contingent Work…

Tuesday, September 5th, 2017

 

Todays post is from our SafeSourcing Archives

Sourcing temporary labor is never easy. To begin with you require a clear definition of what type of labor you are planning to source as well as a good understanding of national and local labor laws. Quite often companies fall into the trap of using a temporary labor agencies job descriptions that are not clearly defined and way to broad. In fact many times these descriptions are not more than catchall categories. As an example, can someone please tell me what job descriptions fall into the industrial work category? For each of you that try, we will most likely end up with a collection of descriptions that are several multiples larger than the number of people responding. In fact, this is what agencies are looking for because “One mans meat is another mans poison”. Without a clear definition you are at the mercy of sourcing agencies. An example might be how an agency differentiates between a secretary, administrative assistant and an executive assistant and how they up charge for each.

If you were to visit Wikipedia one of the world’s greatest sources of data and search for the term Temporary Labor, you would receive the following The page “Temporary labor” does not exist.  They would however give you a link on that page to the subject Temporary Work where the following paragraph gets you started with what you are looking for.

Temporary work or temporary employment refers to a situation where the employee is expected to leave the employer within a certain period of time. Temporary employees are sometimes called “contractual”, “seasonal”, “interim”, “casual staff”, or “freelance”; or the word may be shortened to “temps.”

The key when trying to source temporary labor is that if you are looking to source temporary work and do not want to get taken advantage of, your specifications and terms and conditions need to be spot on as to what you are looking for. The more detail you provide the better because grey area is where you will end up paying for more than you are asking for.

If you need help with this category,  please contact SafeSourcing.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.