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

Well, I was reviewing the news headlines on some of the sites today like I usually do and found another weird shortage that may affect a lot of people’s moral.  This shortage may make those of us that go out for happy hour a little less happy.  There is a CO2 shortage that may impact our beer supply nationwide.  CO2, carbon dioxide, is used to carbonate beer.  This carbonation is what makes the bubbles and foam which is particularly important to retaining the beers temperature.  The experts are saying that the CO2 shortage is due to a contamination issue at the only company in the eastern United States that provides the CO2 to breweries and manufacturers.  The carbon dioxide hub is located in Jackson, Mississippi and they are comparing the CO2 shortage to the same type of situation that occurred in the nationwide baby formula shortage that I wrote about earlier this year.  The carbon dioxide supplies were already very tight because all of the pandemic shutdowns that forced many of the key suppliers to go offline and they are still not fully recovered from that.  The summer is also a troubled time because the key facilities go offline for their yearly scheduled maintenance.  According to experts, the CO2 problem could be indefinite and may impact the soda industry next.   Below are some other things that could be impacted by the CO2 shortage.

• Wine
• Carbonated Beverages
• Dispense drinks
• Packaging of Meats, Baby Foods, Fresh Foods, and Baked Products
• Decaf Coffee
• Fire Extinguishers
• Refrigerant
• Oil
• Pharmaceutical and Medical Applications
• Aviation Fuels
• Lasers

Interested in learning how SafeSourcing can help your company save money during these and other shortages?  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 blog is by Margaret Stewart, Director of HR, and Administration at SafeSourcing Inc.

You do not expect to hear people talking about the holidays just yet, but you should be thinking about them!

While Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year’s Day, and so many other holidays seem pretty far off, many retailers already have their holiday plans in place. This does not mean they know whose house their gathering and whether they are making a turkey or ham. This has more to do with how they plan to sell those turkeys and hams and where they might get them from. In addition, there are a number of other items associated with the holiday season, and not just those for resale.

With the holidays often comes inclement weather, so retailers and organizations must have some sort of plan for snow removal and deicing capabilities. If people cannot get to your store, they certainly cannot shop at your store. Having a plan of your season items and services is something you should be working on if not already completed.

A procurement partner like SafeSourcing can help you with your planning. While it might still be up in the air who will make pumpkin pie, we want your business to be able to get pumpkin pie and can help your procurement efforts find the right suppliers and products that fit your organization’s needs. We will collaborate with your team and can help overcome challenges you have faced and know that when the time comes, you will be ready for those season’s greetings.

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 Ronald D. Southard, CEO at SafeSourcing Inc.

So, what happens when the price of oil goes back down, and the price of gas and diesel drop? What if you were not too careful about monitoring your current cost of goods and expense categories. I have no doubt all of your wholesale suppliers have told you that they have supply chain issues. It does not matter whether they really do or not, that is the excuse for raising your prices. So now you have to raise prices to your customer, and they are already hurting. I doubt there is a wholesaler with whom you do business that has not added to their uplift fees over the last two years. You know that percentage they add that covers the cost of their operations that are focused on you. I might have been 8% and is now 10% or even higher. It is easy to absorb when you are making money hand over fist on fuel sales.

Here is the thing, when the fuel benefit goes away and I will, your supplier costs will not drop, you will then have to resource every category you have like store supplies, cleaning services, lawncare and snow removal and all for resale products in order to claw back anything in the name of reduction of cost of goods costs and resulting gross margin improvement or expense items and net profit.

There are great companies out there that are doing both. It is not their fault that they are benefiting from fuel sales, but they still have a business to run, and they are doing it. Here are some things they have sourced this year at much lower costs than you might think possible.

1. Lawncare
2. Firewood
3. Cleaning Services
4. Bottled Water
5. Waste Removal
6. Construction Materials
7. Rental Equipment
8. Ice Programs
9. Coffee
10. Beer Caves
11. Doors and Windows
12. Facia
13. Lighting
14. Floor Tiles
15. Ceiling Tile
16. Many Proteins related Commodities

It is great when you are making a lot of money and can take your eyes off managing all of your profit centers, but the above examples are making smart companies improve margins and expense and they will continue to win, when things return to normal.

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 probably paying too much for about everything. To learn more, please contact a SafeSourcing customer services associate.

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

 What type of systems do your vendors and suppliers have in place in order to manage your specific contract utilization and demand once you have awarded them your business. Many large manufacturers may have the capability but what about regional and local suppliers, particularly in the mid markets. Maybe you should ask so you are not caught short. Read on to understand the questions to ask.

The order/demand capture systems obtain information about a specific customer order as it happens. The software aggregates and evaluates customer orders and calculates how much of what product should be made in the future.  There, the information received by these systems would be critical in order to improve the forecasting accuracy, fill rates, and customer satisfaction. If the amount of lost demand is significant, a company would become continuously out of stock of highly requested items, as purchases will never be forecasted to true demand.

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  requires our suppliers to adhere to multiple certifications and are vetted for the tools they use to support your buying habits. To learn more, please contact a SafeSourcing customer services associate.

Today’s post is by Patrick Quinn Sourcing Specialist at SafeSourcing Inc.

Despite the bleak economic forecasts blared in your face week after week, the world must keep turning. Though many industries might be seeing slowdowns, others are weathering the storm, and even seeing record growth.

Naturally, the travel industry has nowhere to go but up from its effective suspension in 2020 and travel related businesses have been making strides back to expected activity. According to polls, by the end of 2022, nearly two-thirds of Americans will have taken a trip for leisure, and 38% of those trips will be an international trip. The future looks even stronger, as half of Americans intend to take an international trip by the end of 2023 as well. In fact, a quality vacation is a priority over even new vehicles and home improvement projects!

SafeSourcing is an eProcurement offering a full suite of procurement tools. We strive to provide up to date information across multiple industries, and offer the tools to assist your business such as our SafeSourcing Wiki, and SafeSourceIt Global Suppliers Database. To learn more, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.