The role of procurement is pretty clear. At least it is to retail procurement professionals. This author believes it is the most important job in retail.

Others may argue with the last sentence, so let?s be more specific as to the other departments that are vital, yet no where near as important or in the position to lead as procurement. Not store operations, not finance, not information technology, not loss prevention, not human resources. They all use the products and services you negotiate the terms, conditions and pricing for. The impact these organizations can have on the net profitability of a company pale by comparison to what can be accomplished by procurement professionals armed with the most current e-procurement tools. Every good and service for resale and not for resale that comes in to a retail establishment has to go through the procurement process. That means it goes through buyers, category managers and other spend authorized team members. So, with the role of being the most important department, it is also incumbent upon procurement thought leaders to seize the opportunity to lead by example. One area that deserves your attention is driving and supporting green initiatives and corporate sustainability initiatives beyond simply making sure the products you procure support eco friendly standards.

So where might procurement thought leaders aid their companies approach to sustainability efforts. The following are ten simple suggestions to stimulate your thinking. How many more can your team come up with?

1. Provide your team with the necessary tools to work from home and let them do so at least one day per week.
2. Ask your vendors to not come to the office weekly anymore. Have them communicate via the internet.
3. Host more e-negotiation events such as RFI?s as a standard way of procuring green certified products.
4. Use recycled office supplies such as soy based toners.
5. Make all corporate non shipping fleet vehicles hybrids.
6. Reduce the use of paper contracts.
7. Make sure all contractors for remodels and new construction are LEEDS certified
8. Use eco friendly compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL?s) lighting at home and in the office.
9. Car pool.
10. Have a team whiteboard session on ways to use clean technologies such as wind, bio-fuel, solar etc.

As always, we look forward to and appreciate your comments.

It seems like the summer has just begun, but buyers need to be thinking about back to school supplies. The actual supplies required differ from preschool to college aged students and teachers.

Unfortunately if you don’t have what the person (normally mom) shopping for all students is looking for; you may lose all of the affiliated sales and ultimately your customer.

How many times have shoppers come to your store looking for something simple and then leaving without buying anything? It probably happens more often than you think. On the other hand, if you have a well stocked department you might be surprised by the number of additional items customers buy when they find the primary item they were looking for.

Relative to school supplies, you should probably consider the following list of categories if you want to cover all of your consumers needs.
.
A. Academic Calendars & Planners
B. Arts & Crafts Materials
C. Accessories
D. Backpacks
E. Binders
F. Calculators
G. Chalk, Erasers & Cleaners
H. Computer Media
I. Crayons & Markers
J. Dies Punches & Accessories
K. Drafting Supplies
L. Educational Software
M. First Aid & Personal Care and Anti Bacterial Supplies
N. Glue, Tape & Self-Stick Notes
O. Index Cards,
P. Report Covers & Portfolios
Q. Locker Accessories
R. Maps & Globes
S. Paints
T. Paper & Notebooks
U. Pens, Pencils & Markers
V. Reference Books
W. Rulers & Compasses
X. Scissors
Y. Staplers
Z. Teaching Aids

Each of the above categories obviously has a number of products associated with it. At times any one of these products could support a reverse auction by itself based on the size of the retailer and the volume associated with the category. Ask your e-procurement supplier if they have specifications and a list of suppliers available that would allow you to develop a reverse auction like this in the short term .

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

It seems like the summer has just begun, but buyers need to be thinking about back to school supplies. The actual supplies required differ from preschool to college aged students and teachers.

Unfortunately if you don?t have what the person (normally mom) shopping for all students is looking for; you may lose all of the affiliated sales and ultimately your customer.

How many times have shoppers come to your store looking for something simple and then leaving without buying anything? It probably happens more often than you think. On the other hand, if you have a well stocked department you might be surprised by the number of additional items customers buy when they find the primary item they were looking for.

Relative to school supplies, you should probably consider the following list of categories if you want to cover all of your consumers needs.
.
A. Academic Calendars & Planners
B. Arts & Crafts Materials
C. Accessories
D. Backpacks
E. Binders
F. Calculators
G. Chalk, Erasers & Cleaners
H. Computer Media
I. Crayons & Markers
J. Dies Punches & Accessories
K. Drafting Supplies
L. Educational Software
M. First Aid & Personal Care and Anti Bacterial Supplies
N. Glue, Tape & Self-Stick Notes
O. Index Cards,
P. Report Covers & Portfolios
Q. Locker Accessories
R. Maps & Globes
S. Paints
T. Paper & Notebooks
U. Pens, Pencils & Markers
V. Reference Books
W. Rulers & Compasses
X. Scissors
Y. Staplers
Z. Teaching Aids

Each of the above categories obviously has a number of products associated with it. At times any one of these products could support a reverse auction by itself based on the size of the retailer and the volume associated with the category. Ask your e-procurement supplier if they have specifications and a list of suppliers available that would allow you to develop a reverse auction like this in the short term .

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

The economy is improving and according to The National Retail Federation (NRF) Americans plan to spend more beginning with Independence Day.

According to NRF, consumers plan to come out of hiding for the 4th of July. ?Americans are ready to kick-start summer and celebrate Independence Day,? said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin. ?Retailers will be stocked with supplies for every celebration, from large family cookouts to trips to the beach.?

In our neighborhood, gas prices have gone down two weeks in a row, the streets are a little emptier and I?m sure that there are a lot of cook outs and barbeques planned for the upcoming three day 4th of July weekend.

SafeSourcing is pleased to have been able to assist retailers in procuring better quality, less expensive and safer products that also support the a reduced carbon footprint. For this we are truly grateful.

Happy 4th of July. Please enjoy your weekend safely and remember to recycle.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

Sometimes inspiration can come from the most unlikely places. Using this urban jargon, are today’s procurement professionals “Balling til they Fall” or is it just business as usual?

During an interview early in my career the interviewer who was a scary regional vice president asked me why he should hire me from the large list of candidates he had interviewed.

My answer restated from above was simply that “I will do whatever it takes to get the job done”. I was told later by the same manager that my answer is what got me the job.

Last year I was clicking through the TV late at night and came across Snoop Doggs reality show called Fatherhood. In the show Snoop was talking about his wife’s business endeavors when he said, she will “Ball til you fall” and went on to explain that “Ball til you Fall” is when in life, do what you need to do to get your dough or money.

Too many of today’s procurement professionals are not taking the opportunity to express themselves to the industry in newer and easier ways. Too often we hear objections like the following.

1. That’s interesting but we just don’t have time to do new things.
2. This is the way we have always done things.
3. We don’t want to disrupt our present suppliers.
4. This is not a priority for us right now.
5. It’s not in our budget.

If we use Snoop Doggs analogy, are companies doing all that they can to get their money? It would seem that beyond all of the buzz words and technical jargon that the ultimate job of procurement in no particular order is to accomplish the following.

1. Improve your companies for resale and not for resale product and services quality.
2. Find new or alternative sources of supply for your products and services.
3. Insure product safety
4. Support environmental best practices.
5. Reduce current pricing.
6. Reduce the amount of time it takes to get the job done.
7. Mitigate corporate and consumer risk factors.

If new tools can accomplish all of the above why would any of the five objections ever apply?

“Ball til you Fall”.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

Sometimes inspiration can come from the most unlikely places. Using this urban jargon, are today?s procurement professionals ?Balling til they Fall? or is it just business as usual?

During an interview early in my career the interviewer who was a scary regional vice president asked me why he should hire me from the large list of candidates he had interviewed.

My answer restated from above was simply that ?I will do whatever it takes to get the job done?. I was told later by the same manager that my answer is what got me the job.

Last year I was clicking through the TV late at night and came across Snoop Doggs reality show called Fatherhood. In the show Snoop was talking about his wife?s business endeavors when he said, she will ?Ball til you fall? and went on to explain that ?Ball til you Fall? is when in life, do what you need to do to get your dough or money.

Too many of today?s procurement professionals are not taking the opportunity to express themselves to the industry in newer and easier ways. Too often we hear objections like the following.

1. That?s interesting but we just don?t have time to do new things.
2. This is the way we have always done things.
3. We don?t want to disrupt our present suppliers.
4. This is not a priority for us right now.
5. It?s not in our budget.

If we use Snoop Doggs analogy, are companies doing all that they can to get their money? It would seem that beyond all of the buzz words and technical jargon that the ultimate job of procurement in no particular order is to accomplish the following.

1. Improve your companies for resale and not for resale product and services quality.
2. Find new or alternative sources of supply for your products and services.
3. Insure product safety
4. Support environmental best practices.
5. Reduce current pricing.
6. Reduce the amount of time it takes to get the job done.
7. Mitigate corporate and consumer risk factors.

If new tools can accomplish all of the above why would any of the five objections ever apply?

“Ball til you Fall”.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.