Today’s blog is by Margaret Stewart, Executive Assistant at SafeSourcing.

Often, the best way to stay on top of the business trend is to know where it is heading. Any predictions are pure speculation; however, there are ways to make educated guesses based on current information.

First, ask the right questions. Often times, all you need are the right questions to point you to the best answer. Yes and No questions fill this exact purpose. They are often the simplest to answer and can guide you to where you should be going.

For example, do you think technology will increase in the future? Do you think consumers want more technology? Would better technology help your business? If you answered yes to these, then you likely have a better direction of where to take your business.

Next, do your homework. So now that you have an idea of what the future might bring, now is the time for specifics. In order to know what the specifics are, you need to do your research. For the case above, you may want to start researching what technology is currently available. Then you can research what areas are being explored. This can provide an even more pointed direction for the future.

Finally, look for the critics. The most knowledgeable person knows the ups and downs to any changes. Again for the case above, see what people do not like about technology. See what roadblocks are present for certain aspirations. Look at what some of the technology could bring.

By focusing on these three steps, you can better prepare yourself and your business for what may come and may even get a jumpstart ahead of your competitors.

If you would like more information on how SafeSourcing can help your business prepare for the future 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 Blog is by Ryan Melowic Director of Special Projects at SafeSourcing.

Today I will be reviewing the items required in constructing the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for the Material Handling Equipment (MHE) Category.

Experience teaches us that in the MHE category, there are five major items that require review in order to understand the TCO for the MHE category.  Understanding these items in detail, how they interact and what part they play in the TCO for MHE provides key stakeholders and other decision makers the information needed to make strategic award of business decisions.   The five major items that make up the TCO in MHE are as follows.

  1. Purchase Price
  2. Maintenance
  3. Labor
  4. Electricity
  5. Interest

Over the life of your company’s spend for MHE equipment; your company can expect to see a breakdown in these items weighted as follows. Labor is the largest piece of the spend with actual purchase price being second and maintenance third and typically a few points below the purchase price. Electricity is the fourth component of TCO followed by interest which generally represents three to four percentage points. 

Understanding these components of your total price will provide you the opportunity to pull the various levers required in order to maximize price control of your MHE spend.  SafeSourcing has extensive experience in this category and knows what these levers are and how to manipulate them.

SafeSourcing has recently seen double digit savings in this category.

For further information on how SafeSourcing can help your company with the MHE category, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments

Now you have to be very careful and clear what you are asking for.

You hoped to get a product based on your specification that looked something like this.

Unfortunately you ended up with a product that looks exactly like this, and also spits at you to boot.

Remember that “A camel is a horse created by committee” so be careful what you ask for because that is not necessarily what you’ll get .

If you want really clean well thought out specifications and terms and conditions, please contact a SafeSourcing customers services representative.

Thanks.

Today’s post is by Michael Figueroa, Account Manager at SafeSourcing

Reaching out to vendors to obtain quotes or information is only as effective as the quality of specifications and requirements communicated. Variables such as size, quantity, color, material, mixture, function, distribution, configuration, integration, certification and compliance, or even unknown variables, can often times be readily identified by the individual with deep understanding of the product or service. Subject matter experts (SME) are often time the only link a procurement manager has within their organization to the processes that require the purchase. 

Having the wrong party involved
Getting buy-in from an internal resource who isn’t well-informed about how the product/service is to be utilized can undermine the value of a request for quote. Without the right understanding, a vendor can misinterpret specifications that leave too much open to interpretation. A SME with good insight can inform the process to keep the requirements in line with expectations.

Vendor referrals
Often times a SME will already have some preferred vendors in mind, and their referrals can be a great starting point to finding a full complement of vendors that can meet your needs. Furthermore, previously known vendors often work in the specialization that your SME operates within, and may be familiar enough with the industry to forge a smooth transaction.

Confirm what you know
Make sure to check what you learn from the SME with the information you have on previously purchased products, because a misunderstanding can be costly. Also, if you are bringing a new vendor to the table the SME may not always be on board with the change, even if it needs to happen. Make sure there are no conflicts of interest steering the project in the wrong direction.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can assist your team with this process or on our “Risk Free” trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.  We have an entire customer services team waiting to assist you today.
 
We look forward to your comments.

Today’s blog post is by Margaret Stewart, Executive Assistant at SafeSourcing.

For many parents, this is may be the most wonderful time of the year. It is time for school to start. It may not necessarily be that parents enjoy seeing their young ones bussed out of the house and off their hands to learn for a large portion of the day, although some may, but rather that this time of year indicates a return to normalcy. Vacations are wrapping up, the busy summer schedule is simmering down, and the focus on the daily grind of the next ten months is back to priority.

So, what does back to school have to do with business, or even procurement? First, I can vouch for an increase in traffic on my morning commute when the school season starts. More people are out doing the things they need to do because business season is back on full-time.

As strange as it sounds, the return to school also marks the beginning of the holidays. Even though Thanksgiving isn’t for another three months and Christmas another four, now is the time to start preparing. Many companies must bring on more staff and it takes time to get the new hires properly trained. For those in retail, the start of the school year brings an increase in sales in addition to the upcoming needs of the holiday season. They must start planning and procuring now for what they will need later.

If you would like more information on how SafeSourcing can help your business plan for the new school year or source for the upcoming holidays 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.

Todays post is by Ronald D. Southard, CEO at SafeSourcing Inc.

The honor of attending a retail tradeshow was often reserved for the best sales people or those with the best presentation skills.

According to Wikipedia Trade is the voluntary, often asymmetric, exchange of goods, services, or money. Trade is also called commerce or transaction. A mechanism that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and services. As such, Wikipedia defines A trade fair (trade show or expo) is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products, service, study activities of rivals and examine recent market trends and opportunities.

Unfortunately as products have become more complex particularly in the area of non consumables and technology driven products it has become much more difficult for these shows to drive new orders. Leads maybe, orders not so much. This is primarily do to the fact that most decision makers don?t show up at these shows and if they do, may not even visit suppliers booths or be able to get a presentation if they do visit.

These are expensive events for suppliers to attend, so you may not get the exposure you are looking for on the tradeshow floor. Normally you can get a list of attendees on line that will allow you to make sure you are going to be able to spend your time wisely.

If you are a retailer planning to attend a trade show, have your plan in place as to what you want to accomplish in advance.

1.?Who will you be having dinner with?
2.?What booths will you visit?
3.?What is it you want as a take away from your visit
4.?Do you have any messages you want to pass on to specific suppliers.
5.?What presentations or education sessions will you attend?
6.?How will you report what you have learned back to decision makers?

If you don’t care to wait until the next tradeshow to begin saving some serious money, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Services Account Manager today.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments

Today?s post is by Mark Davis; Sr. Vice President and COO at SafeSourcing.

As I celebrated my 44th birthday yesterday, it occurred to me that birthdays and other life events like, weddings, funerals, graduations all seem to be common checkpoints to evaluate the project we call ?life.?? We evaluate how far we?ve come, remember certain successes and look forward to what is still yet to come.? In so many ways the evaluation of the long term processes and projects run in the procurement world need those same types of checkpoints to evaluate the progress and to make adjustments where needed.? Today we will look at some of the things that should be done during these times.

Sweating the small stuff ? I can honestly say yesterday, when reflecting back on 44 years of life, that I could not remember one time when I stressed over a little mistake or some perceived problem I had at work.? Oh they happened, many of them, but my brain decided to filter out and store only the important pieces of experience.? If only we could employ this same mentality on our procurement projects.? There is a goal and that goal has milestones and tasks that need to be accomplished but there will be challenges.?? Specifications that change and need to be updated, suppliers that choose to be difficult, business owners that change direction for the spend are all things that happen but that need to be overcome quickly and with as little stress as possible so that the eventual goal, the value add, the savings, the new supplier, the one piece that WILL be remembered can be achieved.

Enjoy and recognize the progress ? Business moves fast and business practices, especially in the United States, come with high expectations.? As much as we sometimes try to act like it in our business and personal lives, we are NOT machines!?? We need gratification and confirmation that what we do and who we are is important.? Build it into your business processes and projects to recognize when your teams do well.? Your owners, suppliers, internal customers and peers will have no problem letting you know when you haven?t succeeded so take some time and enjoy when you do.

Evaluate and Adjust goals ? When I was 10 years old I wanted to be a train conductor because that was what my dad was, an engineer.? Many people were amused when I told them my Mechanical Engineer dad drove trains.? When I was 16 I thought I wanted to be a doctor and by the time I graduated from college I was a journalist who knew how to write software.? The point is that my goals changed.? I planned accordingly and set out to meet the goals I set but periodically I had to checkpoint my life to see if there were any factors that were influencing the success of those goals, and decide if changes to those factors need to be changed or did the end result I was reaching need adjusted.? Purchasing Standard Operating Procedures need this same type of review.? Factors will influence the expected outcome that either must be changed themselves or the expected outcome or timeframe adjusted to accommodate the new factors.? This can only be done if the checkpoints are used to honestly evaluate the progress rather than plowing forward with blinders on coming to the end saying ?What happened??

Time and the world will change and it will change your SOPs and projects and require points to evaluate where you came from and where you are heading.? For more information on how SafeSourcing can assist you with these changes or on our ?Risk Free? trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.? We have an entire customer services team waiting to assist you today.

We look forward to your comments.

Today’s post is by Mark Davis; Sr. Vice President and COO at SafeSourcing.

Hydrogen fuel cells are one of the hottest new technologies on the market today.  This technology captures the electrical energy from a chemical reaction such as hydrogen and while it was introduced in 1838, the practical application is just beginning to pique with major retailers and manufacturers planning on increasing their use over the next few decades.  Today’s blog will look at a few of the current applications corporations are looking to so that they can leverage the advantages of fuel cells.

Warehouse Equipment – Warehouse equipment that has been configured to be powered by fuel cells instead of traditional batteries is growing.  Companies like Wal-Mart, Procter and Gamble and Mercedes are all committing to long term use of fuel cell technology with agreements to purchase new technology that will reduce costs and increase overall power at their disposal.   A recent study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory stated that Total Cost of Ownership even with current technology costs can be reduced from 5-10% and that will increase as the cost of this technology gets cheaper and cheaper to manufacture.

Backup Power – Backup power grids can be critical for hospitals, businesses and retailers and even more so in areas of the country prone to hurricanes, snowstorms and tornados.  Traditional supplementary sources can be effective but since they are powered by fuel that can also be difficult to obtain in a natural disaster, more and more organizations are looking to fuel cell technology to augment or replace their current backup power grid.  Originally designed for NASA equipment for remote application, the development of closed loop fuel cells can use air and solar power to provide a backup “off-the grid” power solution that does not depend on outside fuels.

Employee Vehicles – It seems like the next big thing in the auto industry is the emergence of Electric Vehicles, however all news reports state that major manufacturers are moving away from Electric Vehicles towards hydrogen fuel based on cost and based on newly 0% emissions and on a solution that has more long range power and efficiency.  Currently Toyota is leading this charge but manufacturers like Honda and Hyundai are also committing long term to hydrogen fuel cell development.  The potential to develop a closed loop vehicle with little to no need of fossil fuel is the eventual goal and one which would clearly change the landscape of business and logistics across the world.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can assist you in exploring fuel cell solutions for your business or on our “Risk Free” trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.  We have an entire customer services team waiting to assist you today.

We look forward to your comments.