Today’s post is another interesting perspective from our archives SafeSourcing.

As I was searching for a book in my local mega book store (maybe not during these times), I was looking for the technology section. Once I found it, I saw a wide range of the popular For Dummies series with subjects like, iPhone, Microsoft Office, and the one I purchased, HTML XHTML and CSS. I often wonder how store personnel answer the phone when someone calls asking for help and they try to explain the For Dummies series without insulting the customer. Anyway, I digress. I started thumbing through the different books and found that the paper stock and printing were all different. Noticing that, I started to think about the different aspects that went into making and producing a book.

As a sourcing expert I tend to view the world a little differently than most folks. When I see a book, it reminds me of the different weights used in the paper world as well as what drives the cost of the paper like the pulp market. For the pages of the book it is most common to use 120-170 gsm. The next thing I see is the type of binding that is used for a book. The most common and cost effective type is case binding.

At SafeSourcing we are very careful to take the time required to learn everything we can about what makes up a product or service. We conduct extensive research relative to all products and services in order to learn all that specific categories ins and outs. We don’t just do this sometimes, we do this each and every time to ensure that we not only have a complete specification, but a specification that will maximize a list of potential vendors, insure quality and drive the best price possible at this particular point in time. We do that, so that you don’t have to, because we are the sourcing experts.

To understand more about how we can help you source your projects, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.

We look forward to your comments.

Today’s post is  from our Archives  at SafeSourcing

Cognitive Dissonance is the state of having a set of beliefs, attitudes, and ideas, and being faced with information that conflicts with those concepts. Leon Festinger’s Cognitive Dissonance theory holds that all people attempt to keep all of their beliefs, attitudes, and information in harmony. The problem that often comes up, however, is that we sometimes unconsciously suppress or modify correct information in order to avoid having that information conflict with what we already believe.

An example of this in purchasing would be when a procurement decision is made, and the project turns out badly. Often times the decision will be defended and even REPEATED, rather than the decision maker admitting fault. Why? Because most people automatically feel they need to defend their decisions in order to preserve what they believe about themselves. If you believe you are a great decision maker, you will look for information that supports that belief, and avoid information that conflicts with that belief. Here are a couple of ways to help avoid pitfalls on both sides of the purchase:

The Enthymeme

An Enthymeme is a truncated form of syllogism, where a premise or conclusion is left out of the argument. It is always easier to let someone convince themselves of something than it ever will be for you to, even if your audience’ belief is fallacious. When we pose a logical argument, but don’t explicitly state the conclusion, we allow our audience to extrapolate on their own instead of risking putting them on the defensive because we are demanding they believe what we are advocating. Example; “XYZ Company isn’t certified and the manufacturing process requires certification”. This type of statement can be much more effective than shooting straight for the conclusion “Don’t go with XYZ Company.”

The Ben Franklin Effect

When we do a favor for someone, we tend to justify our actions to ourselves that we did the favor BECAUSE we liked them. We naturally tend to avoid Cognitive Dissonance by changing other beliefs, in favor of holding onto beliefs we have about ourselves. Be on the lookout for people who would use this concept against you; how often have you heard a sales pitch that starts off by asking you for a small favor? It’s a commonly used tactic to use your beliefs against you in order to obtain something the sales-person wants.

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.

Todays post is by Ron Southard, CEO at SafeSourcing Inc.

Awards of business, contracts and statements of work are all important after a services event has taken place. However, if you want to ensure the savings associated with your new services contract make sure you identify or reference a structured change of control process in your terms and conditions.

Change happens. It can result from poorly designed specifications, terms and conditions, quoting instructions and other data related to a bid. The normal process for managing these changes is a change of control process which governs how any changes to the services being provided as identified in the actual bid.

The change of control is normally managed as a request that communicates the requested changes to the services deliverables. Normally the change request will describe the following at a minimum.

1. The change
2. The reason for the change
3. The effect the change may have on the existing Statement of Work.
4. Impact on cost or savings

In most cases a project manager or the associate with responsibility for managing the program deliverables will be required to submit a written change request to the contracted or warded supplier.  The supplier will then develop and return the response to the contracting company.

The contracted supplier and the contracting company will then review the proposed change request and either approve it, modify it, or reject it. When approved the contracting company as well as the contracted supplier must sign the change request to authorize the work as well as the implementation of the work and its potential impact on the existing project plan or project timeline.

If you do not want erosion in your savings, make sure you spend the time to cover this process in your bid parameters.

In order to learn more, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Services Associate. Be sure to ask them about our Risk Free Trail Program

Today’s blog is by Gayl Southard, Vice President of Administration at SafeSourcing.

Due to the surging e-commerce purchasing, warehouse distribution centers are jockeying for limited space.  Competition is driving up industrial rents as retailers and logistics providers look to get goods closer to the consumers, resulting in bidding wars in coveted locations.  Businesses are looking to get their goods to consumers as quickly as possible.  “Demand for industrial real estate is so strong that taking rents — the initial base base rent agreed on by a landlord and tenant — are rising faster than rents, according to real-estate firm CBRE Group Inc.  Industrial taking rents were up 9.7% in the first five months of 2021 compared with the same period last year, while industrial asking rents rose 7.1% according to CBRE, which tracks 58 U.S. markets.”1

Logistics space, close to cities and ports, and for big-box warehouses like those used in online fulfillment operations, prices are rapidly increasing.  In Northern New Jersey, first-year base rents  jumped by a third year-over-year through May, while Southern California’s Inland Empire rose 24.1%, according to CBRE.  It is creating a similar situation as the housing market, where the demand is greater than the market.  The pandemic lockdown and store closures have pushed retailers into online marketing.  E-Commerce will account for 26% of all US sales by 2025.  Companies are also looking into keeping more inventory on hand in order to avoid shortages.  Goods need to reach consumers faster, as well as cut down on the transportation costs.  The amount of available industrial land for new warehouses near urban centers fell over the past decade.  This adds to the pressure on supply of warehouses for larger buildings with higher ceilings and adequate parking that will accommodate e-commerce fulfillment centers.   In turn, this will push more development out to secondary markets.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can help your procurement efforts, or on our Risk

Free trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.  We have an entire team ready to assist you today.

References………………………………..

Jennifer Smith, WSJ, 6/23/2021