Archive for July, 2023

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Understanding your procurement terms and their potential impact!

Monday, July 31st, 2023

 

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

What does Bill and Hold mean?

As part of our SafeSourcing educational offerings discussed last week in a post title What Educational offerings does your eProcurement provider offer, I failed to discuss our SafeSourcing Wiki. Our Wiki is focused on procurement so almost any term you may need knowledge of in your day to day working life might be found there. Understanding the terms in your sourcing documents, specifications, term and conditions and contracts can have a profound effect on the results of audits and other reviews required by governments, suppliers, and management.

According to our SafeSourcing Wiki, bill and hold is a sale arrangement made by the seller and the customer prior to the delivery and is held by the seller. In the bill and hold process, a seller of the goods bills the customer for the products but does not ship until the customer needs the product. In or[1]der for a transfer of ownership to occur, certain pro[1]visions must be met. These provisions would include payment for the goods, the goods be segregated from all other similar goods by the seller, and the goods be finished and ready for use.

SafeSourcing also endeavors to do something less tangible but more profound than just sourcing, the imparting of retail e- procurement and supply chain knowledge, positive judgment and well-developed retail wisdom that supports a safer and more eco-friendly global supply chain while driving increased efficiency and improved profitability for our customers and their stakeholders. For more information, please https://www.safesourcing.com/Contact-Us

 

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Do you understand the difference between an RFI, RFP and an RFQ?

Thursday, July 27th, 2023

 

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

Are you sure what should be considered in each and when to use them.

At SafeSourcing we often use eRFI’s, eRFP’s and eRFQ’s on difficult to source new and existing categories. So, what is the RFP and what does in contain?

The Request for Proposal (RFP) A Request for Proposal (RFP) is a document used in sealed or electronic bid procurement procedures through which a purchaser advises the potential suppliers of (1) statement and scope of work, (2) specifications, (3) schedules or timelines, (4) contract type, (5) data requirements, (6) terms and conditions, (7) description of goods and/or services to be procured, and (8) instructions for preparation of technical, management, and/or cost proposals. As an example, government RFPs are publicly advertised and suppliers respond with a detailed proposal, not with only a price quotation. They provide clearly quoted specifications for negotiations after sealed proposals are opened, and the award of contract may not necessarily go to the lowest bidder.2 Breaking down each of these eight pieces of information will help to form an understanding as to whether there is enough detail to move straight to an RFP, thus skipping the Request for Information altogether.

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.

 

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Generally Recognized as Safe or (GRAS)

Wednesday, July 26th, 2023

 

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

At SafeSourcing, suppliers that are part of our SafeSourceIt™ Global Supplier Database are held accountable to many different certifications that support safety in the supply chain. Please read on to learn a little bit more about Generally Recognized as Safe

“GRAS” is an acronym for the phrase Generally Recognized as Safe. Under sections 201(s) and 409 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act), any substance that is intentionally added to food is a food additive, and is subject to premarket review and approval by FDA, unless the substance is generally recognized, among qualified experts, as having been adequately shown to be safe under the conditions of its intended use, or unless the use of the substance is otherwise excluded from the definition of a food additive.

Under sections 201(s) and 409 of the Act, and FDA‘s implementing regulations in 21 CFR 170.3 and 21 CFR 170.30, the use of a food substance may be GRAS either through scientific procedures or, for a substance used in food before 1958, through experience based on common use in food.

  • Under 21 CFR 170.30(b), general recognition of safety through scientific procedures requires the same quantity and quality of scientific evidence as is required to obtain approval of the substance as a food additive and ordinarily is based upon published studies, which may be corroborated by unpublished studies and other data and information.
  • Under 21 CFR 170.30(c) and 170.3(f), general recognition of safety through experience based on common use in foods requires a substantial history of consumption for food use by a significant number of consumers.

If you’d like to learn more about how SafeSourcing can assist in properly helping to insure your suppliers are adhering to all safety concerns,  please contact a SafeSourcing customer services associate.

References: Http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodIngredientsPackaging/GenerallyRecognizedasSafeGRAS/default.htm

 

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Brand/Current name or equal specification

Monday, July 24th, 2023

 

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

Do manufacturers deliberately make it difficult for you to source comparable products?

They really try to. It is like our comes in a seventeen-ounce bottle and fits better on your shelving than their twenty-ounce bottle. How many examples can you come up with? The fact is if you do not understand how to use Brand name or equal in your sourcing, Current, or equal and have the right responses for vendor participants, you will always pay more for your products. Please read on to understand the subtle difference in a Brand/Current Name or equal specification.

Brand name or equal specification is a specification that uses one or more manufacturer’s brand names or catalog numbers to describe the standards of quality, performance and other characteristics needed to meet the requirements of a solicitation and provide for the submission of equivalent products.  In addition, a brand name or equal specification could often obtain a competitive edge by basing a bid on an equal product which is less expensive than the brand-named product specified.

SafeSourcing is an eprocurement company that operates across multiple industries. As such we have specific experience in almost any commodity, service or capital related spend. Our SafeSourceIt™ Global Supplier Database has over 500,000 suppliers that make Brand/Current or equal sourcing easy to accomplish. You are probably paying too much for about everything. To learn more, please contact a SafeSourcing customer services associate.

 

 

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E-Procurement

Friday, July 21st, 2023

 

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

How does your procurement department define E-Procurement today?

The following is a generally good definition of E-Procurement. However, complete SaaS offered end to end solutions have continued to evolve over the years. Often solutions today are used across multiple solution providers as they can be turned on and turned off and integrated in a truly brief period.

eProcurement is a business to business exchange of goods or services facilitated by the internet. A complete set of e-procurement tools can include products for management of correspondence, bids, questions and answers, previous pricing, contracts and email. Although many Enterprise Resource Planning suites offere-procurementsolutions, the current generation of software is typically purchased on-demand or as software-as-a-service (SaaS). Elements of e-procurement can include request for information (RFI), request for proposal (RFP), and request for quotation (RFQ), which together are categorized as “RFX”.

If you’d like to learn more about SafeSourcing’s additional E-Procurement solutions that are part of our SaaS offered esourcing suite like SafeContract™, SafePO™, SafeContract™ and the SafeSourceIt™ Supplier Database please contact a SafeSourcing customer services associate.

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Indirect Goods and Services!

Thursday, July 20th, 2023

 

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

Are you working to control all costs. Simply, that would be Cost of Goods which impacts your gross margin. Or it could be indirect spend that will impact net earnings. Or are you focused on capital, which is really the spending controlled by the emperor. Minus the humor, you should be focused on all three if you want to please all stake holders.

So, what is indirect spend?

Indirect goods and services are any purchases that do not end up in the product or service delivered to the customer. These are not only necessary expenditures to support the deliverable product or service but are also shared across the entire business organization. Examples of indirect goods and services might be interest expense, depreciation expense, costs associated with preparing and presenting proposals, administrative expenses, etc.

Here are some indirect items in retail that are all showing surprising reductions in cost right now.

  1. Lawncare
  2. Firewood
  3. Cleaning Services
  4. Waste Removal
  5. Ice Programs
  6. Beer Caves
  7. Facia
  8. Lighting
  9. Floor Tiles
  10. Ceiling Tile

SafeSourcing is an eprocurement company that operates across multiple industries. As such we have specific experience in almost any commodity, service or capital related spend. Our SafeSourceIt™ Global Supplier Database has over 500,000 suppliers that can reduce your costs today. You are paying too much for about everything. To learn more, please contact a SafeSourcing customer services associate.

 

 

 

 

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Bargaining Power

Wednesday, July 19th, 2023

 

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

Bargaining power is the power which one party may have to influence another in a negotiation. Through negotiation, companies will work together in collective bargaining to increase their bargaining power by increasing their purchase sizes.  In addition, a party’s bargaining power is a key factor in determining whether or not trade occurs and how the value created is distributed. Other factors that may affect bargaining power include buyer’s leverage and the marketplace.

It’s often surprising to our customers when the run an online RFQ or Reverse Auction as to the amount of savings they achieve. Every customer or prospect tells us that they are very skilled at negotiating and get the best prices available in the market. They often assume this based on their size, industry status, relationships, and a myriad of other reasons. They are always wrong. I tell small chains that they can get the same prices as large chains about always. Ok, maybe not Walmart or Amazon prices, but close if not the same.

They real key to getting the best price and terms is to have a large number of suppliers that want your business and have the capacity to service you. Most buyers are not aware of the number of suppliers that are available to bid for their business, and how to leverage them for the best price. At SafeSourcing we use our SafeSourceIt™ eProcrement tools that encourage behavior based on a variety of settings. In a recent food related event, we invited thirty suppliers to participate. Some were local, others national and others regional. All wanted the business, and our customer is willing to change suppliers if needed.

SafeSourcing is an eProcurement company that operates across multiple industries. As such we have specific experience in almost any commodity, service or capital related spend. Our SafeSourceIt™ Global Supplier Database is an often-used to assist companies in finding vendors that want to bid for your business, please contact a SafeSourcing customer services associate.

 

 

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Want to make your smart thermostat even smarter at home and the office?  

Tuesday, July 18th, 2023

 

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

A few years back I wrote a BLOG about smart thermostats.  In this Blog I wanted to touch base on something that you can do to make your house even more comfortable if you have a smart thermostat or are thinking of purchasing one.  A friend of mine told me about these add on sensors that you can purchase for some smart thermostats that allows you to help control the temperatures in other rooms of the house that may be warmer, or cooler based on their location.  Using these sensors, you can let your thermostat know which room or rooms should be at a certain temperature at certain times of the day.  All you have to do is place the sensor in the desired room either by hanging it on the wall or placing it on a shelf or table.  You can have multiple sensors throughout the house and prioritize each sensor using the app.  For example, if you work from home and your home office is too hot or cold during the day you can set the temperature and time for that sensor and the thermostat located elsewhere will use that sensor and make the temperature in that room the temperature that you programmed.  You can then have another sensor in your bedroom and program that sensor for a certain temperature at night and the thermostat will adjust so that the temperature in that room is set at the programmed temperature for comfortable sleeping.  And like I stated in the last BLOG, using a smart thermostat and these sensors can save you approximately 20% on your heating and cooling.  Below are some other benefits of a using smart thermostat.

Benefits of a Smart Thermostat

  • Save a lot of Money.
  • Reduce Energy Use which saves more money.
  • Control Remotely
  • Displays Energy Consumption in Real Time

At SafeSourcing, we can gather all the necessary information for you and help you decide what thermostat fits you or  or our businesses  needs as well as any other area of your energy costs.

 

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 t

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Who you going to call?

Monday, July 17th, 2023

 

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

In any business-to-business company, you can expect to be in constant communication with those organizations you rely on. You may even know many people well and might know their numbers from memory. A company like SafeSourcing is no exception. We often are emailing and calling other companies a significant amount of time.

One trend many of us have begun noticing, and you may have noticed this as well, is that a lot of companies no longer provide phone numbers or email addresses to reach them. While I certainly understand the workforce required to answer so many calls and emails, it can lead to some frustration when you are unable to reach someone.

This is surprisingly true oftentimes of sales as well. In order to be able to sell a product or service, consumers and other organizations must be able to reach you. While there may not always be a sale at the end of a conversation, there absolutely cannot be a sale if that conversation never takes place.

Having people available to answer inquiries can set your organization apart. It not only demonstrates that you care about those trying to reach you, but also provides an opportunity to gain more business. Most marketing companies find ways to promote an organization and increase traffic to sites or stores in the hopes that business can expand, so why not provide every opportunity to reach those people.

If you are having trouble reaching companies or if you simply need help with your own procurement team, SafeSourcing is always available for a phone call or email and can help you get to the right person for what you need.

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.

 

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Overcoming Short Supply

Friday, July 14th, 2023

 

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

With the ever increasing and frustrating situation with supply chain interruptions, many of us are wondering what can be done?

Most likely you have seen some shortage of good or supply lately. If not, you may have at least noticed prices going higher and higher. Prices go higher as demand gets higher, and demand gets higher as availability goes does. But as we are seeing now, sometimes there simply just is not any of what we are looking for. This is when having a strategic sourcing partner, like SafeSourcing, can help.

SafeSourcing can help your organization find alternatives to what you are looking for or even come up with plans to obtain the supplies or services you need. For example, collaborating with other organizations can provide a greater buying opportunity for you since it will increase, often dramatically, the volume of the item to be bought. This in turn provides a selling opportunity for a manufacturer or distributor that may have otherwise not been able.

Finding alternatives is another fantastic way to source the goods or services you need. For example, if you need honey, you may not be able to get imported honey you have in the past, but you may be able to source it locally. This adds another benefit of keeping business and revenues local and supporting the investment of a community.

Another option is to find items that are comparable. While this is trickier than the other methods, it can still greatly benefit an organization. For example, if 12-ounce plastic bottles are proving difficult to source, you may weigh the costs and benefits of looking at either a ten ounce or 16-ounce bottle. Sometimes the price difference covers the additional cost of product in those bottles.

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.

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