Today?s post is by Mark Davis; Sr. Vice President and COO at SafeSourcing.?

In an January interview with Deloitte vice chairman and U.S. Retail and Distribution leader, Alison Kenney Paul, one of the hot topics for Retailers in 2014 will be how they begin to leverage the millions of devices their consumers are using every day in order to provide better customer service and drive additional sales in a way that keeps them focused on what they really want to achieve rather than reacting to any change in the technology world.

Determine the goal ? With new technology it can be easy to get caught up into what?s new and what?s different and lose site of the goals of the company.? Increased sales, better customer service, reduction in loss, reduction in expenses, increased traffic in the store are all good goals which companies should already have established as part of their annual planning.? Technology and leveraging customers? smart devices can help with any/all of these goals but the key is to determine where the company has the greatest need.?? If you are a smaller retailer competing with larger National retailers, the main goal may be to maintain your current customer base through competitive deals and better customer service.? Driving sales through targeted discounts and marketing may be the goal of someone.? Whatever the top organization goals are; lock those down as the baseline for how to investigate the use of this technology.

Understand the options ? With established goals set, finding ways to begin leveraging the technology to achieve those goals is the next step.? For many companies this means beginning the research for solutions and partners that can help them achieve what they want.? Outside of searching on the internet, some of the best ways to see what some of these new solutions are by going to industry trade shows, attending webinars or speaking with 3rd party consultants who work with digital media and messaging to consumer smart phones every day.? Some will have tools of their own and others will be able to provide the guidance needed to take the next steps.? Many times conducting an RFI to help fill in some of the holes can be an excellent next step.

Find the best solution ? With goals and an understanding of the options to achieve those goals the final step is find the best possible solution to complete the objectives.? This is generally when a formal Request For Proposal takes place and the business provides the detailed information of what they want to achieve to the suppliers that can provide solutions and/or services to help them do that.? Many options such as in-store blue tooth beacons that can push discounts and coupons to consumer phones that have signed up with the store, to in-store assistants that allow phone apps to show shoppers where a product is and if it is in stock have been released or being tested to take advantage of the technology that is already there.? The goal for all of these suppliers is to show and convince the customer of the ROI and how long it will take to achieve.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can assist with researching these types of solutions, conducting Requests For Information/Proposal 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 Mark Davis; Sr. Vice President and COO at SafeSourcing.

This time of year sports enthusiasts are treated to one of the greatest stretches of excitement as the Men?s NCAA College Basketball Tournament gets underway.?? As 66 teams full of young players put everything they have on the line to win their games, we as spectators get to enjoy some of the greatest moments in sports history.? Of equal importance to fans are the bracket challenges where the object is to correctly pick the outcome of each game in the tournament.? There are all sorts of strategies I have heard of how people select their pools from in-depth research to the color of a team?s jersey.? In today?s blog we will be looking at some of the common traits found in most successful bracket selections and how those concepts can be applied to selecting your next sourcing projects.

Low hanging fruit: The #1 Seeds? When laying out the strategy for upcoming sourcing projects one of the first tasks for success is to go through and get the quick easy projects lined up and executed first.? Like going through and selecting the #1 seeded teams in a bracket challenge, this locks in quick wins with good results and creates positive energy about the strategy right away while more time can be invested in researching and developing the plan for the more complex selections.?

Taking risks: The Cinderellas? As with any selection process there will be times when certain risks must be taken.? These may be sourcing projects that have a lower spend, few available suppliers, critical categories to the business or recently negotiated deals.? These projects may pan out and deliver great results and are the ones that from time to time should have a chance taken on them so that the department does not get so focused on the easy and safe projects that potential value slips through the cracks.? Risk is only good, however, in moderation because too much risk quickly becomes recklessness and leads to a poorly structured foundation of choices that will not lead to long-term success.

Using the stats: Let the Data Talk ? Once the first few rounds of project selections have been made it requires some additional time and attention to detail to go after the next projects.? These are projects that are not as straightforward and are the decisions that should be worked on while the low hanging fruit is being executed so that the momentum of that first set of successes is not lost.? When analyzing these decisions it is important to look at what is being done everywhere.? Research the market to find out if other companies are taking paper products out to market and the level of success they are having.? Are there any recent updates for the company or industry which would improve or decrease the success of a potential selection?? Dig into how a category has been sourced in the past few years.? What was learned about previous strategies that worked and that didn?t?

Sourcing project selection is obviously a much more complex and important process than filling in a tournament bracket but the concepts of selecting your easy projects first to get momentum, taking some risks occasionally and using the data to point you in the right direction are good concepts that still apply.? For more information on how SafeSourcing can assist with project slection 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 Heather Powell, Manager of the COE Department & Project Manager at SafeSourcing Inc.

Did you miss the deadline to renew a contract? Did you miss place a business card in your desk drawer? Working in the 11th hour on an assignment that is due tomorrow?

These are all signs of poor time management. According to the website Time Management Ninja there are 21 killers of time management and each one can hurt your business in various ways:

1. You are constantly rushing. From one urgent matter to another?
2. You miss appointments. Sometimes not even knowing they are happening?
3. You are late. And people expect you to be so?
4. Your reputation precedes you. Important tasks are given to others?
5. You forget tasks. Until it is too late?
6. You miss deadlines. And often ask for extensions?
7. You don?t keep your word. You make a lot of promises with very little follow-through?
8. Your workplace is messy. You don?t even know what color the surface of your desk truly is?
9. You spend all your time on last-minute fire drills. And don?t get to the important tasks?
10. You don?t get enough sleep. You stay up late on activities that hinder your productivity?
11. Your organization system consists of piles. And you know ?just? where you put that piece of paper?
12. Your notes are scattered across multiple systems. And even that napkin from lunch?
13. You pay penalties and late fees. Because you don?t get things done on time?
14. You miss opportunities. Doors of opportunity close on you before you act?.
15. The inside of your car is a mess. This is a great first indicator of your organization?
16. You don?t have that important phone number. Business cards litter your drawers?
17. You can?t find that important document. It?s here somewhere? (see #11)
18. Your email inbox is overflowing. It?s piling up faster than you can empty it?
19. Your ?system? consists of gadgets and software that you don?t use. But, you?re going to learn them someday?
20. You work during meetings. Because it is the only time you have to get work done?
21. You work long hours. Yet, there is always too much to do?

If you can associate with one or more of these you may suffer from poor time management and this hurts your business not only in revenue but potentially in reputation too. But don?t lose hope and throw in the towel. Time management is something that can easily be taught and practiced. Yes, Practice! Practice makes perfect!

There are programs, online courses, and even counselors who can teach the best practices. Tackle one item at a time, find your structure, and use it. One of the easiest solutions at your fingertips is your online calendar, task list, notes, and contact list associated with your e-mail system. Utilize those to structure your day, your week, and your timelines. Utilize them to prioritize your daily tasks. Follow your own plan. Ditch the floating business cards by adding them to your list of contacts and structure your contact list according the business area or needs.

We, at SafeSourcing, take great pride in the fact that we continually use our procedure lists and consider them to be a ?best practice? which has kept our projects on plan. This practice has rewarded our customers with savings they would not have otherwise attained and in the timeliest manner.

For more information about SafeSourcing can help fill in some of the experience categories or can assist you with spend analysis, 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.

Today?s post is by Mark Davis; Sr. Vice President and COO at SafeSourcing.

The role technology has played in the business world has continued to evolve at rates that are greater than anything has affected it before.? Much like the person who leases cars instead of buying because they like to keep up with the latest and greatest, IT departments are beginning to find that this concept not only works but has become a requirement for doing business in the 21st century.? They cannot justify making large investments in hardware and software when those purchases are only current for a short period of time.? That is where netsourcing comes in.?? Netsourcing is the practice of renting space for managed business applications to be managed internally or externally by a 3rd party allowing companies to receive just the services they need and pay for them as long as them need them.? Many companies are familiar with Managed Service Providers (MSP) and Application Service Providers (ASP) but may not know some of the other types of services available to them.

Storage Service Providers (SSP)? ? Many companies may not think they are using companies that provide storage services, however almost every company in the world has employees that are.?? Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud are just a few of the services being provided by companies to store files and data.? The advantage of these cloud-based services is that their data is backed up and secure and can be grown to any size needed at any time with the click of a mouse.? The user purchases no hardware and pays for only what they need.? Other companies such as OwnCloud offer similar solutions that can be hosted by the customer themselves and can even leverage the cloud-based advantages if they are already doing this today.

exSourcers ? These services are offered by companies to handle standard businesses processes in a way that connects their customers to external sources for anything from IT hardware to temporary services.? An example of this kind of service would be a 3rd party who works with their company to procure plastic bags.? Instead of locating and providing those bags they connect a community of bag suppliers with their customer in a way that allows all of those suppliers an equal chance to compete for that business and differentiate themselves from the other suppliers.? Many times these exSourcers are providing opportunities for new suppliers that would have never been considered for the business while providing their customers a greater pool of options.

Commerce Service Providers (CSP) ? Commerce Service Providers will work with a company to help them focus on the sales of a particular and focused line of products.? Through CRM data and focuse and high powered analytics these companies can direct a company where to focus their efforts of marketing, merchandising and sales and then provide them the online channels to allow them to achieve greater results.? From the online interface, to handling customer payments, to working with logistics for fulfillment, these CSPs can take a medium sized business and grow their revenue exponentially in a short amount of time.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can assist your team with finding NetSourcing options for your business 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 Shelly Hayre; Customer Service Representative at SafeSourcing.

Do you find yourself repeating the same message over and over again to certain people, and it still doesn?t seem to give you the results you are looking for? You are not alone, but some small adjustments in your language can change the game.

I can typically see the failure of an outcome before anything is discovered. Why you ask? It all starts with the language used to request and set goals for projects. The following four tips will assist your language to get the desired results.

?Yes, but??- This is an annoying game, and it almost is a competition with all the different scenarios and things to consider. BUT you need to point something out that is not being considered! Use ?and? instead of ?but?. When your coworker says, ?I will execute the contract by tomorrow,? instead of ?Yes, but I need to review before it is sent over,? say, ?Yes and I need to review before it is sent over.? It provides the information needed and avoids the argumentative competitive ?Yes, but? game.

Just TRY– When using the word ?try? you are setting grounds for failure. You either did or you didn?t. It is the difference in ?I will go to the dry cleaners after work? and ?I will try and go to the dry cleaners after work?. When you allow the word ?try? to make it into a request it opens the door for failure and usually will resulted in just that, failure. Instead of saying ?Try to get the report in by Friday,? say, ?Get the report in by Friday.?

Setting Goals– Provide your coworkers with clear, concise, and measurable goals. ?Start working on the spreadsheet.? How much do you really expect them to get done? By when? This is a vague and unmeasurable goal to reach. Instead say, ?Complete section A and B of the spreadsheet by Tuesday.? This is easier for the receiver to understand and complete to the standards you request.

Set positive expectations– I am going to be brief on this one. This is pretty straightforward, and I am sure we have all heard some version of this. Expect failure and you will receive failure! Change your perspective and change the results. Positive outlook will show, and coworkers will want to delivery that positive outcome.

Here at SafeSourcing, we ensure we are always thorough, using language to get the desired results at all times. 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.