Today’s post is written by Ivy Ray, Account Manager at SafeSourcing Inc.

Improving the quality of processes and maintaining acceptable levels of performance quality, are critical factors in the success of any organization.  Considering that all processes need to exist to best serve the organization, it is important that all employees be challenged to find new and better ways of achieving the goals in a more efficient and efficient way.

The majority of businesses will be wiped out if they don’t abandon a fixation on status quo, because the environment of the future will demand a continuous rethink of processes, people, and technology. The future is being written before our eyes, and the use of automated processes is accelerating the rate of change in business to unprecedented levels. The key to survival and success is agility.

“Innovation is often viewed as the application of better solutions that meet new requirements, unarticulated needs, or existing market needs. This is accomplished through more-effective products, processes, services, technologies, or business models that are readily available to markets, governments and society”. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innovation)

1) Automate Processes

• • Build a culture around automation.
• • Organizations that successfully utilize technology to support innovative approaches can save significantly on time and labor.
• • Businesses risk becoming obsolete and bankrupt when they refuse to adapt.

2) Innovation

• • You don’t have to be the one to create it.  Creating a better way of accomplishing a task is the beginning of innovation.
• • Innovation has no end. What we want and what we need keeps changing.

3) Tools

• • Search for tools that will help you accomplish your goals.
• • Understand your long term plans and choose a tool that will grow with you.
• • SafeSourcing has a suite of tools that are key to your sourcing needs.

“Technology will continue to become more powerful and easy to use and therefore more useful in driving effectiveness and risk management.” (https://spendmatters.com/uk/future-contingent-labour-predictions-trends/)

For more information on how SafeSourcing can assist you in exploring your procurement solutions 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 from our SafeSourcing Archives.

RPET is recycled polyethylene terephthalate. When consumers recycle plastic bottles and packaging it can be cleaned and made into a federally approved material suitable for direct food contact applications. Below is a list of examples for reusing the material:

1. Beverage Bottles

2. Clam Shell Containers

3. Trays

The rPET is fully compatible with virgin PET and can be used for up to 100% rPET content.  There are numerous advantages for these second-life products listed below:

1. rPET bottles reduce the amount of waste taken to a landfill

2. rPET has a more stable price than virgin PET because it is not tied to the oil market

3. rPET improves society’s carbon footprint

The three advantages above give enough data to support the effort to change to rPET. Now, what do you need to know when sourcing these products? SafeSourcing is experienced in sourcing rPET packaging. Whether you are looking for private label spring water in six sizes or a clam shell container, we can help; we can work with your company to define your needs. In addition, we know which vendors are in the market and their offerings.

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.

Today’s post is by Gayl Southard, SafeSourcing Administrative Consultant,

There are many names for coffee, with people making up their own pet names for the beloved brew. With the warmer weather approaching, iced coffee becomes very popular with the coffee-drinking crowd.  But why is iced coffee more expensive than hot coffee?  Depending upon where you buy your coffee, iced coffee can be as much as 60% higher than hot coffee.  A Starbucks grande cup of Nitro Cold Brew averages $3.60, much more than the company’s regular cold brew, which cost $3.25, and over a dollar more than a hot drip coffee of the same size.

Cold brew coffee is brewed with cold or room temperature water instead of hot water. The lower temperatures mean the extraction is slow and take hours to make – often half the day.  It also requires more coffee.  A standard water to coffee ratio might be 17:1.  For cold brew, it might be 4.5:1.  This coffee, labor and time simply make it a more expensive process.  What is left after this process is a concentrate that is cut down with water.  Other things to consider when ordering a cold brew is that plastic cups cost more than paper cups – also factor in the straws.  Ice is also very expensive.  “Ice is a fortune, Michael Pollack of Brooklyn Roasting company told Gothamist last year.  If you think we go through coffee fast, double that for ice.  We actually store ten gallon refrigerator boxes of ice because our needs are so tremendous.”1

SafeSourcing has a lot of experience sourcing coffee and coffee products. It is a category that is sourced regularly.  For more information on how SafeSourcing can assist you or on our “Risk Free” trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Representative we have an entire team waiting to assist you today,

Resources:

[1] Ethan Wolff-Mann, Money, 5/31/2016

Today’s post is by Troy Lowe; Vice President of Development at SafeSourcing.
Spring is here and the temperature will soon be rising.  That means we will be turning on our air conditioners for the first time in a few months.  One thing to consider before it gets too warm is scheduling your annual HVAC system maintenance.  This will ensure that your system is running efficiently, help prevent costly breakdowns, and give you piece of mind during the warm season ahead.  During the inspection the technician will inspect the unit and make sure that everything is clean and running correctly.

There are many benefits for maintaining your HVAC units, such as lower energy bills.  Just because the unit is cooling and heating does not mean that all is well.  A system that is not well maintained slowly loses its ability to keep the same temperatures at the same efficiency it once did, therefore leading to slightly more expensive energy bills over time.  Regular maintenance will also prolong the life of the unit.  Units that are not maintained will become dirty which makes some of the parts work harder and shorten the lifespan of those parts.  Below are some benefits of a having a well maintained HVAC unit.

➢ Increased Energy Efficiency

➢ Extended Lifespan

➢ Decrease in Repairs

➢ Early Warning of Worn Parts

➢ Improved Air Quality

➢ Better Humidity Levels

➢ Safer Operation

If you need help finding a trained HVAC technician, feel free to contact SafeSourcing.   We can gather all the necessary information for you and help you decide which company meets your needs.  If you would like more information on how SafeSourcing can help you, please contact a SafeSourcingCustomer Service representative.  We have an entire team ready to assist you today.

Today’s post is by Steven Belvin, Account Manager at SafeSourcing

There are just not enough hours in the day! Everyone has heard or said this phrase at least once in their life. Sometimes this phase is true and there is simply not enough time to complete a project in one day. However, more often than not, it is a product of poor time management. I am going to give just a couple of tips to better help with your time management.

First, we must understand what time management is.  Dictionary.com defines time management as “the analysis of how working hours are spent and the prioritization of tasks in order to maximize personal efficiency in the workplace.” An easy way of defining time management is to simply say, “How to utilize the 24 hours that a day provides you?” Simple right? Not so much.  It is very easy to get carried away with a project and to put something else on the back burner. To ensure you are utilizing your 24 hours properly, simply stop and perform a few of these tricks:

1) Write down the task you would like to see accomplished in one week.

2) Prioritize those tasks by importance.

3) Write down the task you should be able to complete in one day.

4) Order your daily task by importance.

5) Put an estimated time limit you expect each task to be completed.

6) Schedule your day according to your task.

7) Buckle down and complete the task on your list.

8) If unable to complete a task, make it your top priority for the next day.

I truly believe that if you follow the above task list you will find yourself getting more accomplished in a single day than you thought was possible. This is why at SafeSourcing we have a daily morning meeting where we prioritize the tasks we must complete in a day. Give us a call so you can witness firsthand how quickly we can get an event complete and start saving you money.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can assist your team with 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.

Source:

“time management”. Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. HarperCollins Publishers. 17 Apr. 2017. <Dictionary.com http://www.dictionary.com/browse/time-management>.

Today’s post is by Rob Rice, Account Manager at SafeSourcing Inc.

This may not seem to be a big deal, but I’ve been told on many occasions and in different scenarios, “make sure you have the right tool for the right job.” Believe it or not, but on Ace Hardware’s website, there are 57 choices of hammers and that’s just from the Ace line.

My point is there are a lot of choices out there when deciding how you will purchase goods and services for your company. It is not as simple as one might think. For example; you need a cleaning crew for your office. Simple enough, google cleaning crews, call 3 or 4 of them and compare prices and go with the most economical, right…..not so fast. Did you take in account if they are bonded, green conscience, the type of chemicals they use, did they conduct background checks on the workers, what type of reputation do they have and can they provide references? These are some of the questions you need to have answered. Now here’s the big question, do you have the time?

Time is the real monster that rears its ugly head. How much time and effort are you willing to commit to ensure you get the quality of service and supply that will meet, if not exceed the standards set by your CEO? In my experience, one “simple” procurement can consume a day or days which caused me to fall behind on more serious issues, projects or other purchasing needs. This can lead to frustration and a huge waste of valuable time. Unfortunately, you may skip some or all of the vetting process and just hope it all works out. 

If you don’t have the time, that means either two things; hire more people, or find a company with the expertise, technology and dedicated staff to assist you with your purchasing needs. E-procurement tools can assist and enhance the way you do purchasing all the while saving money and time. SafeSourcing is just that company, an e-procurement company offering a complete procure-to-play suite of applications, a dedicated staff and access to over 450K global suppliers.

It boils down to, how much time you can afford versus getting the supply and/or service in a timely fashion and under budget. 

Robert or any member of the experienced team at SafeSourcing would be happy to discuss how SafeSourcing can help you with your eProcurement planning. For more information, please contact SafeSourcing.  

We look forward to your comments.  

Todays post is from Ronald D. Southard, CEO of SafeSourcing Inc.

Since this is not Late Night with David Letterman, our list is not ranked in order of importance although many might argue that not much is more important than improved earnings.

1. Guaranteed to improve net earnings
2. Guaranteed to improve safety
3. Guaranteed to improve Corporate Social Responsibility.
4. Guaranteed new sources of supply
5. Retail has less spend assigned than any other industry
6. Streamlines the  procurement process
7. Holds suppliers accountable to your standards.
8. Improves quality
9. Cost avoidance in a volatile market
10. Creates a competitive environment
11. Drives reliable market pricing
12. Maintains a reliable history for future comparison
13. Educates suppliers as to how retailers wish to procure products
14. Supplier training eliminates questions
15. Improved and consistent product specifications
16. Improved negotiation.
17. Improve carbon footprint
18. Simple award of business process
19. Frees up time for other tasks
20. Works for procurement of all product categories
21. Provides a detailed audit trail.

This author is not sure why a derivative of this list could not become the mission statement for any procurement department. if you’d like help working on your list, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Services Account Manager.

We appreciate and look for ward to your comments.

Today’s post is by Steven Belvin, Account Manager at SafeSourcing

Many believe you must sacrifice effectiveness for better efficiency or vice versa. However, in the proper hands this could not be more wrong. As hard as it may seem there are ways to improve both at a company. BusinessDictionary.com defines Effectiveness as “The degree to which objectives are achieved and the extent to which targeted problems are solved. In contrast to efficiency, effectiveness is determined without reference to costs and, whereas efficiency means “doing the thing right,” effectiveness means “doing the right thing.” BusinessDictionary.com also defines efficiency as “The comparison of what is actually produced or performed with what can be achieved with the same consumption of resources (money, time, labor, etc.). It is an important factor in determination of productivity.” As you see from above effectiveness basically means doing the jobs that are assigned to you and handling any problems that may come up while working on those tasks. Whereas, efficiency basically means how fast you can correctly do your job or what resources can you utilize to help save time, money, material, or labor while completing the task. With this being said it is easy to assume that you must sacrifice one for the other.

However, believe it or not, some of the best ways to improve both is to slow down. Let me explain, the faster you move the more likely you are to mess up what you are working on and if you slow down too much you will not complete the task in the timeframe needed. This is why many companies like to utilize a Strategic Sourcing company like SafeSourcing as a resource. As I come to the end of my first month at SafeSourcing I realize I have been taught ways to improve both my effectiveness and efficiency. I have noticed the time it takes me to complete tasks is slowly starting to go down. It is easy to see why the SafeSourcing team can complete so many tasks in one day to ensure a quick turnaround of events with the highest ROI to the customer.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can assist your team with 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.

—————————————————————

“What Is Efficiency?” BusinessDictionary.com. Business Dictionary, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2016.

“What Is Effectiveness?” BusinessDictionary.com. Business Dictionary, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2016.

Today’s post is from our  SafeSourcing archives.

The landscape of temporary labor has changed drastically over the past 10 years.   New business strategic planning processes have created needs and opportunities to source help in ways not previously available before.  Companies are moving to defined stage-driven projects that have clear beginning and ending points that create the opportunity for hiring a contingent workforce driven by focused, definable parameters.  Instead of hiring a group of temporary workers to augment your staff and not knowing if you will really have work for them the entire time they are there, companies have projects with well-defined entry and exit points that can be easily staffed by a professional contingent workforce that optimizes their stay.   This style of contingent labor hiring has created new needs for companies for the management of this workforce and in today’s blog we will be covering some of these aspects.

SOW  – Statement of Work – This is a set of predefined criteria that combines timelines, deliverables, tasks and skillsets needed to complete a project or stage of a project for a company.  Often it will also contain details surrounding the safety, design or other legal terms and conditions which must be adhered to for completion.  The statement of work must clearly define the objective of the project along with expectations of the end result and the timeframe it needs to occur within.  For example a company may have a software project that is going to require 120 hours of development and 50 hours or testing.   To accomplish this they need 2 software developers, 1 database developer, 1 QA resource and a project manager to manage the project which needs to be completed in two weeks.  With an SOW, the need and expectations are clearly defined and contingent resources can then be easily added to accomplish the goal without carrying the burden of those resources long-term.

MSP – Managed Service Provider – With the embracing of SOWs to the contingent labor landscape came the need of partners to help manage the procurement and placement of the resources to make them happen.  While Managed Service Providers tend to be found mostly in the IT space, there are many other service and consulting areas that they can and do oversee.  MSPs may have their own contingent resources from which they can augment their clients’ staffs, but many times they are working with other temporary staffing agencies in order to manage the customer needs.  A good MSP will be able to handle a normal temporary labor staff augmentation as well as SOW needs as they arise.  They understand the needs of their customer and how to most efficiently use the contingent labor while they are onsite saving thousands of dollars in the process.

VMS – Vendor Management System – The tool that is used to manage this process of procuring, tracking and paying the contingent resources used, is typically an internet web-based application that allows a customer to submit a request for resources based on a staff augmentation need or statement of work need. This system will also handle the billing and reporting needed by a customer to track how and when they are spending their contingent labor dollars.  Managed Service Providers will either have an in-house VMS or have partnered with an external VMS provider for this solution.  This tool will help the customer streamline the interview and hiring process as well as act as the collection of time worked and approval system of payment.  Having a VMS makes the SOW process much more effective as it allows the customer to focus on finding resources to fill a specific need more efficiently, finding the right people, quickly, and delivering on-time results.

SafeSourcing has successfully helped dozens of companies evaluate and hire Managed Service Providers and Vendor Management Systems.  For more information on how we can help your team in its own search 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.