Archive for the ‘Retail Supply Chain’ Category

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SafeSourcing trains hundreds of suppliers every week to use e-negotiation tools to their benefit.

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

SafeSourcing Inc. places a great deal of value in our SafeSourceIt?? Retail Supplier Database of over 350,000 suppliers located in Mexico, Canada the United States, China, Korea, The United Kingdom and the European Union? Additionally we also place a great deal of value on each individual supplier regardless of size. We believe that well thought out next generation e-negotiation tools can provide significant benefits to buyers and suppliers whether they are hosting or participating in e-negotiation events such as reverse auctions of RFI?s.?

Some but certainly not all benefits that suppliers can anticipate from SafeSourcing are:
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1. An easy to use e-negotiation tool limited to a single page view where a supplier can be completely comfortable that their company?s best foot is being put forward to the soliciting company.

2. An increase in new business opportunities through engagements they would otherwise not be exposed to.

3. Clean data about the soliciting company and an accurate listing of their event guidelines, specifications, terms, conditions and other information necessary to build an accurate and successful pricing strategy.

4. Best practice training in event participation and strategy development.

5. A clear focus on what?s important beyond price in next generation e-negotiation tools such as supplier safety certifications and practices as well as their environmental programs that will differentiate them from other suppliers.

6. Closed loop reporting of results of the specific e-negotiation event a supplier participates in as well as a detailed supplier feedback questionnaire report.

7. Significant time savings associated with new business development that becomes more and more costly as fuel and other related prices continue to rise.

8. Industry pricing trends extrapolated from their view of low quote information during the event if allowed by the soliciting company.

9. Use of the same e-negotiation tools for their own procurement needs.

10. Introduction to an educational website that provides all sorts of free tools for procurement professionals use including a daily safety alerts from over 25 sources, a daily sourcing blog, a? sourcing wiki and SourceBook? the industries only social network for procurement professionals.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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Bad sourcing practices can cause more than just “the cadmium blues.”

Friday, January 15th, 2010

According to Wikipedia cadmium has no constructive purpose in the human body. Cadmium and its compounds are extremely toxic even in low concentrations, and will bioaccumulate in organisms (that?s us) and ecosystems (that?s where we live).

This author posts frequently on safety issues and realities in sourcing practices. Particularly when you are buying from and unknown source, offshore or products for which you have no specific product specification. Consumers would be surprised how many products are bought offshore during buying trips that don?t have a specific specification. An example might be something as simple as a tiki lamp that comes under the category of seasonal, pool supplies or miscellaneous. Another that has been in the news recently is children?s costume jewelry. The issue that bothers this author is that for some of the largest names in retail that generally have great procurement practices there is really no excuse for these products making their way on to the shelves of our stores. There should be a check list of standards and certifications that suppliers have to adhere to in order for their products to come onshore in the first place. I can?t believe that a simple question like ?Do these products contain any harmful chemicals in their makeup such as cadmium etc.? If the answer is we don?t know then don?t buy them or make the manufacturer provide a chemical breakdown of the product.

Inez Tenenbaum the head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission advises, ?Do not allow young children to be given or to play with cheap metal jewelry, especially when they are unsupervised. This author whishes to paraphrase, DON’T ALLOW IT WHETHER SUPERVISED OR NOT. And further. Retailers don?t buy these products regardless of profit margins unless you know they are safe period.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments

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Bad sourcing practices can cause more than just “the cadmium blues.”

Friday, January 15th, 2010

According to Wikipedia cadmium has no constructive purpose in the human body. Cadmium and its compounds are extremely toxic even in low concentrations, and will bioaccumulate in organisms (that’s us) and ecosystems (that’s where we live).

This author posts frequently on safety issues and realities in sourcing practices. Particularly when you are buying from and unknown source, offshore or products for which you have no specific product specification. Consumers would be surprised how many products are bought offshore during buying trips that don’t have a specific specification. An example might be something as simple as a tiki lamp that comes under the category of seasonal, pool supplies or miscellaneous. Another that has been in the news recently is children’s costume jewelry. The issue that bothers this author is that for some of the largest names in retail that generally have great procurement practices there is really no excuse for these products making their way on to the shelves of our stores. There should be a check list of standards and certifications that suppliers have to adhere to in order for their products to come onshore in the first place. I can’t believe that a simple question like “Do these products contain any harmful chemicals in their makeup such as cadmium etc.” If the answer is we don’t know then don’t buy them or make the manufacturer provide a chemical breakdown of the product.

Inez Tenenbaum the head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission advises, “Do not allow young children to be given or to play with cheap metal jewelry, especially when they are unsupervised. This author whishes to paraphrase, DON’T ALLOW IT WHETHER SUPERVISED OR NOT. And further. Retailers don’t buy these products regardless of profit margins unless you know they are safe period.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments

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Do your suppliers adhere to all of ISO?s environmental standards?

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

ISO has published a new, updated brochure providing a basic introduction, as its title indicates, to Environmental management ? The ISO 14000 family of International Standards. The 12-page, color brochure is the latest edition of a successful publication first released in 1998, two years after the launching of the first standards in the ISO 14000 family

The International Organization for Standardization widely known as ISO, is an international standard -setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates world-wide industrial and commercial standards. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. While ISO defines itself as a non ? governmental, its ability to set standards that often become law, either through treaties or national standards makes it more powerful than most non-governmental organizations. In practice, ISO acts as a consortium with strong links to governments.

The SafeSourceIt? Supplier Database holds it suppliers accountable to many ISO standards including 14000, 7002, 9001 and 22000.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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Do your suppliers adhere to all of ISO’s environmental standards?

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

ISO has published a new, updated brochure providing a basic introduction, as its title indicates, to Environmental management – The ISO 14000 family of International Standards. The 12-page, color brochure is the latest edition of a successful publication first released in 1998, two years after the launching of the first standards in the ISO 14000 family

The International Organization for Standardization widely known as ISO, is an international standard -setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates world-wide industrial and commercial standards. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. While ISO defines itself as a non – governmental, its ability to set standards that often become law, either through treaties or national standards makes it more powerful than most non-governmental organizations. In practice, ISO acts as a consortium with strong links to governments.

The SafeSourceIt™ Supplier Database holds it suppliers accountable to many ISO standards including 14000, 7002, 9001 and 22000.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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Why is the use of reverse auctions by retailers up?

Monday, January 11th, 2010

From mid tier one retailers on down the use of reverse auctions has been very limited since their inception at the end of the 1990?s. The reason is because there was very little focus on the retail segment and the tools were also very difficult to use and expensive. If retailer?s think a tool is so complicated that they can not do it themselves, they won?t use them.

We are seeing a small uptick in e-negotiation tools in retail and this author believes that some of the following quotes from the folks watching a reverse auction last week may be the reason why.

1.??This was pretty simple to do?
2.??If we hired someone we could do these ourselves with you guys?
3.??This is fun?
4.??You mean the reports are already available?
5.??I love the sports concept?
6.??It was easy to follow the marquis and what was going on from one screen?
7.??The multiple color schemes were great?
8.??I can?t believe how fast you guys set this up?
9.??We saved that much money and only have to pay what we discussed?
10.??Can we do another one today?
11.??I may get a promotion out of this?
12.??I love that calculator at the end of the bid process?
13.??I like all of the supplier data that was accessible during the auction?
14.??Now I know how the big guys get the pricing they do?

So what does this all mean for retail procurement professionals? It means that today?s tools are easier to use, more interactive, maintain your attention during an auction,? integrate gaming technology to keep it fun and are lower cost than their predecessors.

This all adds up to a focus on retailers entire spend both indirect and direct as well resulting in increased utilization by middle market and large retailers alike.

If you would like to have fun, save money and do it quickly, please visit us at www.safesoucing.com.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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What is Green-e certification? Does your company?s CSR program mandate the purchase of renewable energy products?

Friday, January 8th, 2010

For over ten years, the nonprofit Center for Resources (CRS) has developed and implemented consumer-protection standards for the voluntary renewable energy market through the Green-e program.

What is Green-e? Green-e is the nation’s leading independent consumer protection program for the sale of renewable energy and greenhouse gas reductions in the retail market. Green-e offers certification and verification of renewable energy and greenhouse gas mitigation products. It is a program of the Center for Resource Solutions.
Green-e Energy certifies renewable energy products sold to residential, commercial, industrial and wholesale customers. Certification services are available to all companies selling renewable energy. The process to get a renewable energy product certified varies depending on the type of product seeking certification, based on the following two categories of companies offering renewable energy products.

Ask your procurement solutions provider if they can tell you what companies carry this certification. SafeSourcing can.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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What is Green-e certification? Does your company’s CSR program mandate the purchase of renewable energy products?

Friday, January 8th, 2010

For over ten years, the nonprofit Center for Resources (CRS) has developed and implemented consumer-protection standards for the voluntary renewable energy market through the Green-e program.

What is Green-e? Green-e is the nation’s leading independent consumer protection program for the sale of renewable energy and greenhouse gas reductions in the retail market. Green-e offers certification and verification of renewable energy and greenhouse gas mitigation products. It is a program of the Center for Resource Solutions.
Green-e Energy certifies renewable energy products sold to residential, commercial, industrial and wholesale customers. Certification services are available to all companies selling renewable energy. The process to get a renewable energy product certified varies depending on the type of product seeking certification, based on the following two categories of companies offering renewable energy products.

Ask your procurement solutions provider if they can tell you what companies carry this certification. SafeSourcing can.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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What information should we know about our suppliers?

Friday, December 11th, 2009

The SafeSourceIt? Supplier Database has grown to over 300,000 global suppliers. During the same timeframe the number of certifications we monitor for these suppliers has also grown. In the food space three standards that are regularly adhered to are ISO 22000, SQF and GFSI? So, what?s the difference?

In essence, SQF and GFSI are programs administered by two separate organizations CIES and FMI that are supportive of each other and use ISO 9000 and its derivative ISO 22000 as standards guideline towards driving food safety in the global supply chain.

According to Wikipedia, ISO 22000 is a standard developed by the International Organization for Standardization dealing with food safety and is a general derivative of ISO 9000 which sets standards for quality management. As such, ISO 22000 guides food safety management systems – requirements for any organization in the food chain. Since food safety hazards can occur at any stage in the food chain from production to consumption it is essential that adequate control be in place that by the ISO are referred to as Critical Control Points or potential points of failure in the supply chain that when managed properly can mitigate the risk associated with the hazard ever taking place.

The ISO 22000 international standard specifies the requirements for a food safety management system which SQF and GFSI are that involves interactive communication, systems management and prerequisite programs and the principles of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP).This is a systematic preventive approach to food safety which addresses physical, chemical and biological hazards as a means of prevention rather than finished product inspection which could be much more costly.

Think of the ISO as a standards creating body, and SQF and GFSI as programs that at a minimum focus on holding the entire food supply chain accountable to those and other standards.

We look forward and appreciate your comments.

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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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