Today’s post is by Mark Davis; Sr. Vice President of Operations and CTO at SafeSourcing.

Yesterday we began a series of blogs looking at the hot categories being expected to be sourced by companies in 2013 starting with a view of mobile products and services.  Today we will take a look at Managed Services which have become an increasing part of corporate strategies as workforces continue to take hits in their numbers.

Baby Boomer Retirement and a Slumping Economy are two of the biggest reasons that companies have lost staff in the past ten years.  While the economy is showing some signs of life, the rapidly depleting Baby Boomer workforce will continue to deplete over the next ten years leaving many holes especially in skilled areas.  Because of this trend many companies are looking more and more to outsourcing their needs to Managed Service Companies who specialize in an area and have an experienced and skilled staff to handle it.  

Print Services – More and more companies are beginning to move towards having a third party company handle all of the maintenance and support for their printers and copiers throughout the organization.  Be employing this service companies don’t have to worry about keeping an inventory of toner on hand and a staff of employees to maintain the printer fleet.  With IT staffs being reduced so frequently this is not only a boost to the staff but also a very cost-effective move.

Managed Temporary Labor – Later this week we will discuss the areas of temporary labor that many companies will be moving towards in 2013, but today we will look at the management of those firms and temporary workforce employees.   Frequently large National companies will employee temporary workers to augment their own staffs.  They will get these employees from a variety of sources, sometimes with agreements in place and sometimes not.  By employing a contingent labor Managed Service Provider you can have a common source of billing and support as the independent company deals with the sources of labor and rates for you.

Managed IT Services – There are few areas of the company that are getting hit as hard as the IT departments.   As talented workforce exits the workplace, and increasing college costs limiting the number of new employees coming into the workforce, more companies are beginning to look to outsourcing their IT services to a third party company to take care of their needs rather than trying to increase their own staff.  This will definitely be the case in 2013 as companies whose core competency is non-IT related begin to determine the best way to optimize their expenses.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can help you source these or any of products and services discussed this week, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative. Please join us for tomorrow’s post on Marketing and Social Media Planning Services. 

We look forward to your comments.

Today’s post is by Mark Davis; Sr. Vice President of Operations and CTO at SafeSourcing. 

Each year there are new categories of products and services that rise to the top of the heap for serious consideration by companies all over the world.  These categories can be influenced by technology, the economy or any number of social changes that shape the world in which we live.

Over the course of the this week we will be looking at some of the hot categories to consider moving into 2013 to include mobile devices, managed services, contingent labor providers, marketing and social media planning and travel related services.

Mobile Devices – These are not new to the corporate world as almost every employee has at least one mobile device and terms like “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) begin to apply more and more to the business landscape.  Companies are beginning to understand that desktop PC’s and even traditional laptops are being replaced by mobile phone and tablets leveraging Wi-Fi and mobile service technology.

Tablet Devices – As tablet devices become more powerful and functional, they will begin to replace the traditional laptop PC’s.  Several companies have released versions of tablet PC’s that range in price from $500 to $3,000 depending on the desired features.  2013 will be a year where many companies begin to look at these devices for their employees to leverage the increased acceptance of the devices in the corporate and private sectors.

Consolidated Phone Plan – Another area that will be one of 2013 focus will be that of a consolidated corporate cell plan.  By moving to a corporate fleet of mobile phones your company can begin to leverage the buying power to get the best prices on a select set of phones that will be easier to support and can ensure that each employee has the functionality they need.  As companies begin to use smart phones in new ways like mileage reimbursement tracking this can be a huge benefit.

Corporate Mobile Plan – In some cases companies will allow their employees to purchase whatever phone they want on their own and will consolidate the mobile service plan that the company pays for.  With this approach you give your employees the flexibility to choose the phone that fits them while still leveraging the consolidating buying power of your company to get better rates and service.  This will be a very hot category for many companies in 2013 as cell companies continue to compete for business and many local companies entering in to the mix.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can help you source these or any of products and services discussed this week, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative. Please join us for tomorrow’s post on managed services. 

We look forward to your comments.

One example of the above might be to augment the manual processes that many sourcing professionals use today in order to find new sources of supply interested in bidding for their business rather than continuing to live with the same small, known group of suppliers they have used for years. Historically this has been a very time consuming practice that results in few if any new sources of supply. This represents a great opportunity to deploy a tactic that can have an immediate impact for an organization without the need for the implementation of a complete new sourcing strategy.

There is a specific process to follow that will encourage new sources of supply to want to bid for a companies business beyond just being invited. Simply having your buyer assigned the task of running a Google or Bing search for new suppliers or picking up the phone and calling sources you may know but do not buy from will not result in additional suppliers agreeing to bid for your business. There are specific objections to overcome that we call the Seven Deadly Objections as well as questions to answer that require a specific skill set.  This is a perfect opportunity for Software as a Service providers that offer supplier research to augment your team’s efforts. Skilled providers in this area can provide companies with as many as a half dozen or more willing  high level new sources of supply in as little as thirty minutes that may in fact reside within a companies existing or newly planned marketing  areas.

Sourcing tactics can be isolated procurement related actions or events that take advantage of opportunities offered by the gaps within strategic plans such as lack of new sources of supply mentioned above.  In this case, our tactic here would be to find additional sources of supply that we can invite to compete for your companies business in a variety of high profile category spends. The fact is that additional sources of supply competing for a companies business results in compressed pricing and often better quality products and services.

If you’d like to learn more about the Seven Deadly Objections or our SafeSourceIt™ Global Supplier Database please contact a SafeSourcing customer services representative.

As always, we appreciate and look forward to your comments.

One example of the above might be to augment the manual processes that many sourcing professionals use today in order to find new sources of supply interested in bidding for their business rather than continuing to live with the same small, known group of suppliers they have used for years. Historically this has been a very time consuming practice that results in few if any new sources of supply. This represents a great opportunity to deploy a tactic that can have an immediate impact for an organization without the need for the implementation of a complete new sourcing strategy.

There is a specific process to follow that will encourage new sources of supply to want to bid for a companies business beyond just being invited. Simply having your buyer assigned the task of running a Google or Bing search for new suppliers or picking up the phone and calling sources you may know but do not buy from will not result in additional suppliers agreeing to bid for your business. There are specific objections to overcome that we call the Seven Deadly Objections as well as questions to answer that require a specific skill set.? This is a perfect opportunity for Software as a Service providers that offer supplier research to augment your team?s efforts. Skilled providers in this area can provide companies with as many as a half dozen or more willing? high level new sources of supply in as little as thirty minutes that may in fact reside within a companies existing or newly planned marketing? areas.

Sourcing tactics can be isolated procurement related actions or events that take advantage of opportunities offered by the gaps within strategic plans such as lack of new sources of supply mentioned above.? In this case, our tactic here would be to find additional sources of supply that we can invite to compete for your companies business in a variety of high profile category spends. The fact is that additional sources of supply competing for a companies business results in compressed pricing and often better quality products and services.

If you?d like to learn more about the Seven Deadly Objections or our SafeSourceIt? Global Supplier Database please contact a SafeSourcing customer services representative.

As always, we appreciate and look forward to your comments.

Today’s post is by Heather Powell, Customer Service Manager at SafeSourcing.

The world is looking to the East Coast of the United States where Hurricane Sandy has leashed her furry.  The worst of the weather is over, but her destruction continues. Here is what this writer has learned over the past few days…

Hurricane/Superstorm/Frankenstorm Sandy will end up causing about $20 billion in property damages and $10 billion to $30 billion more in lost business, according to IHS Global Insight, a forecasting firm.

Across U.S. industries, disruptions will slow the economy temporarily. Some restaurants and stores will draw fewer customers. Factories may shut down or hold shorter shifts because of a short-term drop in customer demand.

Shipping and business travel has been suspended in areas of the Northeast. More than 15,000 flights across the Northeast and the world have been grounded, and it will take days for some passengers to get where they’re going.

The Wall Street Financial District, including the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) was closed for two straight days, the first time since 1888. Many are holding their breath that the salt water from the flooded tunnels and street haven’t affected the power lines underground that feeds this area. If it has there could be delays or intermittent shut downs for repair.

Though those living with the destruction, devastation, and some families who have lost loved one these things don’t matter to them.  They folks need help, temporary and long term. They are looking to find a “home” again and peace of mind.

Is there positive in this situation? This writer believes there is.

In natural disasters people are drawn together. Our nation has been through a similar natural disaster before with Hurricanes Andrew (92’), Ivan (04’), Katrina (05’), Ike (08’) just to name a few. Tornados, Earthquakes, Floods all bring out the humanity in Americans.  Even with warning there were groups gathering supplies together to send to the hardest hit areas. People from the inland and all over American drove into the storm to help those individuals in need.

Re-building…  Retail sales may take a hit now but are likely to benefit in November and December, when people buy the supplies they need to rebuild. Rebuilding homes, businesses, infrastructures all need building materials. Those businesses will increase production to meet the demand.  Also to rebuild means new jobs.  Those that have lost everything will need to replace everything from homes, cars, clothes, and basic necessities those purchases will filter back into the economy.

From a previous SafeSourcing Blog written post Hurricane Ike, by CEO Ron Southard and still rings true today and every day:
 
“So, what can procurement professionals do? We already know that billions of dollars in new products and services such as building materials, automobiles, clothing and construction will be purchased by service organizations providing benefits to disaster victims as well as by consumers themselves once they receive insurance payments. To support these efforts, procurement professionals can take extra care to insure that the products they buy substantially support the local economy. By purchasing products from U.S. based companies we keep the Americans employed that build, ship, install, and train and otherwise support these products. Simple questioning can be asked of your suppliers. First, are all the products we procure from you made in the U.S.A.? Second, are all of the raw materials that are used to make the products we procure from you sourced within the U.S.A.? Third, are all of the products we buy from you picked, sorted and packaged within the U.S.A.

If you’d like to review your local sourcing strategy, please contact a SafeSourcing customer services account manager.

We look forward to your comments.

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

When I was younger, I loved to play video games.? The whole combination of dexterity, strategy and thought in order to be successful caught myself and an entire generation by storm in the 1980s.?? Over time I began to slightly resent those who moved on and continued to play computer and Xbox type games not because they hadn?t grown up, but more because I had to and never had enough extra time.

That being said it struck me as odd that today?s post would find its roots in the lessons that today?s gamers learn every day and the reason why they are so popular.

The number one rule of any video games is that, until you master it, you are going to struggle initially and that there will be a battle to learn everything necessary to complete each challenge.? Gamers LIVE for this struggle!? It is the reason they continue to spend billions of dollars on the games and millions of hours playing them.? A game that lets you win every challenge and level without fail would never be purchased by anyone because there would be no fun in it.

What a strange contrast to the same situation each of us has in the corporate world.? Our careers are bigger, more complex and more important game-type situations where we face challenges and victories as well but we tend to look at challenges as something we don?t want to ever have rather than as an opportunity to learn and master something new.

Let?s take the thought process of a gamer encountering a new level or challenge in a game and apply it to a new category spend for a procurement professional.

?? Scout out what you can find out about the new challenge.? Don?t dive right in.? Feel your way around and observe what you can about the new encounter.? In military terms this would be called reconnaissance.
?? Move forward with the information you have collected and develop the?? strategy by which you plan to succeed with what you have to that point.
?? Be prepared to adapt your strategy as soon as new information about the challenge pops up that was not known at the beginning.
?? Do not panic if the attempt begins to go awry.? You will never know all of the details you need before you begin a new challenge and sometimes the missing pieces will create big hurdles to overcome.? Soak in everything that is going on so that after the attempt is complete you can learn from what you didn?t know.?
?? If you do not achieve the success you planned on, use all of the details you collected and look at what was done right and what can be changed to improve the next time.? Armed with this information and any new information that popped up in the process your chances of success increase greatly.
?? Be excited when you can look back and enjoy the success when you get it and the effort you put in to get there.

This is the approach many gamers I know take to new challenges but it also mirror the same process and excitement we can have as procurement professionals with our own new challenges.

For more information on how we can help you source new and existing categories for your business, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.??

We look forward to your comments.

A weather man is just a prognosticator or forecaster, ours is better than most. Please read on.

Today’s post is by Mark Davis; Sr. Vice President of Operations,  CTO  and category prognosticator at SafeSourcing. 

For many companies the process of controlling and maintaining the working condition of the refrigeration in their facilities is a constant challenge.  For companies whose sites are spread out, this can become even more of a challenge due to a collection of different repair & maintenance companies as well as different processes for managing your equipment.

Today we will be looking at some of the advantages companies are realizing by allowing their refrigeration R&M partners to remotely monitor their systems.

Real Time Monitoring – One of the biggest advantages of a Remote Refrigeration Monitoring solution is the fact that conditions can be monitored and analyzed in real time.  Opening and closing of doors, energy use levels, and temperature levels can all be tracked and monitored for unusual trends.  By having availability to data real time it makes it easier to see when an issue is beginning before it  becomes a problem or before a normally scheduled maintenance visit can catch it, saving a company tens of thousands of potential dollars.

Mobile Monitoring/Alerts – As with all technology, the need to provide a mobile solution is becoming a key.  Many of the Remote Monitoring companies now provide their customers with the capability to receive voice, text or email alerts to their mobile devices any time the system detects a problem with the company’s refrigeration and freezer systems.  The combination of real time monitoring mentioned above and mobile alerts can prevent a major problem from occurring well in advance.  With many solutions, the capability of being alerted is also paired with Smart Device apps that can allow a user to open a R&M request immediately from wherever they are.

Historical Data – Data, data, data.  The best decisions made by any company are the ones based on large amounts of valuable data.  The more you know about what has, is and will happen with a project the easier it will be to determine how things have historically happened and what needs to change to improve that performance.  One of the big advantages of refrigeration and freezer monitoring systems is that they can track so many data points every minute of every day from all over an organization.  Armed with this level of information, decisions like which equipment may need replacing becomes much clearer as historical temperature trends can be compared against electricity usage and other captured points.

These types of features are why many companies have adopted remote monitoring solutions.  For assistance in finding the partners who can give you proposals and value propositions for deploying these type of solutions, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.  

We look forward to your comments.