Archive for the ‘E-procurement Solutions’ Category

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Could You Get More Procurement Savings?

Tuesday, November 28th, 2023

 

 Today’s post is from our archives at  SafeSourcing.

Many of the organizations we speak with believe they handle their purchasing reasonably well, either with their existing internal processes or without any eProcurement tools at all. These companies may even realize savings as they negotiate with their vendors. That’s said; very few of these organizations are doing as well as they should, given the wide availability of eProcurement solutions and/or the ease of use available with full-service SaaS options.

Here are my top 5 signs that your organization is not maximizing the savings potential by using only a traditional procurement process.

  1. You only seek quotes from 2-3 vendors. Historically, our data suggests that having 6-8 suppliers quoting drives the highest possible savings.
  2. You haven’t competitively bid a category in the last 3 years. It is at this point that we find a category should be sourced, including non-incumbent vendors, to ensure you are still receiving the best market prices.
  3. You don’t have easy access to your existing contracts. If you don’t already, you should implement a contract management tool. Too often, we see organizations unsure of contract terms and key dates falling victim to unfavorable auto-renewals.
  4. You do not have a set of specifications for the category. This is both common and fixable and places the incumbent vendor in a place of perpetual power in negotiations.
  5. You’re not using eProcurement. As well as your organization does when negotiating, we see significant increases in savings, often 10-20% more, when our clients use their eProcurement tools effectively. One client recently admitted that they would never have asked for the prices or discounts that we deliver for them. Each of the four preceding signs is also an indicator that you’re not using eProcurement. In fact, by implementing a strategic eProcurement program, you’ll likely resolve one through four organically.

Do you see any of these signs in your organization? If so, take steps to correct and you’ll see immediate, measurable results.  For more information, please contact SafeSourcing.

We look forward to your comments.

 

 

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Why use SafeSourcing versus other providers in the Procurement Space?

Wednesday, November 15th, 2023

 

Today’s post is from a collection of data and other tools that SafeSourcing’s CEO Ronald D. Southard uses regularly in the pursuit of fresh content.

  1. Cost Savings: SafeSourcing can help businesses achieve cost savings through strategic sourcing and negotiation processes. By leveraging their expertise and technology, they will assist in obtaining better prices from suppliers than you can.
  2. Efficiency in Procurement: SafeSourcing offers tools and platforms that streamline the procurement process, making it more efficient and reducing the time and resources required for sourcing all categories of goods and services.
  3. Supplier Relationship Management: SafeSourcing might provide services to help businesses manage relationships with their suppliers effectively. This can include monitoring performance, addressing issues, and fostering collaborative partnerships.
  4. Risk Mitigation: The company may have tools and processes in place to assess and mitigate risks associated with the procurement process. This could include evaluating supplier reliability, compliance, and other factors that may impact business operations.
  5. Access to a Network of Suppliers: SafeSourcing could offer access to a wide network of pre-vetted suppliers in their SafeSourceIt™ Supplier Database. This can be particularly beneficial for businesses looking to expand their supplier base or enter into new markets.
  6. Technology Integration: If SafeSourcing utilizes advanced technologies, businesses may benefit from the integration of these tools into their procurement processes. This could include e-sourcing platforms, analytics, and other technological solutions embedded in the SafeSourceIt™ family of solutions.
  7. Compliance Support: SafeSourcing through regularly sourcing hundreds of categories may assist businesses in ensuring that their procurement practices comply with relevant or evolving regulations and industry standards. This can be crucial for avoiding legal issues and maintaining a positive corporate image.
  8. Customized Solutions: The company may tailor its managed services to meet the specific needs of individual businesses. This personalized approach can be advantageous in addressing unique challenges and optimizing the procurement process.

To learn more please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Services Representative.

 

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Bankruptcy is not fake news, and you might be next if you don’t pay attention.

Thursday, November 9th, 2023

 

Today’s post is by Ron Southard, CEO at SafeSourcing.

I read an article today on TheStreet.com by Kirk O’Neil titled Beloved fast-food chain files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Quite frankly it took a while to figure out what chain the article was referring to because it spent a lot of the article talking about the problems Rite Aide is having who also filed for Chapter 11. Then it went on to talk about  a furniture company that had to close 27 stores in 14 states and ultimately had to file for Chapter 7 liquidation.

The article did finally mention a restaurant chain that had to file for chapter 11 because sales have not recovered from the Covid Pandemic. How often have we heard this?

The fact is the fast-food sector of the retail is suffering, the model has changed quite a bit. How often do you go inside your favorite location to order your food (it is faster). Most of the takeaway or to go traffic is done through the drive-up windows. I’m pretty sure we are going to start seeing them again in the c-store space as they continue to try and capitalize on fresh food offerings, some of which have become outstanding. Even food service distributors are shifting their attention to the c-store vertical as a new source of business.

So, what’s the point? There is a lot of pain in all retail, it’s a war for the customers reduced spending. Thank the FED, The current Democrat Administration, and the Banks for that. However, where there is pain there is opportunity. If you look for it, it may just save some jobs or pay for that new self-checkout because you can’t find enough staff  for the shift work in 24-hour operations.

If you ask, you can find lower prices on just about everything. Capital Projects, Cost of Goods and Expense. Here’s the thing, you are understaffed for the job you have to do. There are other projects that the company will never get to.  You don’t have the time to do it yourself. That’s where SafeSourcing comes in. We know the categories as well or better than you do. We know where all of the suppliers are and have relationships with them, that you do not.

If you wan to reduce costs, I mean really reduce them so you can afford to do other things, Contact SafeSourcing. We guarantee our work, and our ROI is often greater than 10X and immediate.

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Where is the best place for retailers to spend their effort to improve profitability?

Friday, October 27th, 2023

 

Today’s post is an oldie but goody by Ronald D. Southard, CEO at SafeSourcing

The answer to this posts byline is of course all three!

Obviously, all retail companies would like to focus on all three areas and there are even sub sections of these top line areas that we could spell out as needing attention. The challenge is where to deploy already taxed resources?

It does not require an accountant to figure this out. If we assume that COGS or cost of goods and services is about 75% of top line revenue that would result in a simple gross margin of 25%. Based on a number of industries reports we are also safe using a shrink number of 3% of top line revenue.

This author is aware that there are a a few companies with shrink below 1% and cost of goods below 75% which means there are also companies with gross margin better than 25%. The obvious question is are these companies that solution providers want to target for profit improvement sales? Probably not.

So, let’s look at an example of shrink improvement with data analysis tools and process improvement tools versus cost compression with SaaS e-procurement tools. Let’s assume we have a company that does top line sales of $1B. Using a shrink number of 3% shrink would be $30M annually. If you were able to reduce shrink by a third in one year, profit improvement would be $10M. If this were a supermarket company with a 1% bottom line or $10M, improvement could be as much as 100%.

Now let’s take a look at reduction in cost. If we assume the same company has COGS of 75% or $750M and that we were only going to address 20% of that number or $150 and only reduce those costs by 20% which is slightly above industry averages the net profit improvement would be $30M or 300% improvement in year over year net profit. If we were only able to achieve 10% savings which is well below industry averages, net profit would improve by 150%.

I’ll leave the gross margin example for you to figure out. In the above case it is clear that attacking COGS has an impact on the bottom line of up to 3 to 1 versus addressing shrink with your already taxed resources.

If you are interested in an immediate impact to your bottom line, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Services associate today.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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How does your company control all of your purchasing at all levels?

Wednesday, October 25th, 2023

 

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

SafeCatalog™ is a tool that allows companies to consolidate the products and services they order into one online view for employees. This tool is easily customizable and allows users to create different catalogs for multiple departments within their organization. It also provides control over ordering by listing only approved vendors at negotiated rates.

When integrated with the SafePO™ module, users can have their catalog orders automatically processed and entered into an online purchase order system that allows suppliers to be notified of the order once it has been approved.

Catalogs can be populated with items from one or multiple suppliers and are presented in a way that includes descriptions and provides prices in one location.

SafeCatalog™ provides users the leverage to monitor and control spending through spending thresholds that ensure that users are receiving the correct price for all items.

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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Did you win Monday night’s Powerball?

Wednesday, October 4th, 2023

 

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

While I can’t provide the customer’s name, they are NOT a $5B retailer per yesterday’s posts example. However, they are smart and focused and may well be some day. They took SafeSourcing up on our No Risk Offer. Their ROI will more than pay for their contract moving forward. Most procurement teams do not believe these types of results are possible in the current economy. Most of your teams will tell you this is a waste of time. I’ll bet you could use another $338K right now.

Here are the results:

  1. Expense Category: Pilot Event Number One:
    1. Savings $298,270.80
  2. For Resale Category: Event Number Two:
    1. Savings $40,072.32
  3. Total Savings: $338,343.12
    1. ROI 26X

You can still test me, if you’d like, this link will come directly to me. Your team will tell you this is not possible. I guarantee that your odds are better than 1 in 292 million to win Powerball.

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.

For more information, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Services Associate.

 

 

 

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Did you know APPLE changed the charging port again?

Friday, September 22nd, 2023

 

It’s been a few years since they did it, but they did it again.

The new iPhone 15 will have a new charging port, ditching the Lightning port that it came out with a few years ago.  When I first heard this I was thinking here we go again, time to throw out all of my recently purchased cables and buy something else from Apple at an expensive price.  The good news is that they finally did something right and the new charging port is USB-C which is the standard for other devices and not something that is proprietary to Apple.  This port is widely used in other smartphones, computers, gaming systems, tablets, cameras, and headphones.  So, you may already have some of these cables lying around your home or office.  Just think if you misplace your cable now you can just grab a cord from your laptop or one of gaming systems and not have to hassle with looking for the correct cable.  The change made by Apple was partly caused by a European Union mandate that requires all mobile devices to switch over to USB-C by late 2024.  The reason this standardization was put in place is so that people do not need to continue to purchase different cables for all of their devices.  It’s a little too early to tell but who knows Apple may end up getting rid of the USB-C port in the future and go to wireless charging.  They already removed the headphone port when they released the iPhone 7 to make it even slimmer than previous versions.  If you are thinking of upgrading to the new iPhone 15 here are a few other new features to research.

  • New Titanium Design
  • 48 Megapixel Camera
  • 120Hz Display
  • New Active Button
  • More Repairable Design
  • Improved Imaging Software
  • Brighter Display

If you are looking to purchase new smartphones or devices for your company and would like help researching available options, feel free to contact SafeSourcing.   We can gather all the necessary information for you and help you decide which one 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

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Seasonal Preparations

Monday, September 18th, 2023

 

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

Whenever we see the seasons change, it’s easy to just enjoy the changes as they come. For many people, that means cooler temperatures, favorite sports teams playing, and changing of foliage. For many other people, that means preparing for what most aren’t yet thinking about.

You may be surprised to learn that right now is the time to prepare for the next few seasons. This means having your snow removal company lined up and having agreements in place. You may even want to get a jump on your winter supplies.

While many retailers like to pull holiday decorations and festivities out into the store ahead of time, you can benefit from doing so supply searches ahead of time too. While your organization might not need Halloween candy or pumpkins pies, you might need ice melt or extra windshield wash fluid in stock. If you run out of stock, they can be much harder to find and you can’t sell or use what you don’t have.

Thinking ahead and planning ahead can save you time and money. For instance, if you don’t have someone for your snow removal and it snows early in the season, you might just lose out on business if a competitor has their lots and sidewalks cleared.

A procurement partner, like SafeSourcing, can help your organization not only determine the categories you could benefit from sourcing, but also help with every step along the way.  We can work for you or with your team to find the services or supplies you need from vendors that can help.

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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Are you sourcing a new category or cannot find a specification for a current category?

Monday, August 21st, 2023

 

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

Often when speaking with customers and prospects I am asked why SafeSourcing can reduce their current pricing as dramatically as we do.  My fist response to ask how often they source the category. The answers range from annually to every few years or longer. From there I ask them how they keep track of industry changes and evolution. This normally draws a blank look. My answer to them is that categories that they source even annually are evolving every day. Just think about waste removal the transition to a circular economy. What you might source for service today may not be the same as what is available six months from now, and at what cost SafeSourcing may source those categories dozens of times in a year and all of those changes are kept in our The SafeSourceIt™ Event Templates Library and are up to date to the present day. Often these templates are more complete than data the customers have on file.

Our SafeSourceIt™ Event Templates Library is available to customers of SafeSourcing Inc. This library is designed to shorten the process of procuring a variety of not for resale and for resale products by making SafeSourcing’ s best practices tools available to our customers to shorten the amount of work one must do to prepare for quality e-procurement events. For more information or a demonstration of this tool please contact marketing@safesourcing.com.

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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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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