Today?s post is by Alyson Usserman, Account Manager at SafeSourcing.

I started at SafeSourcing on February 17th. I had interviewed multiple times, and came in ready to learn. Whenever anyone is hired on for a job, friends, family, and random people ask, ?What will you be doing?? Well, for some, that could be a potentially tricky question to answer. I found this question particularly cumbersome because, at the time, I knew what I would be doing, but I didn?t know. I didn?t know that this business is actually pretty tricky. For instance, when you say, ?live reverse auction,? people have one of two reactions. Either they have no idea what you?re talking about, or they absolutely hate them because of prejudgment or a bad prior experience.

While having a conversation last night with Arbonne?s CEO, Kay Napier, she asked me how I currently supported my family. I told her that I work for a procurement company in Dayton, Ohio. She seemed shocked while saying to me, ?I dislike things like that.? It?s a little daunting to have a CEO of a major company stand there and say that she dislikes your job. Talking with her more, I discovered that a past procurement company had promised more than they could provide in savings, a ?fool proof system? that didn?t work, and overall poor customer service. She too, told me that she was shocked after talking with me, and informed me that I was a great saleswoman.

Sometimes, people prejudge a process before actually knowing anything about it. In procurement that is one of the main obstacles I deal with every day. I will call a supplier to see if they have a particular product and then I am asked, ?What company is that, what do you do?? and they become focused on what we do when I am trying to ask questions of them, and their company.

SafeSourcing is a procurement party that is trying to help companies, not hinder them. 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.? We have an entire customer services team waiting to assist you today.

We look forward to your comments.

Today?s post is by Steve Schwerin, account manager here at SafeSourcing.

I?m still reading Seth Godin after discovering him a few months ago.? He has authored numerous best sellers including Purple Cow and the Icarus Deception.? Though Godin?s expertise is marketing, it seems to me that almost everything he has to say, in some form, applies to procurement.? You can read about some of his ideas on Fastcompany.com.

In Purple Cow, Godin puts forth the idea that in a world overrun with great products, the way to succeed is to be extraordinary.? This of itself is not a new concept.? How Godin arrives at this thought may have a bit more impact.? He tells the story of traveling through France with his family and being enchanted at a countryside filled with ?storybook cows?.? After a while, though, the family stopped noticing the cows; the once enchanting had become ordinary.? He thought to himself that a purple cow, on the other hand, would grab their attention.? Examples of the strategy driving revenue for cities is fairly commonplace; people drive for miles to see something extraordinary in their minds whether it is to Deadwood, South Dakota to see the spot where Wild Bill Hickok died or the headquarters of the Longaberger company in Newark, Ohio shaped like a giant basket.?

What is your company?s Purple Cow?? It can be a product or a service.? Can you build the extraordinary without an extraordinary procurement company?

We, at SafeSourcing, are here to help you build your Purple Cow.? 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 at 888-261-9070.? We have an entire customer services team waiting to assist you today.

We look forward to your comments.

Today?s Post is by Michael Figueroa, Account Manager at SafeSourcing.

A procurement project?s development is a back and forth of exploration until all parties have a full understanding of each other. There will be extrenous variables that the procurement profesional will be unaware of, but as long as this is understood it doesn?t have to be a liability. These variables could be unspoken goals of the purchasing party, compliance issues buried under complexity of the law, unspecified product codes, private price forcasting data, unidentified exclusive corporate business agreements, usage, location, or price data, etc etc.

During the process to draw this information out, it will be discovered that there is additional information needed that you never even knew you needed until you asked a completely unrelated question. This is why developing a procurement project often occurs through incremental steps of discovery.

For instance, your first foray into the process may be to ask what the product or service is, what the spend is, and where it?s geographically located. During this first step you will identify NEW variables that need to be informed in your next step, which will uncover new variables to be informed for the next step, and so on. Each time you have a new conference call, sit down meeting, or document draft, the understanding between parties will increase with diminishing returns and with greater amount of detail:

1. First draft: Understand 60%, Need 40% clarification
2. Second draft: Understand 80%, Need 20% clarification
3. Third draft: Understand 95%, Need 5% clarification
4. Etc etc.

Your goal in the process should be learn what questions need to be answered. Starting with the wrong questions will often lead to developing a project where no one is even aware that you don?t have full understanding because of assumptions made through a SME?s own confirmation bias. Often times the purchaser and the supplier have many assumptions that are unique to their company or industry. It?s our job as procurement professionals to find them out, but if we don?t understand the key concepts behind how knowledge transfer works, we?re bound to make costly ommisions.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can assist your team 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 post is by Ryan Melowic; Vice President of Customer Services at SafeSourcing

SafeSourcing was founded on core values that separate us from our competition.  These core values drive the SafeSourcing team and is a key element as to why we are more economical and achieves far better results with our eProcurement projects then does our competition.  The simple core values are:

1.  The highest quality results possible

2.  Keen attention to details

3.  Constant improvement

4.  Veracity and honesty in all the we do

To deliver high quality results SafeSourcing’s team of trained procurement specialists’ research and analyze indentified project categories.   Careful consideration is given to market conditions.  Any other key price drivers are researched and analyzed.   Understanding the category in depth is key to delivering high quality results.

In the eProcurement industry, Keen attention must be given to details.  The details are what allow vendors to compete for your business accurately.  If there is any  lack of clarity in the specification it could mean disaster for a project.

By being willing to constantly improve our process, positions SafeSourcing as an innovator in the eProcurement industry.  We listen to our customers and vendors feedback so we can improve our tools.  SafeSourcing’s procurement specialists participate in programs to further their procurement education.   We want to be the source for experience for all of your company’s procurement needs.

Customers and suppliers have to know they can trust our process.  By never wavering on veracity and honesty, SafeSourcing has proven we are a company to be trusted.  SafeSourcing will always keep this important attribute in mind with decisions we make.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can assist your team with eProcurement Solutions or on our “Risk Free” trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative to assist you today.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.