Archive for December, 2021

Covid Excuses are becoming commonplace!

Friday, December 31st, 2021

 

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

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, people across the globe have faced some extreme situations, from hospitalizations and death to lack of workforce and supplies. While the last two years have been a challenge to say the least, there are still lasting impacts on families, society, and businesses. There have been some great advances, however. We have seen the rapid development and rollout of several vaccines, the dedication and creative problem-solving decisions by schools and employers, and the rise of community help in times of need.

While there are many struggles for many people and businesses, the obstacles the world has overcome have been huge. These struggles for the last two years have started causing some consumers to be less forgiving for covid-related excuses. The reason behind this is that some consumers view the covid-related problems as something that can be expected and should be overcome, so not being able to fulfill business promises becomes the business’s failure to meet expectations and has not upheld the needs of the consumer.

Although not all problems may be predicted, some can be. Things like rising costs and lower supplies can be challenges and obstacles, but not without hope. Teaming up with a procurement partner, like SafeSourcing, can help your business or organization overcome some of the obstacles we all currently face and can help you find the products you need and avoid having shelf space go empty.

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

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

 

 

 

 

Think You Can’t Save On Construction Costs? Think Again!

Wednesday, December 29th, 2021

 

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

For those that follow the industry, you already know that the constraints placed on the construction industry are causing rising costs and limited availability of key construction materials. While I can certainly understand how this is a challenge for most organizations because they are being challenged on just about every procurement need they have, I also have seen how some rise to the challenge and overcome it.

For an example, let’s looks at a couple of recent RFQ event we hosted for a large real estate development company. Using recent quotes and costs from September, we were able to establish a previous baseline cost for items they needed. These ranged from appliances to doors to windows. What we learned was that the vendor community were telling us that the prices per their initial quotes had risen yet again in the last three months by somewhere between 15% and 20%.

What would you do in that situation?

Here’s what SafeSourcing’s customer did. As a result of their RFQ events, they established savings opportunity between 5.6% and 9.4% against the September prices. That’s remarkable in this market and leaves one to question what the real costs are and just how much of the price increases being passed along by vendors is necessary based on the market conditions and how much is margin.

There’s only one way to know.

The only thing to do as a buyer in the face of frequent cost increases of this size is to push back and verify. The best way to verify whether your vendors’ prices are fair is to invite open competition. The best way to host that is with a full-service eProcurement provider like SafeSourcing. To do anything less is to leave these purchases to chance and to risk becoming a high-margin account for your vendors in the name of “the market.”

For more information, please contact SafeSourcing, or keep overpaying!

 

 

All we Want for Christmas…

Thursday, December 23rd, 2021

 

Today’s post is from our archives at SafeSourcing.

SafeSourcing continues to work with hundreds if not thousands of vendors and clients during the year, and here are some things we’d like to see Procurement professionals deliver to all of us this festive season.

Let’s get clients talking to us again. You can’t sit back and think clients are chomping at the bit to call us. So let’s have a chat. Things change quickly and you might be surprised about what we can do for you now. With a new year upon us, it is a perfect time to talk about your upcoming procurement challenges and areas where you see savings. And, while we’re on the subject…

Let’s bring back a new level of interest for vendors. Start the New Year by contacting those vendors (email survey) who have participated in more than two or three events. Access their level of interest in participating in future events and/or find out ways we can improve our process.

Say what you mean. Request for Quote documents are often hard to interpret, and the specifications can lack important detail. With better instructions and better details, any vendor with a bit of common sense will be able to bid more confidently. That’s good for everyone.

Provide a timetable that has a response period that’s fair and reasonable. We run a pretty tight ship these days; our staff is stretched and it can be difficult to keep up with complex requirements and decreasing deadlines. Pressing us for time because you’re late to respond, only means you get rushed and submit sub-par results. On the other hand…

Don’t issue a timetable only to issue a last-minute extension just before the deadline. This unfairly disadvantages (and discourages) the vendors that are prepared, and have made it a priority to respond to our request.

Please Client, answer our questions. We don’t ask many, but often, we don’t get meaningful answers (or any answers). Giving us better data will mean better proposals for you to evaluate. And finally…

If you give us a service or supply to run, mean it! We have a hard working dedicated team that loves working on your projects. We pride ourselves in getting back to you the necessary data for you to approve to run an event. But please, let’s not waste either of our time.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas, and a successful and prosperous 2021.

SafeSourcing associates are focused on our customers and vendors in order to deliver the best possible white glove service that there is. We would be happy to discuss how SafeSourcing can help you with your eProcurement planning. For more information, please contact SafeSourcing.  

 

Do This To Keep Your Resolutions

Tuesday, December 21st, 2021

 

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

Here’s the bad news. Statistically, most of us who set a New Year’s resolution will fail. While there are surely many reasons for this, I wanted to give you some good news as well. It doesn’t have to be like this.

I know that most of us think about resolutions as personal. We say this year I will lose weight or this year I will practice mindfulness every day. But resolutions are really just goals and setting them in your professional life is just as important as in your personal life.

So how do you keep a resolution or meet a goal? The answer is accountability and support. SafeSourcing delivers accountability and support for your procurement goals. If one of your resolutions is to diversify your supply chain, SafeSourcing has the knowledge and the database to support you in that goal. If one of your goals is to focus on more categories in your negotiations, SafeSourcing has the ability to help you stay accountable and to work with you every step of the way to make sure this happens.

Without accountability and without a support network, we’re far less likely to reach our goals and keep our resolutions beyond January. If you want to be successful, you need to have support. Talk to us about your goals and let us assist and we guarantee you will be exponentially more successful in exceeding your goals.

Get ready for a successful New Year!

Contact SafeSourcing with your procurement needs and we can help.  If you would like more information on how SafeSourcing can help your procurement efforts, or on our Risk-Free trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service RepresentativeWe have an entire team ready to assist you today.

 

 

It’s a Wonderful Light!

Monday, December 20th, 2021

 

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

We have all come to look forward to and enjoy the beautiful displays of lights which have become one of the bright traditions of the holiday season.  We have certainly come a long way from when Christmas trees were lit with actual candles. These were later replaced by lanterns and glass bulbs, which were still considered a fire hazard, so they were usually not lit until Christmas Eve.

The tradition of string lights was not a thing until long after the first string of Christmas lights were invented in 1882, by Edward H. Johnson, who was a friend and associate of Thomas Edison. The first electric tree lights were displayed in New York. This was actually displayed in order to win a bid on a contract to power all of Manhattan with electricity. President Grover Cleveland requested lights on the White House Christmas tree in 1894, but the tradition didn’t take off until President Calvin Coolidge started with the lighting of the National Christmas Tree on Christmas Eve 1923.

The first-string lights were considered pricey and too expensive for the average person to afford. A single set of lights cost $12.00 to rent for the holiday season which would run you more than $300 in today’s dollars. There have been many types of bulbs and string lights created since the original, but none really took hold until over 80 years later, when General Electric developed its new Merry Midget mini lights in 1966.  These lights were smaller, cheaper, and more outdoor-friendly, and more people began lighting their Christmas trees and houses all over the country.

In recent years, tube lights, track lighting, and LED Christmas lights have become popular for decorating both indoors and out. These lights take up less power, and really show the advancement of Christmas lights. Today an estimated 150 million light sets are sold in America each year, and they light 80 million homes and consume 6 percent of the nation’s electrical load each December.

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.

Is the Weather Affecting Your Moods?

Friday, December 17th, 2021

 

Today’s post is by Troy Lowe; Vice President of Development at SafeSourcing.

Now that winter is here the days are shorter than ever.  It seems like it gets dark way too early, and you don’t have time to go out and enjoy the positive effects of the sun.  Around this time of the year some people start to suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD).  SAD is a type of depression that’s related to changes in seasons.  For most people that suffer from SAD it is usually triggered in the fall and continues through the winter months.  The symptoms often resolve themselves during the spring and summer months.  Some studies have shown that it is more prevalent among young adults and women.  People that are experiencing SAD may have a wide range of symptoms, but the most common ones are a sense of fatigue, oversleeping, recurring low moods and strong craving for carbohydrates.  SAD can be serious and affect your day-to-day life if the symptoms become sever enough.  It may prevent you from doing the things that you normally do like going places, engaging with friends and family and other normal activities that you would normally pursue.  Because one of the main causes is lack of sunlight, one way to help you deal with this is to seek out more exposure to natural light.  One way to do this is through light therapy.  Light therapy can be done by using a light therapy box which mimics outdoor light.  It is usually done once a day shortly after waking up.  Below are other ways to help coping with less daylight.

  • Maintain sleep schedule
  • Spend time outdoors during daylight
  • Stay active
  • Do outdoor winter activities
  • Socialize more often
  • Exercise more
  • Enjoy a nice fire in a fireplace or fire pit

Interested in learning how SafeSourcing can help your company run more efficiently?  If you would like more information on how SafeSourcing can help your procurement efforts, or on our Risk Free trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service RepresentativeWe have an entire team ready to assist you today.

 

Technology and Safety

Thursday, December 16th, 2021

 

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

There recently were a string of tornados in the Midwest that proved to be deadly. While not entirely unheard of, these are a bit late in the season. With it being this late in the season, people may not initially think winter storms will bring such wind and disaster and so we rely heavily on early warning systems to notify people of approaching hazardous weather. This was the case in this situation with one big difference. Warehouse employees who were on the job during these tornados did not know anything about them because they were not allowed to have their phones or other technology on them while they work.

This approach of limiting employee’s access to technology has been in place in many different companies and was likely implemented to keep employees focused on their job instead of receiving messages, calls, or browsing phone applications. In this case, those employees were at a disadvantage because they were not notified of the tornados and were unable to find shelter of safety. This situation has begun the serious conversations of whether an employer can mandate no phones while on the job if having them could potentially save lives. Allowing phones on the job, while may risk productivity, could save lives in the future, not only by alerting them to severe weather, but also as a lifeline if someone is injured on the job.

While everyone will likely not agree on whether phones and other personal technology should be allowed on the job, everyone will likely agree that this incident has overall been tragic. Conversations on this topic will likely continue and we may even see it in legislation. If there are new laws passed about technology in the workplace or on additional safety measure required by employers, then you can count on SafeSourcing to help you get the products or gear you need to keep your workers safe. For now, you can still rely on SafeSourcing helping your company obtain the tools it needs to keep running smoothly ad safely.

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

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

 

 

 

 

Silage

Wednesday, December 15th, 2021

 

Today’s blog is by Gayl Southard, VP of Administration at SafeSourcing.

On a cross country drive, we passed by white piles of tires along the highway.  I wondered what they could be.  It turns out they are silage piles. It’s easy to forget that grass only grows during certain times of the year.  In the winter it is too wet, rainy, or snowy to grow grass, while in the middle of summer, grass will die if not irrigated by man.  How can you create a food supply for the cows so you can feed your cows daily?  How do you store feed all year?  This feed storage problem has been around for farmers throughout time.  A cow will eat over 100 lbs. of feed per day; how do you store enough food for her during those months with less grass.

Farmers today grow feed during the growing season and store it in large piles. The grass is cut, put into a pile, then is compacted, and covered with plastic to protect it from oxygen and the elements. The plastic covering removes oxygen from the pile so the grass can ferment naturally with microbiological bacteria. Oxygen allows spoilage, but the absence of oxygen allows anaerobic bacteria to ferment the feed and prevent spoilage. The fermentation of the grass allows storage for 1-2 years (or more) without any refrigeration.  Fermentation usually improves the digestibility of foods and helps keep your guts microflora healthy.  Making silage is not a new invention. The tradition can be traced to farmers in Germany.  American farmers didn’t start the practice until 1876. From then, many farmers started using these methods to preserve feed for their cows.  The grass is harvested and put into a pile; the tractor compresses the feed pile to eliminate oxygen

Why cover the piles with tires. Most people use tires because they offer good weight, they are easy to move, and take off. They offer enough weight to compress the pile and keep the cover on.  The grass pile is covered with the tarp and tires to keep out oxygen which allows anaerobic fermentation of the feed just other fermented foods like sauerkraut or kimchi.  The fermentation process actually improves the quality of feed for the cows. The pile is carved off and fed to the cows as needed, the feed has a shelf life for 1-2 years (or more) without any refrigeration.  Much of the grass cows are eating is made of cellulose and hemicellulose, the fibrous components of grass that people cannot digest. When a cow eats grass, it first must be fermented by bacteria in one of her stomachs called the rumen. The fermentation of the silage pile is the same type of fermentation that happens in the cow’s rumen. The silage is actually predigested for the cow and makes it easier for her digestive system.

The most common silage in the U.S. is corn silage. Corn is really just a very tall grass.  Compare a corn plant to a wheat plant; they look nearly the same only corn is a much larger plant. The entire plant is harvested, shredded, and put into a pile. The entire plant can be eaten by the cow including the grain. The corn kernels have starch for energy and the stalk has plenty of fiber.  Corn is also environmentally friendly because of the amount you can grow per acre. Less land and other natural resources are needed to grow feed. A corn stalk will grow up to ten feet tall so on a per acre basis you get much more feed. If you grew other grasses, you would need more land.

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

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

References………………………

Diary Moos, The Dairy Guy, 11/26/2016

Holiday Shipping! How does Santa do it?

Wednesday, December 8th, 2021

 

Today’s post is from our December Newsletter written monthly by Gayl M Southard VP of Administration at SafeSourcing Inc.

According to Santa’s Elf Grumpy, many people want to know how Santa makes it around the world in just 24 hours. Some speculate it’s a government conspiracy, its Santa’s magic dust, perhaps Santa rides the magic of Christmas, could it be the theory of Santa-Relativity, the Naughty/Nice Matter/Anti-Matter, time bending, or time warping. There’s only one slight problem, Grumpy can’t tell you how Santa does it. (And he’s not even being grumpy about it!)

Have you heard of time zones? Well, Santa uses them to cheat — on time! He takes advantage of the Earth’s time zones! He starts by delivering presents at the International Date Line and travels west following the Earth’s rotation around the sun. By doing that he gains many, many extra hours of time. Children are actually waking up and opening presents while Santa is still delivering! Did you know that, if you live in the U.S., today is already tomorrow in Australia? Likewise, when Santa is in Australia, it is already yesterday in the U.S. This is a handy trick to know when you’re Santa Claus! So now you know the secrets to Santa delivering presents! And now you know how fast Santa can travel. You even know how Santa gets around the world in one night! Just please don’t tell everyone. I don’t want people appearing and disappearing all over the place like they were Santa Claus delivering all the presents!

If you’d like some help with your procurement or supply chain needs, please contact SafeSourcing. We’ll treat you with the same spirit in which this post is written.

References

Bob Tita, WSJ, 10/28/2021

Perception vs. Reality

Monday, December 6th, 2021

 

Today’s blog is re-post by Gayl Southard, VP of Administration at SafeSourcing.

Psychiatrist Jim Taylor said: “Perception acts as a lens through which we view reality. Our perceptions influence how we focus on, process, remember interpret, understand, synthesize, decide about and act on reality. In doing so, our tendency is to assume that how we perceive reality is an accurate representation of what reality truly is.”1. In reality we are all predisposed genetically by past experiences, prior knowledge, emotions, self-interest and cognitive distortions. For example, if you were to ask several people that witnessed a car accident, many would say they saw it differently. The focus of the witness’s memory is on the action that took place and not on the circumstances under which it took place. Just because the witness is confident about their version does not make their accounts accurate.

Organizations and businesses need to pay attention how they are perceived by prospects and customers. “Does your target audience see your signature products as innovative, well-priced, useful and available? Are customers swayed by comparison advertising that presents your goods as inferior or not worth the cost?”2. You may be the best, fairest-priced, but still have a bad perception. One bad review online review can damage years of building a good name for your company and it will a lot of work to undo the damage. Unfortunately, you may never know were that review came from. It’s not fair, but it’s reality. Use every option to keep your public image positive. Customer service must be at the top of your list for every employee.

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.

References…..……………………………………………..

1, 2 Harvey Mackey, AZcentral.com, 7/20/2020