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

As a consumer, it was understandable that during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to adjust our expectations. There were legitimate challenges that companies had to find a way to navigate through before we could even hope to get back to normal.

Now, there have been such drastic changes in the expectations of consumers that it is easy to wonder if we will ever see services return to their previous levels.

One example I have found is call centers. After years of being told by a recording to expect a longer than usual wait due to COVID, the messages are gone and the longer wait times have stayed. It is not uncommon to have to wait hours for a representative if you need live support for some services like for travel. We have recently waited hours online just to talk to someone in a chat window for a specific service provided by a resort because the resort is pushing everyone to register online rather than in person. This was for their benefit but was very costly for us.

Another example is while shopping. Companies continue to move toward a kiosk approach to checkout and ordering, such as for quick service food. I recently went to a large national retailer and decided to also grab some lunch. I tried to pay cash at the register, but the employee was the only one in that area and pointed me to a kiosk to order. The kiosk does not accept cash. I asked if it were possible to pay cash and was told it would be “a while.”

I wonder if or when we will ever get back to pre-pandemic service levels. I believe we will not until the companies find an external force that makes them adjust. The reality is that over the past years, these service providers have adjusted their staffing models to run with less resources and found that consumers continue to pay. Beyond that, consumers are paying more for these reduced services and longer waits. If that trend continues, expect the services to maintain their current levels at best.

For more information, please contact SafeSourcing.

Words of Advice

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

Like many others, I sometimes read for enjoyment or inspiration. Recently I read some words that struck me as not just wise words for myself, but something many more people can relate to. This particular bit of advice came from Warren Buffet, and when reading about extraordinarily successful people, I take into account that they may be coming from an entirely different outlook or situation than my own. This tends to warrant those wise words to be taken with a grain of salt or at may not be entirely applicable to many of our lives. This advice however, hit home. It read, “Choose a direction and make sure you surround yourself with the right people who have the strengths you lack.”

To me, this advice can apply both personally as well as professionally. In my personal life, we surround ourselves with those we care about and play to each other’s strengths. For instance, I if I am having car trouble I may reach out to one friend, or if I am looking for help solving a problem, I may reach out for someone else’s advice.

This also applies to business life, perhaps more so than personal life. This directly correlates to the team you work with within your organization. We rely on each other for strengths and use those skills to improve the organization as a whole. This benefits everyone in the company by improving productivity and morale, and help ease the burden of difficult situations.

In addition to using this advice within your organization, you can use this advice when searching for partners to your business, such as a procurement partner like SafeSourcing. You are able to use those skills as needed for the projects and sourcing you need assistance with and know that the right skills and people are there to help. In fact, SafeSourcing is so sure we can help your team with their procurement efforts, we even offer it on a risk-free trial.

For more information on what the SafeSourcing team can offer 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.

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

My daughter recently misplaced her debit card and had to contact the bank to send her a new one.  This is something that occurs now and then and when it happens it usually takes seven to ten business days to receive a new one in the mail.  Well, it’s been past that time period now so I went online and discovered that the ongoing chip shortages are affecting the cards as well and it can now take almost two months to receive a new card when it is requested from the bank.  From some of the articles that I read this longer delay could be the case though the end of the year.  What I didn’t know was the banking industry is in competition with the auto manufacturing industry because they use the same kind of technology for their chips.  This competition has created a higher demand for the chips and is causing the longer delays we are seeing from the banks.  The chips were added to the cards a few years ago to ensure more security when used in the card readers.  The chip cards contain a gold or silver microchip that is embedded in the front of the credit or debit cards.  Just like the magnetic strip that is located on the back of the card, the microchip contains the account information about the account that is connected to the card.  When the card is inserted into the chip reader like at a local store or gas station the customer’s information is read from the chip and if the account balance is available the transaction is approved.  If it does not then the transaction is denied, and the purchase does not go through.  This chip makes it harder for people to skim your card for account information because the information has an extra layer of encrypted security that does not exist within the magnetic strip.  When the chip is used it generates a unique code for each transaction made.  This code is generated using complex algorithms which makes it difficult to replicate and makes it almost impossible for someone to create a fake chip card.  So when making your future purchases if you have a choice between swiping and inserting the chip, insert the chip for a more secure transaction.

If you need help with any of your security needs, feel free to contact SafeSourcing.   We can gather all the necessary information for you and help you decide which company meets your needs.  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.

Today’s post is by Ronald D. Southard, CEO at SafeSourcing Inc

This sounds like a tough question, but it shouldn’t have to be. I have waxed for years that the first thing most new executive suite leaders do when they get that new job, is study the existing business and propose changes. They have to do this because ownership and or the board are watching. Generally, any plan they provide includes heavy headcount adjustments. Why, because it is the single biggest expense on the P&L. Cut headcount by 10% and if the business is not poorly managed, the dollars should drop to the bottom line pretty quickly and you are now the new wunderkind. Too bad you were not more creative and more interested in your employees than to look at them as money. You’ll probably also get a nice bonus while they get the breadline.

Another thing learned in management school is to be able to define your job in terms of your passion in an easy-to-understand elevator type statement. That being something that you can recite in the short elevator ride between less than a few floors.

When I am asked what we do at SafeSourcing, my response is that “we are passionate about assisting our customers in reducing all costs, that result in improved Gross Margin and Earnings in the current period, to support growth and sustain and grow associate headcount”. Anyone that understands accounting should understand how that statement can apply to any business.

It’s always an easy decision to restructure and go after headcount, it’s more difficult to look at the bowels of your business and realize there are other maybe better ways. That’s my passion. Why not join me and see if we can accomplish this for your company.

SafeSourcing is a Procure to Pay SaaS based provider of a number of e-Procurement solutions and associated white glove services that are part of our SaaS offered SafeSourceIt™ eSourcing suite . These include but are not limited to SafeContract™, SafePO™, SafeDocument™ and our SafeSourceIt™ Global Supplier Database  that includes over 557,000 vendor/suppliers.

To learn more, please contact a SafeSourcing customer services associate.