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

In yesterday’s blog we took a look at some emerging trends and what they may mean to your business and how you adapt to those changes.

Social Networks – For many people who saw the beginnings of Myspace and Facebook they likely chalked it up to a new fad that, like so many other technologies, would eventually fade away.  Much like the people that thought the same thing about Rock and Roll music, it is safe to say that Social Networking is here to stay.  It’s undeniable power and influence is shown in no better way than in the recent Facebook IPO which raised $16 billion for a free service whose only real revenue comes from ads that run within its framework.  Being able to advantage of focused demographic and geographic segments gives businesses the opportunity to focus their marketing like never before to a group that is as captive as any other they could reach.

Paper Free – You get the emails from the companies you deal with every day about going paperless for your accounts and you should not expect that to end any time soon.  The social responsibility in being more Green is one thing, the sheer cost of companies continuing to deal in paper for customer statements, purchase orders, invoices, newsletters and other external and internal communications is forcing companies to evaluate their strategies for how they communicate with their employees, customers and partners.    A major part of these strategies is how to eliminate the cost of paper and mailing.

Consumer Diversification – If you were to look back at the advertising in the 1950s you would have seen a very limited view of messages geared to groups outside of Caucasians.   At the time this represented such a huge percent of the population that it didn’t matter that other groups of people were more or less ignored in the message.  In today’s age and in a strong trend of growth, marketing and advertising executives are begin to realize that their messages need to change and adapt to reach more of the population with a more diversified message.  Businesses are following suite as they begin to adapt their branding and product mix to fit a wider range of cultures many times offering communication in more than just English.

Expanding Sales Channels – Throughout the past two days we have discussed two of the new channels companies are using to expand their sales strategy; Social Media and Mobile Technology.  As the population and the continued splintering of where they invest their time continues over the next 10 years, companies will need to expand from the traditional sales channels in order to continue increase top line revenue.   Many mid and small companies are looking more at Group Purchasing Organizations to help them stay competitive in costs with their larger competitors.  Other companies are realizing the added benefits of joining organizations and getting certifications in areas that help them become better companies. 

For assistance in finding the partners to assist with developing strategies in these areas within your organization, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.  

We look forward to your comments.

Today’s post is written by Heather Powell a SafeSourcing Account Manager.

Business processes that drive quality are important within every area of a company, and probably none more important than the procurement organization. The amount of detail that a buyer or category manager touches on a daily basis relative to a company’s finances, products and services requires careful planning and process control supported by constant open communication.

If you were to take tomorrow off, would your co-worker know where your work is? Would they know where you have started and stopped in a project?

Where do you start an organization process? With the 5 S’s!

What are the 5 S’s? Sort, Set, Shine, Standardize, Sustain

How can these 5 words help you?

1.) Sort through the workplace to remove items, such as papers and machinery, which are not needed. Review then remove any applications or processes that are time-wasting, such as complex software or a redundant printing machine. Keep the information, processes, software, machinery and items that are needed in the workstation.

2.) Set the workstation is order by putting in place proper storage systems. Place larger and heavier items on the floor and fix cabinets and storage bins to store smaller items. Ask for professional help from an IT specialist or a vendor to create simpler online documentation and information storage systems. Label the storage spaces, such as cabinets, for easier identification and retrieval of information and items.

3.) Shine the workplace by regularly cleaning workstations even before they become too dirty. Assign housekeeping responsibilities by creating a log in which each person undertakes a task, which will contribute to keeping the workplace clean. Set up simple channels of communication by creating notice boards or using stick-ons to organize tasks.

4.) Standardize the changes made by creating policies and best practices guidelines. Include employees in the workplace when brainstorming and write down the specific steps that will be undertaken to sort out what is needed, and how to effectively store items and information, and how to keep the place clean. Post these guidelines on a notice board that can be seen by everyone.

5.) Sustain the new culture of orderliness and organization. Reward those who contribute significantly to the best practices established and those who develop new ways of applying the methodology.

These 5 steps are the first step to getting your organization organized. Please look for tomorrow’s blog on how to further organize your company.

If you’d like to learn more about the process required to improve your procurement departments procure to pay process, please contact a SafeSourcing customer services representative.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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

Many times when procurement teams are dealing with IT spends, specifically software solutions, they are unaware of the different options available to them; options that could save them money because they are more geared to the way their company will use the software than the default method the vendor is proposing.  Almost every vendor has a default method of licensing and yet almost every vendor when pressed for an alternative method that fits the customer better will agree in order to get the business.

In today’s blog we will be looking at some of the different models of licensing that are available to you.

Per-Seat Licensing – This type of software licensing is grounded in the number of users you will have accessing the application.  Per set licensing requires a license to be purchased for each user and is a good model for companies who will have a small and select group of employees using the system.  With this model it is easy to control who is accessing the software, however it can lack flexibility to add new users and temporarily share the use of the tool if the need arises. 

Concurrent User Licensing – This type of licensing is a variation of the per-seat model where a company purchases a block of user licenses that can be connected at any one point in time to the software.  For example if a company purchased 25 concurrent licenses the software would allow any 25 users to connect to the system and would block the 26th user attempting to connect.   In this example as soon as someone logs off new users can log on.   The benefit to this model is that it allows a greater group of users to leverage smaller number license packs for software that is not continually used all the time by each member. 

Per Server Licensing –Per server licensing is generally related to mission critical enterprise solutions and is a license purchased for every server the software is installed on.  The price of these licenses is generally much higher as they come with the permission for an unlimited number of users to connect to the solution.  Often web-based or database technology will be deployed using the model of licensing so that users can be added as frequently as necessary without having to worry about auditing the license count.  Accessibility to the system is only limited by what the administrator configures. 

Transaction Based Licensing – Transaction based licensing offers a company the complete flexibility of unlimited users while allowing the cost to grow as the business grows.    Other advantages of models like this involve all of the benefits of purchasing unlimited contract software and software without the upfront financial commitment to the hardware and software.

Annual Subscription Based Licensing – Many SaaS licenses are based upon a subscription license.  These types of licenses give a company unlimited access to the hosted system and tools for an agreed upon period of time.  This model is good for solutions that are already in use by a company and has a high level of use already throughout the company.  One advantage is that there are no further worries as it relates to licenses and tracking once the agreement is completed and it provides availability to any user in the company that needs access.  Like with all SaaS software license models there are no requirements of hardware to be purchased and the maintenance of the system is handled by the host company.

For more information about how SafeSourcing can assist with sourcing your software projects, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.  

We look forward to your comments.

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

One of the common pitfalls of negotiating contracts for IT categories, especially software, is having the right people involved and the right details included.  Many times corporate legal teams will not have the technical depth to understand the project needs or timeline and IT managers are often too conservative to pushback on language that will leave the company vulnerable.  Having both sides review contracts closely will allow for the best results for your company and ensure that it contains the right details.

In today’s blog we will be looking at some of those details to include in your IT software contracts to ensure you have the broadest protection.

Specifications – Statements of Work and specifications are some of the most important elements in your IT contracts.  They will highlight the project and what the solution you are purchasing will accomplish.  It is important at this stage to make sure that every specification is captured in the contract.  Ensure that you have architectural specifications, design and functional specifications, and most importantly performance specifications.  These will help ensure that the solution delivers as expected, with no surprises 

Fee Structure – Fee structures for IT related purchases can be complex and should have good supporting detail surrounding them.  This includes a payment schedule of deposits and deliverables where applicable and how the licensing will be structured.  Often user-based, sever-based, CPU based and volume-based licensing are the most frequently used and each comes with its own pros and cons. Make sure you get the best structure for your business as well as explore the possibility of an Enterprise or Unlimited option if it makes sense.

Code Escrow –When dealing with smaller companies it is a good idea to pursue the possibility of putting the source code into escrow.  By defining the parameters by which the code would be accessible to your business, you will help to ensure your investment is protected regardless of what happens to the supplier’s business. 

Third Party Software – The use of third party tools in IT solutions can make some IT solutions more complicated.  Make sure that the licensing, fees, relationships between vendor and 3rd party companies are well defined so that you can know who is responsible for which aspect.  Above all, make sure that the responsibility of supporting the third party tool is detailed in the contract so that you will know who you will be contacting in the event of an issue. 

For more information about how SafeSourcing can assist with sourcing your IT projects, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.  

We look forward to your comments.

Sourcing strategic plans sometimes have way too many guidelines that to often result in little to no specific actions. Without actions, plans are really nothing more than dreams.

Strategic sourcing in the retail vertical continues to be way behind the rest of industry. It’s time that strategic sourcing plans result in specific short term tactics that can drive immediate and measureable results. Do you have the tools in place to help you carry out these tactics?

A strategy is simply a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. In the case of strategic sourcing, the simple goal might be to buy the best product (quality) at the best price and labor optimization (total cost) from the best suppliers (standards).

In today’s world way too many manual processes remain in place in the retail vertical relative to the RFX or other procurement areas such as POM or CLM. There are too many pieces and parts on too many desk drawers or on to many non accessible desk tops. This does not mean that retail organizations do not have a sourcing strategy. For example, the goal of a company may be to improve net profits: the strategy chosen might simply be to reduce costs of goods and services. But the real issue is the The question HOW and with WHAT?

Most retail companies do not have tools in place that allow for the  automation of the RFX, Contract Management, Purchase Order Management or other procurement processes that drive best in class results from a strategic sourcing plan. So will this plan be successful. Probably not! In fact, more times than not companies will continue with or revert to using their time honored processes and negotiation techniques. These results in the potential loss of any savings you were able to indentify though leakage that is invisible.

Enter the specific tactic. Maybe rather than developing tactics for a plan that is destined to fail, you should call a Strategic Sourcing solutions provider that can provide you with the tools that support your strategy and can be implemented quickly in order to keep you in front of that other company on the opposite side of the street.

The planning starts today, so why not reach out to a SafeSourcing customer services representative to find out how easy we can make achieving your strategic goals. 2013 is just around the corner.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

According to Dictionary.com a panacea is a remedy for all disease or ills; a cure-all or an answer or solution for all problems or difficulties. Although this author does not believe it to be a panacea, SQF is certainly an important building block if not a corner stone of any global food safety program.

The SQF (Safe Quality Food) Program is a leading, global food safety and quality certification program and management system designed to meet the needs of buyers and suppliers worldwide. There are two sections of SQF. SQF 1000 is targeted at primary producers and SQF 2000 is targeted at manufacturers and distributors. More detailed inforamtion can be found at www.sqf.com. Schools are held regularly around the country for both groups and detailed information about these schools can also be found at www.fmi.org under the calendar section.

There are ten basic steps to implementing an SQF Program. These steps are taken from the SQF manual.

1. The Buyer requests the desired level of certification to be achieved by the supplier.  
2. The Supplier designates a staff member as its SQF Practitioner to lead development of its SQF System, or hires an external SQF Consultant licensed by The SQF Institute.
3. The SQF Practitioner is trained at a licensed SQF Training Center.
4. The SQF Practitioner conducts a gap analysis of the supplier’s current system.  
5. The Supplier selects an SQF licensed Certification Body to perform a certification audit.
6. A Certification Audit is conducted consisting of a document review and on-site audit.
7. An Auditor recommends certification if no critical or major non-conformities are found and the audit result indicates an acceptable rating.
8. The Certification Body Review Council makes the final decision and the SQF Certificate and audit report are issued. The SQF Certificate is valid for 12 months.
9. If critical or major non-conformities are found, the supplier takes corrective action, which is verified before certification is granted.
10. Re-certification audits are conducted annually and within 30 days of the scheduled audit date. Audit frequency can be either annual, semi annual or more frequent depending on the type of certificate issued and the risk level.

We appreciate and look forward to your comments.