Today’s post is written by Ivy Ray, Senior Procurement Specialist at SafeSourcing Inc.

We have experienced wide sweeping effects of COVID-19 on the health of the population of people as well as on the economy.  The meat production industry has been adversely impacted due to the nature of the work environment which includes the lack of social distancing, inadequate air filtration, and noise levels requiring workers to speak louder and spread more particles.  The outbreaks of COVID-19 in meat packing plants had infected at least 2200 workers at 48 plants as of April of this year, forcing some plants to enact mandatory shut-downs.

JBS meat packing company had invested in a robotics company in 2018, to reduce its labor force in favor of machines that can do it quicker.  A New Zealand company called Scott Technology has unveiled its butcher robots. A production line of a dozen robots which can strip meat from 600 lamb carcasses per hour and you only need one human to oversee the process. Many meatpacking plants use automation machinery, but the New Zealand based robotics company is developing fully automated meat processing bots, which can extract different cuts from lamb, pig, and beef carcasses which many companies believe is more efficient. The goal of these robots is to yield more meat, improve the safety of the process and do it with fewer people, eliminating the costs of human error while reducing injuries, but the costs for maintenance on these robots could slow global implementation down considerably.

Reports indicated that these robots could become main stream within the next 20 years, and the idea that a machine could replace human workers brings up all kinds of hot button political issues.  Will robot butchers take the place of human workers? This is a viable consideration, as we now have the realization of the impact on human lives during a pandemic.  The real dilemma is the profitability of the meat packing business versus the cost of jobs and the health and well-being of workers.

Consumers have seen a spike in meat prices due to the meat packing shut downs, and we depend on the availability of ample supply of meat at a reasonable price. The health crisis that we have experienced over the past few months has widened the gap between productivity and safety.  In the future, these questions must be addressed because we do not want do sacrifice our economy at the expense of a safe and healthy work environment.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can assist you in exploring your procurement solutions for your business efforts, or on our Risk Free trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.  We have an entire team ready to assist you today.

We look forward to your comments.

Today’s repost is from our archives at  SafeSourcing, Inc.

Finding a company to maintain your snow removal for multiple locations can be very time consuming and complicated. Currently I am working with a client to help them find a vendor that can do all of their 80 plus locations. According to S&I Management, there are four types of buyers that comprise the S&I industry, including: residential, mainly single-family housing; retail, primarily small businesses; industrial, typically commercial offices and facilities; and other, including hospitals, universities, airports, sports arenas, etc.

• Residential makes up 34% of the S&I industry, an estimated $7.6B
• Retail is just over ¼ (27%) of the market, $6B
• Industrial represents another ¼ of the market, $5.8B – and given the larger footprint of industrial clients, is typically served by regional or national operators
• Other, such as hospitals, airports, etc. make up the remaining 17%,$3.3B

Snow and Ice services are growing at a fast pace. It’s expected to grow 3.2% every year until 2021. Now is the time to reevaluate what you are spending on your snow removal services. In the last few years we have saved our clients about $22,000 per RFQ. I know every company would love to have an extra $22,000 in their budget. If you are in the market, there are 110,000 companies in the snow removal industry, 88,000 are sole practitioners. The average operator has been in business 15.4 years and about 1/3 have more than 20 years of experience. Finding you a new vendor to do all of your snow removal services would not be difficult to find and there are companies that would love new business. The saving is there, you just need us to go look for it.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can help in your procurement efforts, or on our Risk Free trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative. We have an entire team ready to assist you today.

References………………………………………………………

1. https://www.google.com/search?q=snow+removal+and+landscaping+market+2019&oq=snow+removal+and+landscaping+market+2019&aqs=chrome..69i57.16970j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
2. https://www.buildings.com/news/industry-news/articleid/21059/title/private-snow-removal-a-16-8-billion-industry

Today’s blog is by Gayl Southard, Administrative Consultant for SafeSourcing.

Pumpkins are native to Central and South America, pumpkins are a key ingredient for traditional Thanksgiving dishes such as pies, soups, and breads. They are also widely used to carve jack-o’lanterns for Halloween, a tradition that originated in Ireland, where locals carved jack-o’lanterns out of turnips and potatoes.  Pumpkin patches are typically planted in early summer, as they require warm soils to germinate. Before you plant your seeds, make sure you know what kind of pumpkins you want to harvest. Do you want to use them to carve or decorate, eat, or both?

Pumpkins are members of the gourd family, which includes cucumbers, melons, cantaloupe, watermelons, and zucchini. They grow on vines and need plenty of space! Pumpkins can easily take over your entire garden patch before you know it. Generally, you will need 10 ft. by 20 ft. for several pumpkin plants, but you can also plant these to grow around the base of other crops, such as corn. Pumpkins require at least eight hours of direct sun each day.  Plant your pumpkin seeds in mounds and place four to five seeds in each hole, one to one and a half inches deep, spacing the mounds about four to six feet apart. Add a thin layer of compost to the top of the soil. Once the seeds germinate – usually in a week – wait seven to ten days and then carefully thin the seedlings with scissors, leaving only the strongest two plants. Do not pull the seedlings out by hand so as not to damage the roots of the remaining plants! After thinning the plants, add a layer of organic mulch to conserve water and suppress weeds.  Although pumpkins are fairly hardy and drought tolerant, water them deeply a few times a week. Manage your pumpkin patch by looking out for any pests and diseases.

Generally, pumpkins take 90-120 days to mature after seeds are planted, depending on the variety. Pumpkins are ripe when they are fully colored and have a hard rind and woody stem. Carefully cut off the stem with a knife, leaving several inches of stem on the pumpkin. Pumpkins can be stored for a long time in a cool, dark storage area and can be used for all your fun fall activities and delicious recipes long into the winter.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can help your procurement efforts, 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 blog is a timely repost by Margaret Stewart, Director of HR and Administration.

There is a trend in today’s society of calling the news that one doesn’t like “fake”. This, however, is a dangerous trend, as it sends the wrong idea that just because information is not liked, it can just be dismissed. The even more reckless effect of this trend is that people may accept that any true and factual news heard that goes against personal beliefs may simply become “fake”. With some cases, this may not have a detrimental effect on society as a whole, but there are some instances where it very well could. Take, for instance, the anti-vaccination trend of recent years. People believe that vaccines are bad and no amount of facts or proof will sway people to vaccinate, sadly to the detriment of those too small or sick to be vaccinated themselves.

This trend of dismissing unpleasant news, however, is grounded in truth. There are in fact, false news stories out meant to mislead and hype audiences toward particular conclusions for a variety of reasons. So, how can one go about verifying that what is read is truth and not false, misleading, or rooted in bias? While in some instances, the folks at the show MythBusters have helped viewers determine fact from urban legend, and those at Snopes help to determine validity of true and false articles, not all stories can necessarily be proved true or false. This is where looking into precedence helps.

Throughout school, many of us were taught, and reinforced through much practice, to find good and credible sources and cite them. Today, this exercise is one that can help those who seek reliable information. When reading or viewing an article or story, pay attention the named source of the information. Also, pay attention to whether or not facts are displayed, and not where those facts came from. If names and organizations are unknown, a quick google search can tell you more. There are some highly respected news sites that, despite what some may say, have consistently and thoroughly reported true stories grounded in facts. While not all audiences like the stories, The following agencies are reliable and trustworthy and often issue retractions if anything is a story is incorrect: The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, BBC, The Associated Press, NPR, and CNN, as well as many others.

At SafeSourcing, we believe in having true and reliable information for everything we undertake, and will use our knowledge and experience to find the best information for all of your sourcing projects. For more information on SafeSourcing and how we can help your organization, 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  a refresh that still applies today from our SafeSourcing, Inc Archives.

Our country has never seen a year like 2020. We certainly have no shortage of disasters what  with COIVID -19, Hurricanes, Wild Fires and  the resulting Economic Impact.  We’ve seen thousands of homes and businesses destroyed, evacuees seeking refuge in emergency shelters and government under extreme stress as a result. We’ve actually  never seen  anything like this in nay of our lifetimes.

As I read about these tragedies, I’m constantly thinking about how our customers and businesses  might recover from the ongoing  devastation? This brought to mind a previous white paper written by our CEO, Ron Southard, entitled, “4 Tips and 3 Pitfalls to Avoid when Sourcing Professional Services, A Little Planning can Save Companies Millions.” In it Ron listed poplar services targeted for new procurement projects: The professional services that could be useful for homes and businesses in Gatlinburg are: Disaster Response (Emergency Cleanup), Environmental Services, Construction Services, Temporary Labor, and Waste Management Services. Yes, Gatlinburg will be great again and sourcing professional services during this tragic disaster can help.

SafeSourcing, Inc. can assist you in times of disaster, and today may be a better time to source most categories than many buyers have seen in their lifetime. SafeSourcing provides innovative eProcurement tools that can increase efficiency and improve profitability for our customers, and provide superior value for all stakeholders. In addition to providing information, tools and services, SafeSourcing proactively supports consumer safety and environmental standards throughout the global supply chain management process. To learn more, visit SafeSourcing.com

Let SafeSourcing manage your sourcing projects so that you can continue to focus on other recovery related issues. We enjoy bringing this blog to you daily and hope you find value in it. For more information on how we can help you with your procurement needs or on our “Risk Free” trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.

Todays post is from Dave Wenig, Sr. Vice President of Sales and Services at SafeSourcing Inc.

In this post, which will be the first of several, we’re going to take a close look at the online Request for Quote (RFQ) from a different perspective. Rather than focus on measuring the value delivered as savings, let’s examine when that value is created and consider the vendor behaviors that went into that moment. If you need a primer on what an RFQ is, click here.

I honestly don’t know how many of these I’ve watched live over the years, but I suspect the number is in the thousands. Having done that, I’ve picked up on some trends. More recently, SafeSourcing introduced our Graphical View which has brought some of the trends I’ve noticed into focus visually.

Let’s start at the beginning of an RFQ. For years, I have said that many vendors will sit on the sidelines and wait a while before entering their bids. Many other vendors will begin with a higher price to start with. Others choose to start with a very low starting price and try to put their best foot forward. I respect all bidding strategies and it’s important that each vendor has a plan in place when they start. It’s all part of the RFQ process. In the image below, you’ll see a recent RFQ for receipt paper event that illustrates this starting point and the various strategies that the vendors are using in the first 5 or so minutes of an RFQ.

In this example, we can clearly see each of these vendor strategies beginning to play out. Each of the participating vendors were trained by SafeSourcing and knew in advance that this RFQ was scheduled to last 20 minutes plus extensions. As a result, most of them went with a strategy that allowded them to start with somewhat higher price than where they intended to begin. The vendor in green decided to enter in very aggressively low pricing from the start which set them apart. More on that later.

Consider these strategies and what you might take away from watching this unfold. As SafeSourcing’s customer, you would eventually wind up doing business with at least one of these vendors. How would it be helpful to know how they went about arriving at their final price? Does the vendor’s pricing strategy and behavior impact the way you will continue to work with them beyond the RFQ?

In the next installment, we’ll take a close look at the middle of the RFQ and then we’ll move on to the end of the RFQ and see how it all played out.

For more information, please contact SafeSourcing.

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

Have you ever wanted to know how to do a specific task? As an example, maybe you want to change the faucet in your kitchen sink, but do not have the knowledge or experience to do it. You could try guessing at how to do it, but the results may not be the best. You could ask friends, but perhaps none of them have done this either. Or you could look to the internet for instructions, guides, tools lists, and how-to videos.

The latter is what many of us do when faced with small tasks that we do not have prior experience in. If you want to pick up a new skill or begin some kind of project, you likely will look into it before you begin. This will help you in a number of ways.

First, researching a new project can give you an idea of the timeline. Will this project take an hour, two days, or three weeks? Knowing how long you will need can help you better prepare, like knitting. For instance, you can better prepare by knowing that a hat can be knitted in a few hours or that a sweater will likely take days.

Second, you may find out that you do not have all the tools you need. With many home repair projects, there may be large, specialized tools needed to complete all or a portion of a task, like needing a posthole digger to put in a fence. Often these specialized or high priced tools can be leased or rented to you for a fairly low price from your local home improvement store.

Third, you may research your project and find out you will need certain skills. Watching videos and reading explanations can help you understand what is needed and help you work to gain the skills needed. For instance, you may want to build a table, but may need to freshen up on your fractions and math skills before you begin cutting your wood.

There are some projects that, even after doing your research, you find that you will still need help. For example, you may need to hire an electrician to move your wall outlet across the room. Here, the risk of injury or damage is high and is likely better left to a professional. This is where SafeSourcing comes in. While we are not electricians, we are experts in our field and can help you or your organization in your procurement or supply needs. We have not only the tools needed to get the project completed with the best results, but also the experience to help you get through it on the appropriate timeline.

For more information on ways we can with your procurement goals or projects, or on our Risk Free trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.  We have an entire team ready to assist you today.