What should we have done then and what should we be doing now?
As we discussed in yesterdays post, from a procurement perspective we have had a nor’easter circling for years. Companies have gone out of business that did not need to. So what can you do now that we are in the storm? Where is your information source?
There are a variety of ports to play on a word (portals), search engines and website home pages that may or may not contain what you are looking for in order to mitigate your risk to stormy conditions. The question you should be asking; is there one location that contains all or most of what I need and does not cost a nickel to access. If there were, it would need to include the following.
1. A central repository and launch point for industry alerts
2. A central source for procurement information
3. A central collaboration point for all procurement professionals to hold open forum conversations.
4. A central location where one can find specifications on thousands of products.
5. A central database of new global and local sources of supply
6. A central location that tracks suppliers environmental practices
7. A central location that tracks suppliers product safety practices
8. A daily educational commentary that can be reviewed and shared with others in the procurement space for mutual discussion and review.
9. A central location for your team to hold private forum conversations and share private documents.
10. A central location where companies can trace beyond one forward and one back if necessary after they have bought products or services.
During stormy times, the best offense is a good defense. When a storm approaches having the right tools to insulate you from the storm surge are critical. There is only one tool in the procurement space that can answer yes to providing all 10 points listed above.
SafeSourcing. If you don’t believe us ask our customers
We look forward to and appreciate your comments.
