What is your procurement organizations overall procurement strategy? All to often, when this author asks this question, the response I  get is  that deer in the headlights look that says to me there either is not one in place or the person I’m asking the question of has know idea how to answer the question. If there is no procurement strategy, there certainly is no supportive negotiation strategy because how companies negotiate should support their overall procurement strategy or at least it should.

The cause for the above is quite often that there is no formal procurement organization in place to begin with or the function is lost within a supply chain organization, logistics organization or finance organization. And sometimes it is located in operations and spread all over the place.

It’s a good bet that  if there is no well defined organizational procurement  structure within a company that there are multiple maverick negotiation strategies going on and that many of the associates conducting these negotiations are not skilled at doing so and don’t  have any advanced tools other than spreadsheets, email and telephony to conduct the negotiations with.

The result of the above is a lack of collaboration and well thought out aggregation, maverick buying, expired and or ever greened contracts and much higher than needed cost structures.

So before you can negotiate effectively you will have to go back to the drawing board and develop a procurement strategy. Once that’s in place negotiation best practices can follow.

Check back tomorrow for part II where I’ll offer some suggestions on negotiation strategy. If you’d like to learn more before then, please contact a customer services representative at SafeSourcing.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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

Yesterday we discussed how a company can begin to include its procurement team into the process of preparing for a re-branding effort.  Meeting with the Marketing team to understand the scope of the rebranding and timeline it will occur within can help determine the categories affected and the priority determined based on need, contract expiration and importance to the re-branding project. 

Today we will focus on four of the major areas that can be affected by a re-branding effort and that historically have led to strong savings when sourced and leveraged with increased re-branding budgets.

External Marketing Items – This category is one that will typically  be involved with re-branding projects.  It includes items that are used by employees in a variety of ways and that carry the corporate message and image.  Business cards, letterhead, and promotional items  usually carry the company logo and will need to be ready at the milestone in the timeline for when the re-branding will become public.  Also included in this category are website changes and other marketing literature such as brochures that will need to be refreshed and have strong savings potential.

Uniforms – In some cases company uniforms will be included in the category above as logoed clothing will be handled by one of the companies that provide other external marketing items.  For some companies, employee uniforms are a much larger part of their business and are handled by a uniform company that keeps an inventory of their uniforms. Due to the fact that changing branding on these items generally comes at an additional expense, this category can become complicated and is a big reason for handling it separately. 

Construction – This category can include everything from new construction, to remodeling existing buildings.  When it is included in the scope of the re-branding effort it can encompass furniture changes, signage changes, and as in the case mentioned in yesterday’s blog with Haggen, it can include changing the entire layout of a building.  Many times companies will have existing relationships established with vendors for these types of projects but the increased spend from a re-branding effort offers a good point of discussion with these vendors to ensure you are getting the best pricing.

Transportation – For those companies with branded vehicles either owned or leased, this category generally comes in a secondary phase of rebranding once the categories above have been dealt with.  The depth and breadth of changing this category over make a complex category however because of that and the spend associated with making it happen, it is one that frequently comes with opportunities for increased savings.

For more information on preparing your sourcing projects related to a re-branding effort, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.  

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

Last week there was an article in Progressive Grocer about how Haggen, a 28 store independent grocer in the state of Washington, was leading a rebranding effort in their stores to focus on the concepts of homemade products and community.  Decisions like these are always major changes for a company and ones that are not made lightly, and there are many things to consider in the planning of these moves.

Over the next two days we will be taking a look at the sourcing points to consider while rebranding is being planned and the types of categories that need immediate focus after the process is set in motion.

Marketing-Procurement Planning – With re-branding changes being driven primarily by marketing departments it is important that a collaborative meeting with procurement happen early so that the scope of the re-branding can be discussed and timelines shared for the different stages in the process.  Armed with the scope of what the re-branding will change and the timeline within which it is to happen, proactive steps can begin so that the procurement team is ready to source the products needed to handle the change.

Categories Affected – One major piece that the procurement team will determine early in the scope discussion will be to detail all of the categories that will be affected by the re-branding.  This will be a topic covered in more detail in tomorrow’s blog and at a high level will include major categories such as uniform related items, external marketing items, construction related items and transportation related to name just a few.

Matching Categories with Contracts – As mentioned above, the scope and timeline are critical pieces of information for the procurement team to know because with that information and the category research above contracts can begin to be examined to determine which categories have contracts that can be leveraged against the re-branding.  There is significant spend associated with re-branding efforts and it should be used when examining contracts for items that will be affected and that expire within the timeline milestones.

Communication – Understanding how the re-branding effort will be communicated within the timeline is a final piece of information that will be needed by the procurement team so that they know what and much of the re-branding can be communicated when doing their job.  Often the re-branding effort comes with other organizational changes that need to be kept confidential so understanding how the organization plans to communicate the re-branding is important.

In tomorrow’s blog we will discuss more about the categories affected by a re-branding effort.  For more information on preparing your sourcing projects related to a re-branding effort, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.  

We look forward to your comments.

As the end of the year is approaching, future budgets are discussed and analysis of current budgets are dissected. 

One of the most important questions for consideration is how you can reduce your costs? One sometimes overlooked area of the business that should be highlighted is company and employee printing; how much volume does an entire business print in a year, and how much does an individual print? 

Looking more closely, you may find yourself asking, “Have we currently implemented a managed print service program? “  If your answer is “no” and you want to decrease costs, such a program should be considered.

Numerous companies specialize in managed print services, of which any could assist in adopting an initiative for your company.   Such programs have proven to save companies millions of dollars within five years following implementation.  Think of the many ways you could use that saved money!

What are the steps for implementation?

Assessment is the most important step in this process.  The service provider looks into your current infrastructure.  The next steps require a design plan that identifies the opportunities to reduce costs, improve performance and create efficient operations.  Next, implementation begins with support provided during the entire transition process.  After implementation is achieved, the service provider will manage and monitor your program remotely, assisting in repairs, achieving supply levels, etc.

After implementation how do we achieve cost savings?
  • Reduction in operational costs
  • Standardization through device models and a networked platform
  • Optimization of all print assets
  • Reduced administrative tasks
  • Increase employee productivity

Managed print services not only leaves room in your budget, but it increases efficiency and provides the ability to regain control.  

If you would like to know more about managed print services providers, or how to involve companies who can help you reap the benefits of a larger budget through cost savings, please contact a Customer Service Representative at SafeSourcing.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.