Archive for April, 2020

Observations of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Thursday, April 30th, 2020

 

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

 The Covid-19 pandemic has affected most people throughout the globe. Some have contracted the virus, some have recovered, and some are lucky enough to not have had it. Those that have not contracted the virus have likely been practicing the recommended stay at home orders and social distancing. Those two behavioral changes aren’t the only things that have changed. There have been many other changes in each of our lives.

 Most of us are isolated, unable to visit with friends and family except through technology. This reinforces the idea that today’s technology and connectivity through technology is essential for all of us. Technology, primarily internet access and telephone access, have been deemed luxuries in the past, as non-essential entertainment. This pandemic has made many people realize the need for today’s technology is as essential as electric and water. If someone needs groceries, to go to the doctor, or help fixing their car, we would have to turn to those same forms of technology to call their doctor, look up local mechanics, or ordering groceries to pick up.

 An important part of staying healthy is not only taking care of ourselves physically, but also keeping our minds healthy and sharp. This is where technology is especially important. While we cannot visit our friends and family, we can keep in touch and see each other through video calls, email, and social media. This allows us to not only maintain closeness with friends and family, but also check in to make sure everyone is doing well.

 Finally, technology is important because it allows many of us to continue working from home. Without phone and internet, we would be quite isolated and unable to perform many of our daily work tasks. Through conferencing, video calling, messenger applications, and other forms of technology, many people are able to continue working, earning a living and keeping businesses afloat.

 SafeSourcing relies heavily on today’s technology and can continue helping our customers through those same essential technology resources, saving your company time and money and helping you get through this together.

 For more information on how SafeSourcing can help your organization, discover what technology is available to help you, or on our Risk Free trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative. We have an entire team ready to assist you today.

 

 

 

Supply Chain Safety Net

Wednesday, April 29th, 2020

 

Today’s post is written by Ivy Ray, Senior Procurement Specialist at SafeSourcing Inc.

During this trying time of COVID-19, organizations are battling uncertainty right now with demand fluctuations, production changes, and security of supply. In an earlier blog, I discussed the importance of innovation and there is no greater time than now to be innovative.

Innovation is often viewed as the application of better solutions that meet new requirements, unarticulated needs, or existing market needs. [1] Currently, there are some supplies that are in greater demand due to the need to meet the requirements that we are facing today. Solutions to meet these needs are coming from a multitude of sources and the world’s supply chain is being stretched to the limit. The National Association of Manufacturers was tapped to seek suppliers to provide or produce large-scale quantities within 2 weeks in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

SafeSourcing was able to successfully source label products for a client, in the midst of this crisis. The label suppliers were ready and able to come through with significant savings over 35%. Organizations are learning a valuable lesson, which is to have a plan and stay ready. In order to get through this situation today and to be ready for the future we need more effective practices, products, and processes. Increased services, technologies, and business models that are readily available to markets, governments and society.

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 types of e-procurement tools that will meet their needs. Find out what SafeSourcing can do for you.

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.

References…………………………………………………………………….

[1] Maranville, S. (1992). “Entrepreneurship in the Business Curriculum”. Journal of Education for Business. 68: 27–31.

 

Overcoming Disruptions in the Supply Chain

Tuesday, April 28th, 2020

 

 

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

There will always be times when people and the economy struggle and face tough times, and now is definitely one of those times. Unemployment claims have been higher than ever seen before, stocks have plummeted lower than anyone would’ve thought, and we keeping trekking on without a clear end to it in sight. Things will eventually begin looking up and people and the economy will begin recovering and heading toward a more normal state that we are all accustomed to, although it may take some time. There are, however, things you can do now to help get through this.

Many companies have faced challenges in their supply chain. With so many businesses closed and people out of work, there may be many products that you just haven’t been able to even get. This is the best time to reach out to your procurement partner and see how they can help – and they will likely help in big ways.

Filling the gaps – Your organization may be struggling to find some specific items, like toilet paper or hand sanitizer for example. Because there has been an abundance of consumers buying certain items, many retailers have not been able to keep up with demand. This is when reaching out to your procurement partner can help you find what you need. While you may not be able to get the exact brand of toilet paper for example, a procurement partner may be able to find suppliers of other brands that can fit your needs and provide the paper products your customers want.

Getting things there – One way reaching out to your procurement partner can help is by finding the right people to fill in the gaps in your supply chain. For instance, if your logistics company is now not available for regular runs, a procurement partner, like SafeSourcing, can help you find the right company that can not only fill the gaps in your coverage, but may also be a better fit for your needs.

Connecting each other – Another way a procurement partner can help disruptions in the supply chain is by simply having someone who has a hand in almost every industry. Your procurement partner likely deals with everyone from raw material suppliers, to manufacturers, distributors, brokers, retailers, all the way to customers. They are likely to have the knowledge and skills to help bridge any gaps that your organization may have in coverage, simply because that’s what procurement partners do. They connect your organization with the people that can help get you up and running again.

In addition to helping your organization overcome disruptions in the supply chain, a procurement partner may also be able to save you money on the things you already buy. In fact, even during difficult times, a procurement partner can not only find suppliers that can provide the products and services you need, but also get those products and services an average of 24% less than you were already paying.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can help your supply chain of 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.

Bonuses Given to Frontline Workers

Monday, April 27th, 2020

 

Today’s blog is by Gayl Southard, Administrative Assistant it SafeSourcing.

It is a scary thought for all of us to leave our homes and get the needed groceries to run our homes right now. I hadn’t been to the grocery store in three weeks! I had order meat and poultry on line and it was delivered every two weeks. I am also fortunate to live in a warmer climate where we have local farmers that can provide produce that can be ordered each week and picked up on Saturday mornings. Payment is done online and the produce is loaded into your car trunk. There is no contact with any person.

One of the grocery chains doing great work is Kroger. According to a press release from the Kroger grocery chain, they have increased their hourly frontline workers pay by two dollars an hour, calling it a “hero bonus”. The bonus also applies to the Kroger family chain, including Fry’s, Ralphs, Fred Meyer’s, QFC and more. “The Hero Bonus is just one more way we continue to convey our thanks and gratitude not only to our existing associates but also to the more than 30,000 new hires who have joined in the past two weeks and those who will soon join the Kroger family of companies,” said Rodney McMullen, Kroger’s Chairman and CEO. 1. The bonus applies to all hourly frontline grocery employees, supply chain, manufacturing, pharmacy and call center employees.

Kroger is one of the nation’s largest grocery chains. Kroger also has installed plexiglass barriers or partitions to help prevent the spread of the Coronavirus and protect both the shopper and store employees.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can help your procurement efforts, or on our Risk

Free trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative. We have an entire team ready to assist you today.

Reference’s

  1. Connor Van Ligten, USA Today, 4/8/2020

 

 

 

Ready to Serve

Thursday, April 23rd, 2020

 

 

Today’s post is written by Ivy Ray, Senior Procurement Specialist at SafeSourcing Inc.

During this time of crisis with COVID-19 there has been a lot of much deserved praise pouring out to the doctors, nurses, and first responders on the front lines making the sacrifice to care for people. There are many others who have also been enduring the dangers and going out every day to make sure that residents and organizations are receiving uninterrupted services…mail carriers, truckers, restauranteurs, and other essential personnel.

There are so many others who have been reaching out to answer the call to make things better for individuals and businesses in need. We have had suppliers reaching out to offer services and products to help in any way they can to provide continuity in services and to deliver products to those in need. From cleaning services and telecommunications services, to single serving food products and disposable products, companies are telling us that they are open for business and ready to provide whatever is necessary to help out.

We all want to get back to normal, or the “new normal” which will be on the other side of this, but for the folks who are still out there fighting the fight and bridging the gap, the show must go on. Immediate needs still have to be met as well as the things that keep this country going, so that when we do resume normal operations there is as much as a seamless transition as possible.

You may need to stock the shelves, or obtain a reliable cleaning service. Here at SafeSourcing, we are open and here when you need us. Even though we cannot visit with most customers face to face we are available on the phone, and through email. Our customer service team is here for any questions you have during this time.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can assist you in exploring your procurement solutions for your business efforts, or on our Risk Free trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative. We have an entire team ready to assist you today.

We look forward to your comments.

 

 

 

Supply Chain Safety Net

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020

 

 

Today’s post is written by Ivy Ray, Senior Procurement Specialist at SafeSourcing Inc.

During this trying time of COVID-19, organizations are battling uncertainty with demand fluctuations, production changes, and security of supply. In an earlier blog, I discussed the importance of innovation and there is no greater time than now to be innovative.

Innovation is often viewed as the application of better solutions that meet new requirements, unarticulated needs, or existing market needs. Currently, there are some supplies that are in greater demand due to the need to meet the requirements that we are facing today. Solutions to meet these needs are coming from a multitude of sources and the world’s supply chain is being stretched to the limit. The National Association of Manufacturers was tapped to seek suppliers to provide or produce large-scale quantities within 2 weeks in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

SafeSourcing was able to successfully source label products for a client, in the midst of this crisis. The label suppliers were ready and able to come through with significant savings over 35%. Organizations are learning a valuable lesson, which is to have a plan and stay ready. In order to get through this situation today, and to be ready for the future, we need more effective practices, products, and processes, increased services, technologies, and business models that are readily available to markets, governments and society.

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 types of e-procurement tools that will meet their needs. Find out what SafeSourcing can do for you.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can assist you in exploring your procurement solutions for your business efforts, or on our Risk Free trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative. We have an entire team ready to assist you today.

We look forward to your comments.

 

Don’t Wait because of COVID-19! Source Your Supply Items Now!

Monday, April 20th, 2020

 

Today’s post is by Dave Wenig, Senior Vice President of Sales and Services at SafeSourcing.

With all of the increasingly negative information out there about the COVID-19 pandemic we’re facing, I thought it would be a nice change of pace to share some information that is a bit more positive. Actually, today I’m writing about something that hasn’t changed during these difficult times.

On my LinkedIn page, I often post about recent successes we deliver for our customers. I share about a variety of different categories as we work with our customers to source just about everything they need whether products or services. For example, I’ve posted about reducing charges for consulting services by 22% and 36% on water heaters.

Those posts can be interesting on their own, but what I’ve noticed recently is even more so. I’ve noticed a trend. While that might not seem so interesting, I’ve come to realize that in today’s world this particular trend is something special. What I’ve noticed is that while we’re all facing so much uncertainty and challenge, the results we’re driving in terms of savings percentage for our customers remains unchanged. Specifically, I’ve been keeping an eye on a common set of categories that nearly all of our customers source with SafeSourcing.

Supplies are traditionally a strong set of categories for SafeSourcing and its customers. The savings we drive here are relatively easy to achieve. Recently, I’ve been keeping a close watch on these categories and am happy to report that the discounts we’re delivering on these categories are as deep as they ever are. Regardless of their point of origin, supply items savings are especially strong. While COVID-19 has been causing so much trouble and pain, we’ve still found about 25% savings on plastic cutlery, 26% savings on water filters, 24% savings on reusable bags, and more. That means the average savings at around 25% is still exactly where we would expect it to be. Some categories even seem to be generating a bit higher savings where the markets pricing and/or demand are down as well.

That’s some great news and is as close to certainty as we’re likely to get in the midst of this pandemic. Rather than feel helpless, take this as the opportunity that it is and take action to lock in your savings now. We may as well focus on challenges that are easily within our control.

Stay safe and don’t be shy if you need assistance. We’re all in this together. If you would like more information on how SafeSourcing can help you, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service representative.  We have an entire team ready to assist you today.

 

 

 

Optimism and Procurement

Friday, April 17th, 2020

 

 

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

With so much going on right now, many people are scared or concerned with what will happen and what things will be like when this is all over. While we may not yet know what, if anything will change, there are some areas that have already been affected. In fact, there is at least one particular area that has actually improved.

Many years ago, it wasn’t uncommon for a family to only own one car or even no cars. Now, that has changed a lot. Many Americans each have their own car and it has been a necessity for people to get where they need to, whether it is work, school, or shopping. With the current virus situation people are no longer driving to work as often and most schools are closed. This has greatly reduced the number of vehicles on the road.

There are a few silver linings here. With fewer people driving, there have been fewer accidents. This means there are less people being injured or dying in vehicle accidents. Because there are fewer accidents, insurance companies haven’t had to pay out as much money for repairs and medical expenses. In fact, there have been several car insurance companies that have begun refunding premiums because they have paid out so much less.

With fewer drivers on the road, another silver lining is less traffic and this can greatly help truck drivers and other aspects of logistics. Fewer cars mean more room for truck drivers, fewer distractions, and again, fewer accidents that can cause delays. This can mean transportation of goods is quicker and more efficient.

Another silver lining is a decrease in pollution. With fewer cars, there are fewer emissions from exhaust. In addition, truck drivers’ ability to drive with fewer delays, means they are also emitting less. Even more than the reduction of exhaust fumes, with fewer vehicles, there is fast less gas and diesel consumption. This means production can slow down, which can additionally help reduce pollution.

While we wait to get through this and for life to return to normal, we can know that there have been some silver linings to this dark cloud of a virus.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can help your supply chain of 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.

 

COVID-19! Banks and Governments are too big to execute!

Tuesday, April 14th, 2020

 

Todays post is from Ronald D. Southard, CEO at SafeSourcing Inc.

Have you applied for your loans from any of the Government/SBA programs that are intended to help small business and their employees during the COVID-19 Pandemic?

If you have, you probably have the same tales of woe as 100% of other small business that have done the same thing. Hey, we will invest whatever time it takes in order to protect our associates and our businesses.

At SafeSourcing Inc. small though we are, we have applied for the following relief programs.

  1. The Paycheck Protection Plan through Bank of America and supported through the SBA.
  2. We have applied for the Federal Reserve backed program through the SBA sponsored AZ-00065-Arizona COVID-19 disaster loan program.
  3. We have also applied for the small $10K Disaster Fund Grant through the SBA.

Personally, I have waited on an open phone line to the SBA where I was caller # 964 and waited it out in order to be told they can not give me an update. I also have a loan application number and they have no way to look it up. I have also waited on the phone for 2 hours with my Banks data collection company Itralinks. In that process, I started as caller # 177, waited until I was number one, pressed start and became caller # 176. I waited again and at the same time became caller # 175. Not only can’t they handle the volume, their application has zero instructions for the user. If we did not own a document management system at SafeSourcing, I never would have figured this out.

I believe that President Trump said that we can’t make the cure worse than the disease when referring to COVID-19. In the same light, we can’t make the small business solutions proposed by the government increase the level of pain small business are suffering. The question now is how many small businesses have failed already because they had to wait to long for the Band-Aid cure that these programs are to begin with. I’m guessing the numbers are in the millions.

It’s time that someone moved beyond sound bite answers and got their act together.

We look forward to your experience and comments.

 

Sourcing and Saving in Tough Times

Wednesday, April 8th, 2020

 

Today’s post is from Dave Wenig is the Senior Vice President of Sales and Services at SafeSourcing Inc

In our personal lives, it’s difficult to focus on much more than COVID-19. The effects have sunk in for most of us here in North America and those effects have been severe. Students have been displaced to home-based learning, local governments are issuing varying orders to keep their citizens at home to enforce social distancing, so many have become unemployed, and businesses are reeling.

At SafeSourcing, we’re no different. We made the hard decision to temporarily switch from our offices to working virtual for all of our employees proactively before we were required to do so by government order. We did so out of an abundance of caution and in consideration of our safety and the safety of the community at large. At SafeSourcing, we fall into the non-essential category, but that does not mean that we must cease our operations. It simply means that we needed to adjust. For many of our customers, they are facing the dual challenge of adjusting to allow for the safety of their employees and keeping their doors open to the public. Our retail customers are mostly still open, and they are on the front lines by making sure our communities have access to the essential supplies that we all need to survive.

All businesses, whether they are officially deemed essential, are struggling. Many are facing challenges managing the operational expenses against challenges like changes in demand, temporary closures, and more. This can be seen in a variety of news sources. This can even be overheard on the street. Fortunately, COVID-19 hasn’t taken away the fact that it is spring. On one beautiful evening, I sat enjoying the weather at home and accidentally eavesdropped on one side of an interesting conversation. Well, it was interesting to me.

A father with his son was walking by my house while on the phone. His conversation was clearly related to COVID-19 and the challenges he is facing. He recounted the story of a large account that had recently asked all their vendors to reduce their costs by 10% and set that as the new price moving forward. He noted that this effort had found that account about five million in savings. On the surface, that might seem impressive, but it’s not. It’s just a small start.

If SafeSourcing saves customers almost 25% on average on the categories they source with us, then that means that particular account has left around 15% in savings on the table. Worse, many markets are down at the moment, so the savings they have captured might have been available had they asked for the corresponding price decrease anyway. Meanwhile, it’s probably safe to assume that based on this unknown account’s actions, they are in desperate need of as much cost reduction as they can achieve. It’s a safe assumption because most accounts are.

Yet, it’s all too easy to still look out and feel as though you are too busy dealing with the challenges caused by COVID-19 to take the time to work with SafeSourcing and do something to affect a positive change. It’s really not; working with SafeSourcing might just address a very critical cash challenge and would do so much more effectively than just asking for a discount.

Please stay safe and don’t be shy if you need assistance. We’re all in this together.

For more information, please contact SafeSourcing.