Today’s post is by Troy Lowe; Vice President of Development at SafeSourcing.

If you did not know the first day of spring is coming upon us.  Sure we still have a few weeks of winter to go but spring is about a month away.  After this winter season of cold and strange weather our vehicles need a little extra care to clean away the winter grime caused by the snow, ice and salt.  We all know that we need the salt to help us make our commutes safer when winter storms occur but the salt is not good for our vehicles and can cause damage over time.  The salt used on the roads and parking lots can create chemical reactions that can corrode you vehicle especially if there is any exposed metal.  Two common parts of the vehicle that can corrode from the exposure are the fuel and break lines.  These are usually more susceptible because they are close to the undercarriage of the vehicle and take most of the impact of the salt damage.  To keep the damage to a minimum you should wash your vehicles throughout the winter to help remove any of the residues that may exist between storms.  And when spring does arrive soon you should find a reputable company that can do a thorough exterior detailing job.  These companies usually have equipment that can wash your vehicles more thoroughly and get hard to reach areas such as the undercarriage where most of the damage can occur.  Besides a thorough exterior cleaning, here are some other vehicle maintenances you should consider this spring.

• Remove and Wash Floor Mats
• Have Oil and Oil Filter Changed
• Have your Battery Tested
• Check Tire Pressure and Tread
• Replace Wiper Blades and Top off Wiper Fluid
• Check all Fluid Levels
• Inspect Hoses and Belts
• Thoroughly Clean Lights and Replace Bulbs if Necessary.
• Have Your Brakes Inspected

If you need help finding a licensed maintenance company to maintain your vehicles, 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 SafeSourcing Customer Service representative.  We have an entire team ready to assist you today

Todays re-post is from our SafeSourcing Inc. Archives

In to many cases, for many companies the answer to the question above is who knows on both sides of the relationship. And unfortunately this will not change for many companies.

Historically the primary driver associated with the use of reverse auctions and other related e-RFX tools has been to reduce the cost of goods and services and reduce expense in large part, if a retail company saved money it was deemed to be a successful process for the retailer as well as the awarded vendor. What about the other suppliers? What makes it a positive for them?

Supply base management or the attempt at it is the newest focus area of many strategic sourcing suites. Many vendors do not offer this functionality today; in fact some have trouble describing what it is when asked. Although elements of this functionality exist within a variety of surround type service offerings, no one vendor offers complete functionality in this area today even though they may think they do. A significant reason for this is suppliers concern with the thought of being managed at all because it means giving up perceived control. Additionally, retailers, suppliers nor vendors have agreed as to what the correct Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) should be or how to collect the data that would allow you to manage them. As these types of tools are developed, the most successful supply base management tools will be those that can manage the largest supplier database to the continual benefit of both retailers and suppliers that participate and compete for their business

This author believes that the most probable result of this process will be a set of automated robust supplier scorecards that monitor and report on supplier performance versus a range of KPI’S that are applied against well-known quality guidelines resulting in a continuous improvement procurement methodology.

If you’d like to know how SafeSourcing can help improve and measure improvement in your e-RFX process please contact us!

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

Today’s blog is by Margaret Stewart, Director of HR, and Administration at SafeSourcing

Prices are going up and have been for some time. Supply shortages and no shortage of demand have triggered companies to increase prices to cover their costs. While this is inflation hits every one of us, there are some things to keep in mind. Prices always fluctuate and will eventually level. Just like the say, what goes up must come down.

In all reality, prices can go up and stay up for a long time, but eventually they will hit a point where the price is too high and demand will dwindle, spurring that eventual price drop. While some things may have a high price all the time, like gold or diamonds, the prices there can fluctuate a great deal. This is when having an agreement in place can help your organization maintain a steady supply and a steady price.

A procurement partner, like SafeSourcing, can help you find the goods or services you need and help find the right supplier that can offer a competitive price and the stability that lets you carry on without concern over the day-to-day price changes. While we may not be able to control the price of gold or diamonds, we can help you source just about anything your organization needs at a competitive price and the reliability of a vendor you trust.

While this tactic may not work for every item, the general idea is the same – that there are ways to overcome shortages or at least make effective use of the time until the shortage is back in stock. SafeSourcing is a procurement partner that can help you find products that you already buy or even ones you have never bought.

For more information on what the SafeSourcing team can offer you, or on our Risk Free trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service representative. We have an entire team ready to assist you today.

Today’s post is by Dave Wenig is the Senior Vice President of Sales and Services at SafeSourcing Inc

Cardi B, the Grammy Award winning rapper has been getting a lot of attention over the last few days for an unexpected reason. That reason? Lettuce prices.

The rapper posted a series of posts to Twitter over the past several days highlighting her concerns about food prices and inflation. Notably, she had some choice words to say about the price of lettuce including a one-minute video in which she shares her worry for working class families. Fair warning, if you head over to Twitter to watch the video, you might want to wear headphones.

Of course, her observations about the costs of these goods are correct. At SafeSourcing, and even in this blog, we track and share our perspective as well. While the reasons for the price increases vary from legitimate to false, we all need to do our part to help manage the burden of rising prices.

For Cardi B, she can use her platform to draw national attention to the concern. The video I mentioned earlier has about 5.5 million views as I write this blog.

For SafeSourcing, we continue to collaborate with our clients via their procurement teams of category managers and other professionals to work to keep costs in line and fight back to reduce costs using innovative technologies and processes.

Join the fight against price increases with us. Follow our blog for more information, follow us on LinkedIn, and contact me to join us if you are a buyer and you are as fed up with the cost of lettuce as us and Cardi B.

For more information, please contact SafeSourcing.

Today’s blog is from our SafeSourcing archives.

Did you ever notice how in Christmas movies that on the early hours of Christmas morning, Santa never jumps to the house next door? Instead, he hops back into his sleigh to drop off presents twenty miles eastward instead of taking the more efficient route of going next door. So, when he only has one work shift to get all the presents delivered, why is efficiency not his top priority?

Well, this is just my theory, but I think it is because he just does not have all the wish lists in on time! How many of your kids, when you ask for their Christmas list for Santa, just tell you, “Well, I dunno,” while other kids might have a detailed list, all in alphabetical order, sorted by multiple categories according to how badly they need it? Now, how long does it take for the lists to get to Santa, especially when it is Christmas Eve, and they finally remember what they want? Well, now Santa’s already at work with his carefully laid flight plan in place that little Timmy just forced an addendum on. So, thank you, Timmy, for giving us that scenic shot in nearly every Christmas movie ever made.

If you want your business’s Wishlist to be delivered in a timely manner, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.  For more information on how SafeSourcing can help your procurement efforts, or on our Risk-free trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.  We have an entire team ready to assist you today.

Today’s post is by Troy Lowe; Vice President of Development at SafeSourcing.

Well, I should have done some research before I got my flu shot this year.  According to Mayo Clinic it takes about two weeks for the flu shot to take its full affect.  If you get exposed to the flu within that time of getting the shot you can still get the flu, which is what happened to me.  I got the shot over the weekend and got the flu two days later.  Even though I stayed upstairs inside a room alone, another family member has come down with it as well.  This reminded me of a BLOG that I wrote when the COVID-19 virus first started and how you can help keep areas clean and slow down the spread of the flu.

With all the news about the new coronavirus, I started to look at ways to clean surfaces of commonly used items around the home, office, and vehicles.  I came across something that I did not know existed.  They make portable UV Sanitizers that are used to eliminate bacteria, viruses, and pathogens.  These devices can kill up to 99.9% of surface bacteria with the use of ultraviolet light.  The compact design allows for convenient use anywhere you go.  Because it uses light, it is able to get into tough surfaces like keyboards and clean them better than using sanitizing wipes.  To use the device, just direct the light down toward the surface to be cleaned for the recommended time.  Because these devices are small their best use is to clean smaller or harder to clean items.  If you are cleaning large areas or easy to clean surfaces like counters and desks it is still recommended that you use just a standard disinfectant wipe.  This will result in faster and more precise cleaning.  If you are looking for ways to help protect against the upcoming illnesses, below are other steps you can take.

• Get the Flu shot
• Avoid people who are sick
• Wash your hands often and for at least 20 seconds
• Use hand sanitizer when soap and water is not available
• Keep your hands away from your face
• Get plenty of Vitamin D
• Stay hydrated
• Eat a healthy diet
• Work out
• Stay at home and reduce risk of infection
• Stay at least three feet away from anyone coughing or sneezing
• Clean shared surfaces at least once a day
• Avoid sharing food
• Store your toothbrush
• Get adequate sleep

If you are looking to purchase new cleaning devices or materials and would like help researching available options, feel free to contact SafeSourcing.   We can gather all the necessary information for you and help you decide which one meets your needs.  If you would like more information on how SafeSourcing can help you, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service representative.  We have an entire team ready to assist you today.

Today’s blog is by Margaret Stewart, Director of HR, and Administration at SafeSourcing Inc.

We have all seen foods and good fall in and out of stock at the stores the last few years and it can be trying. On more than one occasion, I have had to change my grocery shopping list around certain items simply not being available. The recent volatility of the market and the ability to stock and keep stock in our stores has caused frustrations across the board – from consumer to retailer and manufacturer.

Instead of just waiting for items to become available again, we can make use of the time and try a new tactic. We can try a temporary replacement. Like a new homeowner waiting for furniture to be delivered, you do not want to just sit on the floor and wait. You would find something that you can do or use in the meantime! This can be a solution to fill those shelves and may even help to find a gem of a product.

Let us suppose that your retail business has had trouble finding enough peanut butter to fill your shelves. While you wait for the industry to recover and allow you to fill your shelves again, in the meantime you could find niche products, even locally made, that could fill those gaps in your shelves. This will add to your portfolio of products, give customers more to see and consider, and also help the new supplier of this product. You never know – it could become a popular item and you may want to keep it on your shelves all the time.

While this tactic may not work for every item, the general idea is the same – that there are ways to overcome shortages or at least make good use of the time until the shortage is back in stock. SafeSourcing is a procurement partner that can help you find products that you already buy or even ones you have never bought.

For more information on what the SafeSourcing team can offer you, or on our Risk Free trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service representative. We have an entire team ready to assist you today.

Today’s blog is by Margaret Stewart, Director of HR, and Administration at SafeSourcing Inc.

Recently, I was getting an estimate on a fairly small home improvement project when I was surprised with a price I was not expecting. What I thought was going to be about $500-$1000, wound up being quoted at $6000. With nearly 92% of homes in the US having been built before the year 2000, it might not be a surprise that the home improvement industry has remained a huge national industry with increasing sales every year. I, like so many others, fall into this category of having a home that requires some improvement from time to time. This project, however, was no treat.

Typically, before any improvement is done, the first step is identifying the project. Knowing what exactly need repaired or replaced helps to narrow down the goods or services that will be needed. For instance, if you are looking to improve your flooring, knowing if you want to just clean your carpets or get new will help determine your next steps.

Once you know what you want to do in your improvement plan, next you should begin looking for services or supplies that help to accommodate that. For instance, if you want to replace your floors, you may need to either find the product you like so you can do it yourself or you will need to find a company that can help.

Finally, once you know what you want and who you want to help, the next step is getting a quote. This is where you may be in for a surprise like I was. At first, I thought this was just a trick, there is no way this was the real price for my project. That is when I called for more estimates. Turns out the scope of my project was not as clearly defined as I had first thought, so the estimate was covering much more than what was needed. This is especially when a procurement partner could assist.

Just like my home project, businesses and organizations also look for goods and services that they will need. They will look for people that can do the work or provide the good, and they will seek prices. A Procurement partner, like SafeSourcing, can assist in every one of these areas. They have the expertise and experience in the area to know who to look for, find estimates for you, and also make sure your project is clearly defined. Having a procurement partner helping with your project or sourcing needs is definitely a treat, because they know all the tricks and just what to do.

For more information on what the SafeSourcing team can offer you, or on our Risk-Free trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service representative. We have an entire team ready to assist you today.

References: https://www.zippia.com/advice/home-improvement-industry-statistics/

Dave Wenig is the Senior Vice President of Sales and Services at SafeSourcing Inc

SafeSourcing, as an organization, is 100% focused on getting our customers a great price for the goods and services they need. So, as we have watched our customers get price increase after price increase, we have been increasingly frustrated. We are constantly collaborating with our customers to help them use our eProcurement service to get fair pricing.

More recently, that has taken a turn. It is painfully obvious from our perspective that many vendors are increasing costs well beyond what is necessary based on the actual market conditions. Many vendors who have repeatedly increased pricing in the last year for a variety of products have also reported record profits for the same time period.

We have plenty of examples. One that comes to mind is a large provider of corrugate who notified our customer of a very large price increase. When we finished an RFQ event for those items, we found that they were about 22% higher than their closet competitors. Another example is hot dogs. We recently sourced hot dogs and found that the vendor had passed along price increases which would have put them 24% over where their competitors quoted in the RFQ.

Those are just a couple of examples, but it is happening in about every purchasing category right now. SafeSourcing will be focusing on a different example in upcoming blog posts and digging deeper into each.

Our customers are tired of these unjustified price increases and false excuses. If you are tired of it too, let us work together to push back against them. We are doing this now for many customers and can for any buyer.

For more information, please contact SafeSourcing.