Archive for the ‘Procurement Solutions’ Category

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Retail procurement needs to step up. Your Investors, Consumers and other Stakeholders demand it!

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

What troubles this author most about this is that the industries included in the Aberdeen Group study such as education, manufacturing, energy, utilities, financial services and others are all using these tools to trim their costs and improve earnings. Retail has had at best terrible earnings numbers historically with the supermarket industry averaging net earnings of below one percent (1%).

I was just talking with our CFO today about the impact of these tools. I used a very realistic example of a $2B supermarket company with one percent net earnings of $20M.  I can see the board now. If the same retailer were to source as little as $10M of their budgeted spend and reduced costs by just 20% or $2M, net earnings would improve in the budgeted year by 10%. If you are a CFO and can’t get excited about that, I’m not sure what would excite you.

This is not just rhetoric. We have customers with savings that are almost double that with a huge resulting impact on earnings. I know that there are a lot of bloggers and others out there that doubt the impact of e-procurement tools or think that reverse auctions as an example have run their course. Quite frankly that thinking is misguided because in the  retail industry the large majority of companies have never used these tools and have been doing business with many of the same suppliers for more than two years. These are both indicators of the fact that you are overpaying for products and services.

You can be comfortable and be busy or you can grab the bull by the horns and improve costs, earnings, stock price and even the bonuses of your management team.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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Retailers do you have a sustainable e-negotiation program?

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

If you have a limited source of new suppliers, including new vendors every time you run a new e-negotiation event will be incredibly difficult. Resultantly your process by default ends up as just a new way to continue to award business to the same suppliers over and over again. This process may yield some productivity increases initially, but over time meaningful price compression will be difficult if not impossible.

Solution providers suggest that somewhere between six and ten suppliers are required to drive optimum e-negotiation results, these data suggest that attaining sustainable results from the e-negotiation process has a direct correlation to the number of new suppliers available and willing to compete for your business.

By example let?s suppose you can only find six suppliers to invite to an e-negotiation event. Your customer services team using their best sales skills can probably convince most if not all of these suppliers to participate. This may be fine the first time around. Although this author believes there are better sustainability strategy even given this scenario.

Suppliers that finished first or second or incumbents that were displaced may agree to participate again in the future, but with a smaller number of suppliers and no new sources it will make the rerun of this auction less successful.

Lacking a robust source of new suppliers, and in the above case we only had a total of six available how can companies create a sustainable process.

The lack of a robust global supplier database limits future price compression at a minimum. It may also have a negative impact on quality, process and service. Particularly if history suggests a minimum of six to ten suppliers in order to drive optimum results…

Make sure to ask your e-negotiation solutions provider how many suppliers they have in their supplier database and if you can have regular access, it will determine your future success.

We appreciate and look forward to your comments

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This is Part III of an III part post series titled “Technology Drives E.Procurement Acceptance” focuses on Reasons to Use E-Procurement.

Monday, May 24th, 2010

 Part III Reasons to Use E-Procurement

Sometimes an explanation can be lost in translation so we have developed the following 20 reasons why utilizing the technology-based e-procurement process can provide significant benefits to you and your company. These are certainly not all of the benefits that can be derived from the use of the e-procurement process, but it is a good starting point.

While this list is not ranked in order of importance, many might argue that not much is more important than the #1 item which is improved earnings.

• Improve net earnings
• Enhance safety
• Reinforce corporate social responsibility
• Find new sources of supply
• Streamline the procurement process
• Elevate supplier accountability to meet your standards
• Improve quality
• Reduce costs in a volatile market
• Ensure a competitive environment
• Buy at market pricing
• Maintain a reliable history for comparison
• Educate suppliers as to how you wish to procure products
• Eliminates questions through effective supplier training
• Maintain consistent product specifications
• Improve negotiation
• Improve carbon footprint
• Simplify your “award of business” process
• Free up time for other tasks
• Process works for all product categories
• Provide a detailed audit trail

E-procurement offers many benefits for a broad range of companies in a variety of industries, assuming that the process selected is a high quality system with an extensive supplier database. We must also assume that the e-procurement process is implemented properly with the purchasing company and that the experienced e-procurement system provider works in concert with the buyer in order to realize optimal cost savings.

Numerous technology advancements have streamlined the e-procurement process and made it more user-friendly and less expensive. A company today can expect to reap significant benefits from e-procurement, including: saving money on purchases, reducing the time involved in the purchasing process, tracking current and archival activities and results, eliminating waste and improving the overall efficiency of the supply chain.

 Take advantage of the technology advancements and don’t overlook the benefits of implementing an e-procurement process to strengthen your company’s bottom line.

To download copies of this entire article please use the following link.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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This is Part III of an III part post series titled ?Technology Drives E.Procurement Acceptance? focuses on Reasons to Use E-Procurement.

Monday, May 24th, 2010

?Part III Reasons to Use E-Procurement

Sometimes an explanation can be lost in translation so we have developed the following 20 reasons why utilizing the technology-based e-procurement process can provide significant benefits to you and your company. These are certainly not all of the benefits that can be derived from the use of the e-procurement process, but it is a good starting point.

While this list is not ranked in order of importance, many might argue that not much is more important than the #1 item which is improved earnings.

? Improve net earnings
? Enhance safety
? Reinforce corporate social responsibility
? Find new sources of supply
? Streamline the procurement process
? Elevate supplier accountability to meet your standards
? Improve quality
? Reduce costs in a volatile market
? Ensure a competitive environment
? Buy at market pricing
? Maintain a reliable history for comparison
? Educate suppliers as to how you wish to procure products
? Eliminates questions through effective supplier training
? Maintain consistent product specifications
? Improve negotiation
? Improve carbon footprint
? Simplify your ?award of business? process
? Free up time for other tasks
? Process works for all product categories
? Provide a detailed audit trail

E-procurement offers many benefits for a broad range of companies in a variety of industries, assuming that the process selected is a high quality system with an extensive supplier database. We must also assume that the e-procurement process is implemented properly with the purchasing company and that the experienced e-procurement system provider works in concert with the buyer in order to realize optimal cost savings.

Numerous technology advancements have streamlined the e-procurement process and made it more user-friendly and less expensive. A company today can expect to reap significant benefits from e-procurement, including: saving money on purchases, reducing the time involved in the purchasing process, tracking current and archival activities and results, eliminating waste and improving the overall efficiency of the supply chain.

?Take advantage of the technology advancements and don?t overlook the benefits of implementing an e-procurement process to strengthen your company?s bottom line.

To download copies of this entire article please use the following link.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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This is Part II of an III part post series titled “Technology Drives E.Procurement Acceptance” focuses on Getting Started!

Friday, May 21st, 2010

Getting Started

First and foremost in getting the e-procurement process right is to select a solution provider or partner that knows what they are doing and is willing to work closely with you during the early part of the process. The e-procurement plan for each company will be somewhat different in order to meet the specific needs of the company. There is however a general order to things that will provide the best opportunity for success.

To realize the most benefit from your e-procurement process, you will need to:
• Develop your strategy
• Complete a detailed discovery
• Learn to understand how to set up your procurement events, even if handled by your provider.
• Use a provider with a high quality process and an extensive database for sourcing suppliers
• Clearly communicate how events will be run or executed to all involved parties • Review the process for sustainability and adjust as necessary
 
As mentioned earlier, it is incumbent upon your e-procurement solutions provider to be able to assist you in completing these tasks in a reasonable period of time. You should be checking the background of the team and the leadership that will be assisting you to ensure their understanding of your industry such as operations, technology, procurement, warehouse management, logistics, transportation, loss prevention, store management and other functional areas of your business that will be sourcing products and services. It is all about detail because knowledgeable attention to detail will improve quality, reduce costs and ensure the success of your company’s new e-procurement process.

Please join us for part III of this post series on Monday titled Reasons to Use E-Procurement.

To download the entire article please use the following  link.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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This is Part II of an III part post series titled ?Technology Drives E.Procurement Acceptance? focuses on Getting Started!

Friday, May 21st, 2010

Getting Started

First and foremost in getting the e-procurement process right is to select a solution provider or partner that knows what they are doing and is willing to work closely with you during the early part of the process. The e-procurement plan for each company will be somewhat different in order to meet the specific needs of the company. There is however a general order to things that will provide the best opportunity for success.

To realize the most benefit from your e-procurement process, you will need to:
? Develop your strategy
? Complete a detailed discovery
? Learn to understand how to set up your procurement events, even if handled by your provider.
? Use a provider with a high quality process and an extensive database for sourcing suppliers
? Clearly communicate how events will be run or executed to all involved parties ? Review the process for sustainability and adjust as necessary
?
As mentioned earlier, it is incumbent upon your e-procurement solutions provider to be able to assist you in completing these tasks in a reasonable period of time. You should be checking the background of the team and the leadership that will be assisting you to ensure their understanding of your industry such as operations, technology, procurement, warehouse management, logistics, transportation, loss prevention, store management and other functional areas of your business that will be sourcing products and services. It is all about detail because knowledgeable attention to detail will improve quality, reduce costs and ensure the success of your company?s new e-procurement process.

Please join us for part III of this post series on Monday titled Reasons to Use E-Procurement.

To download the entire article please use the following ?link.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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Ron Southard CEO of Safesourcing is featured with Tim Hull CEO of TDH Marketing in April issue of Technology First. Part I of III

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

Technology First is an Ohio based industry-led, industry-driven trade association dedicated to proactively representing IT in their region and highlighting niche technology companies.

Part I.? E.Procurement Background .
Technology advancements are broadening the acceptance and utilization of e-procurement processes worldwide and making it available through internet access without the need for technology investment. The retail industry has been somewhat slow in considering e-procurement initiatives than have other industries. As a result, much of the lower tier one and tier two retail chains do not use the e-procurement resources that are readily available in the? marketplace today. Some companies would like to, but do not quite know how to get started. In several cases, even the big retail chains are sourcing a smaller percentage of their total spend than the levels being recorded in other industries.

E-procurement processes have been utilized in maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) applications in a variety of industries in addition to manufacturing materials supply. The purchase of office supplies, consumable items and numerous types of hired services from snow removal to landscaping and facilities maintenance can all realize great savings by using the e-procurement process which can range from a simple RFQ to a very detailed RFI. Although e-procurement is oftentimes perceived as merely the purchase of products and services over the Internet, e-procurement is much more than just a means for making purchases online. It is a well-managed, organized process that handles all interactions between the purchaser and the supplier. This process includes optimal management of communications, questions and answers, bids, previous pricing information, inventory utilization and reorder sequences, access to suppliers, historical cost savings, supplier transactions and much more. With built-in monitoring tools, a well managed e-procurement process provides numerous benefits, the most recognizable ones being improved cost control and maximized supplier performance.

With the technology based e-procurement services that are available today, there is no excuse for overlooking this opportunity to reduce supply costs and boost the bottom line. Getting started is easier than ever and more user-friendly, thanks to continuing technology advancements. With high speed bandwidth, reliable security solutions, enhanced software and integrated programs, the e-procurement process is proving itself on a daily basis in terms of performance and reliability.

Please join us tomorrow for Part II of this series titled Getting Started. To download the entire article please use the following link.

?We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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What is the retail procurement lifecycle of a product or service?

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

This author generally begins discussing this subject with our customers and prospects during the discovery phase of our engagements. It helps to get us all on the same page and as such we get a lot of different definitions. Quite frankly we get almost as many as the number of people we discuss the subject with. Surprisingly the process which is quite simple as a definition is not any different from when I first learned it over 40 years ago in the U.S. Air Force other than its automation provided by modern procurement tools.

Typically procurement consists of seven (7) steps. Where the confusion generally enters is that each step can have a process of its own or be interrelated with another step in the process. An example would be the contract lifecycle that easily fits within the negotiation cycle and the renewal cycle. Another might be that information gathering which is the generally accepted first step in the process can apply to multiple issues such as information gathering for the related product or services such as specifications as well as the information gathering of prospective supplier data.

As such, the simple steps to the procurement lifecycle that most individuals generally agree upon are as follows.

1.?Information gathering
2.?Supplier contact
3.?Background review
4.?Negotiation
5.?Fulfillment
6.?Consumption
7.?Renewal

Most times keeping this simple model in mind will allow? retail procurement professionals to answer the question where are we in the process when a project gets stalled or off track.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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Safesourcing Inc. completes a successful year two.

Friday, May 7th, 2010

It hardly seems possible that we launched our company two years ago. At the time there were indicators for those paying attention of trouble in the global economy but know one had any idea just how bad it was going to get. In hindsight what a time to launch a company. When customers and business partners asked me why, my response was if you are doing what you believe in and the results you promise are true, then there really is no bad time to launch a business.

Our promise has been the same from day one, to reduce the cost of goods and services regardless of a company?s size or the size of the category being sourced. And, while doing so improve quality, safety and environmental focus. Today, two years later our customers will attest to the fact that we have held true to that promise.

Following is a short list of accomplishments that we are very proud of.

1.?Over 700 educational blog posts relative to e-procurement issues of importance.
2.?Over 1500 useful procurement related wiki terms and definitions.
3.?Added an average of more than one new customer for every month in business.
4.?Grew our supplier data base to greater than 380,000 retail suppliers
5.?Sourced 100?s of categories from commodities to finished goods and services.
6.?Sourced categories as small as $5K with savings > 30%.
7.?Sourced categories as high as $80M.
8.?Never held an e-negotiation event that did not result in savings.
9.?Conducted every process in e-procurement including RFI, RFP and RFQ.
10.?Installed our product in Asia in a multi lingual implementation.
11.?Averaged over 24% savings over two years.
12.?Developed a unique process for sourcing small spends for the retail mid market.
13.?Grew our database to over a terabyte of data.
14.?Helped companies source with environmental and social consciousness
15.?Today released SafeContract? a fully featured hosted Contract Management System.

To our customers thank you for your support. We endeavor to earn your business every day. To our business partners thank you for your guidance during a tough economic period. To the retail industry our goal is to be your best vehicle for reducing costs and improving earnings with an increased focus on corporate social responsibility.

Thank You.

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Why is e-negotiation not the most important initiative of all retail companies?

Monday, May 3rd, 2010

I have been in many meetings numbers of retail companies where charts that reflect savings from recent e-negotiation events of other retailers with similar formats are reviewed. As real as these results are, it is still difficult for most retailers to pull the trigger in order to give a new process a try. We just seem to get in our own way because we always have more important things to do.

We just have the ability to make things to difficult for ourselves.? Relative to e-negotiation, let?s assume that the CEO directs that he or she would like the cost of goods reduced. The project is then assigned to the Senior Vice President of Supply Chain or Chief Logistics Officer or Chief Procurement Officer or other senior executive. This is further assigned to the Vice President of Purchasing who in turn assigns it to the director of supply purchases. The director convenes a meeting of the buyers or category managers responsible for a variety of supply categories. In degrees of separation this is about 5 or 6 degrees from the person initiating the project. And now the excuses (delays) begin.

1.?We can?t damage our relationship with our incumbent suppliers.
2.?We get the best price in the industry right now.
3.?These guys don?t know what they are talking about.
4.?Don?t we have a tool that does this in our ERP system?
5.?We?ll sacrifice quality.
6.?We don?t have time for this.
7.?I?ll get back to you.
8.?Let?s create a cross functional team.
9.?I?m not going to be first.

If we go back to the CEO and explain what the situation is, one is likely to get a reply that says to the team JUST DO IT! Unfortunately that needs to be followed by; DO IT NOW!

From start to finish, an e-negotiation event such as a reverse auction should take no more than two weeks to run. This includes the entire process including an RFI if required from the day a retailer says go to the actual award of business. There are several requirements necessary to accomplish this that will eliminate the worry and mitigate the risk.

1.?A robust supplier database with safety and environmental focus.
2.?A robust event template library.
3.?An intuitive or intelligent tool for building an event quickly.
4.?An automated reporting tool to provide immediate event detail for review.

If you are really interested in improving your bottom line now, you are less than two weeks away from immediate measureable results.

We appreciate and look forward to your comments.

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