Archive for the ‘E-procurement’ Category

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Retailers; who monitors your supplier?s safety performance?

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

This is an even more complex issue when you consider that in order to do so data is required from your organization relative to the historical performance of your existing suppliers, data from the supplier as to their own assessment of their historical performance and finally other types external data that neither you or your incumbent may have.

When we talk safety, the question that retailers need to ask their suppliers is pretty simple. What certifications do you carry relative to food safety such as Safe Quality Foods (SQF), Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), American Humane Certified and many more? Additionally you should question all suppliers and manufacturers relative to their USDA and FDA inspection history.

Although Green Initiatives fall into the area of the social consciousness of a company, there are a variety of questions that should also be asked in this area as well such as what are your own companies green product initiatives such as Green Seal, Eco-logo and Green Star certifications and participations and how do your existing and new suppliers support or plan to support these same initiatives.

As retailers consider their alternatives in these areas, it may be easier for them to rely on their e-procurement solution providers for this data if the provider has it included in their supplier database. Pre-populated e-procurement templates can also act as a form of scorecard for existing suppliers and potential news sources of supply. This is actually a type of automated RFI process which can save retailers a lot of work and time when trying to find additional sources of supply or when trying to drive cost down with existing suppliers. These data may also help to protect retailers from harmful litigation when products end up not being as safe as promised.

If your existing e-procurement provider can not provide these types of data on demand as a normal byproduct of your standard e-procurement process at no additional cost, you should consider changing providers?

As always, we look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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SafeSourcing Website experiences significant traffic growth.

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

During the last ninety day period the SafeSourcing website www.safesourcing.com has experienced significant growth globally. According to a number of rating services including Alexa and Google Analytics our website has had visitors from thirty seven (37) countries. Our reach which is a percentage measure of global internet users has grown 130%. Our traffic rank has increased 168% and our page views have increased 150%.

This growth places us amongst the top websites in the procurement space. Spend Matters and Sourcing Innovation continue to be the ranking leaders in our space. Both are required daily reading for this author.

We are very proud of our growth as it indicates that SafeSourcing is providing valuable content to regular visitors as well as registered members. We are also enjoying a good mix of both returning and new users. In reviewing these data the entire website is being explored on a regular basis including the following areas.

1. Sourcebook our professional social network for procurement professionals.
2. The SafeSourcing Wiki
3. The SafeSourcing daily Blog
4. SafeSourcing environment and safety alerts
5. SafeSourcing specifications template library
6. The SafeSourceIt? Supplier Database
7. The SafeSourcing Query tool
8. SafeSourcing Product Information Sheets
9. SafeSourcing White Papers
10. SafeSourcing Press Releases.

Thank you to those of you that have allowed us to achieve this growth.

As always, we look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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Twenty steps to running high quality e-procurement events.

Monday, May 19th, 2008
Regardless of the naming convention used there are certain rules which if followed will create higher quality events for?both?the retailer and the supplier? This will result in creating better savings opportunities or cost avoidance in? tough markets. The importance of focusing on a clear process will increase event participation. This focus on quality will be recognized by your existing trading partners and potential new sources of supply, and will keep them coming back in the future to compete fairly for your business.
Below are twenty?steps that are mandatory if you wish to have success with e-notitation events and specifically? reverse auctions.??
  1. Executive sponsorship is mandatory.This is required at the CEO, CFO, CPO, CLO or head of the supply chain.
  2. Get the entire buying organization together for a kickoff session.
  3. Provide an over view of what you are going to do and the impact it can have on the company. Use company financial models.
  4. Discuss and agree on success criteria.
  5. Every event is not a homerun. Singles and doubles score runs.
  6. Create a fun environment.
  7. Consider prizes for the most creative use of an auction.
  8. Use scorecards by department with percent of savings.
  9. Discuss the meaning and importance of corporate aggregation.
  10. Hand out event templates to gather existing product specifications.
  11. Put a time requirement on data collection.
  12. Gather an accurate list of your present suppliers.
  13. Work with your sourcing company to identify a top 100 list of events.
  14. Calendar the events.
  15. Prioritize by dollar value, date and strategic value.
  16. Conduct department level discovery meetings of 30 minutes to an hour.
  17. Investigate existing contract language.
  18. Look for auto renewal (evergreen) language roadblocks.
  19. Determine alternate sources of supply with your sourcing company.
  20. Develop an event rules and instruction template and post with each event.
Although these steps are not all encompassing, they provide a format for getting started that offers the best opportunity for reduction in cost of goods, expenses and improvement in corporate earnings. Be sure to combine this with a business partner that knows your business.
We ?look forward to and appreciate?your comments.

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