Spring into Change With spring on its way, are you ready for change?

March 12th, 2014

With spring on its way, are you ready for change?

Today?s post is by Margaret Stewart, Executive Assistant at SafeSourcing.

Most of us will agree that spring is a welcome change to the long winter we have endured, but changing seasons brings other changes as well.

Spring cleaning is one of the biggest changes people make this time of year. It?s a time for sweeping out the old and bringing in the new and getting things cleaned up. This can be applied to more than just housework, though. In business, spring cleaning is a time when companies may reevaluate their current sources and try to find options that may better fit their needs. Spring is the time to see what other companies can offer a business. SafeSourcing may be able to help you with your spring cleaning by customizing a procurement plan for your business, giving you the knowledge you need to polish up this year?s business plan that you are just rolling out.

Spring is also a time of re-growth. The flowers begin blooming and trees begin sprouting leaves. It is also a time for business growth. How do you plan on growing your business this year? You should already have that answer at the tip of your tongue. Now is the time to determine if you have the right tools to really support that growth, like technology, and resources, like vendor and supplier contacts, for your business to flourish. SafeSourcing may be able to help you find the right tools and resources that your business needs to grow. By having the means to nurture growth, your company could bloom into the business you?d like it to be whether you are a multinational conglomerate or and independent small business owner.

We, at SafeSourcing, enjoy bringing this blog to you every day and hope you find value in it. For more information about how SafeSourcing can help you implement spring changes in your organization or on our ?Rick Free? trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service representative. We have an entire team ready to assist you today.

We look forward to your comments.

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Corporate Social Responsibility

March 11th, 2014

How would you rate your company?s Corporate Social Responsibility?

Today?s post is by Shelly Hayre; Customer Service Representative at SafeSourcing.
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Corporate Social Responsibility is a corporation?s self-regulated responsibility to uphold a certain ethical standard. It can be a specialized department within a business, enforced by Human Resources, or even outsourced. Corporate Social Responsibility can achieve many things for a corporation. It can provide a clear outline regarding the ethics under which the corporation will operate, provide security in risk management, and achieve good faith among shareholders. Corporate Social Responsibility, when governed well, can also provide relief from government restrictions to control any discrepancies.
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There are several advantages to having a strong CSR policy. Public opinion and support can largely be influenced by a company?s CSR operations. For example, employing a department to research and monitor all potential “Green” opportunities within a company?s operations can be viewed admirably by the public. Also, involvement in charitable causes and foundations, will receive positive feedback from consumers and communities. Providing employees with proper work conditions and treatment, along with a standard of quality for the product are all covered in the CSR. All these are huge factors in the sustainability of a corporation, the willingness of potential investors, and trust of current shareholders.

The relationship between a corporations CSR policy and sustainability is parallel. The outline provided by the CSR can actually help establish a distinction in your brand. And, even if a corporation?s CSR doesn?t help them publicly, it can still hurt them internally. Establishing an in-house set of checks and balances provides ethical structure in the everyday operation of a business.

So, how can an eProcurement company help with your CSR needs?

???? The suppliers your company purchases products from can affect your quality of products produced. Garbage in = garbage out!
???? Can your company become more ?green?? Let us help you find better solutions to meet these goals.
???? Is your supplier compliant in all regulations and meeting standards your company holds them to? ? If you have a relationship with a supplier that does not meet your company?s standards and expectations, this will reflect poorly on your company too.

SafeSourcing’s SafeSourceIt?? Supplier Database?contains suppliers who can meet all your expectations. We will ask the right questions to achieve the right results for you.
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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.

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Procurement Benefits That Come from Acquisitions

March 10th, 2014

If your company is involved with a merger or acquisition how are you leveraging that to your advantage?

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

With the recent news of mergers and acquisitions such as Cerberus? offer of $9B for Safeway, FaceBook?s offer of $19B for WhatsApp, or Comcast?s $45B offer to purchase Time Warner there is no doubt that periods of transition and adjustment are necessary and these times frequently lead to procurement opportunities for the new organization.?? In today?s blog we will look at three areas that procurement and supply chain organizations can focus on to get the most out of their efforts

Combined Spend ? One of the obvious advantages to having a larger company due a merger or acquisition is the increase in the spend that accompanies it.? This low-hanging fruit allows the company to establish stronger contracts and services due to taking the best features of what each company had before.? Being able to understand the common categories and services will be important to determining which categories get addressed first.? This involves creating a baseline view of each category for both companies that looks at price, volume, contracts and service levels that each company currently has.? An additional outcome of this process will be to streamline the number of different products and vendors the new company works with leaving less to manage by the procurement team.

Efficiencies in Process ? Every successful company does some things really well and usually every company being purchased by one of those successful companies presumably does a number of things really well too.? One of the important tasks that gets done during a merger or acquisition is determining quickly what each piece does well and leverage that against the weaker areas of the other.? If one company is strong in logistics but weaker in IT, then those should be areas of synergy early on.? Learning these things and implementing new services and products can mean a very large increase in Request For Proposal and Information projects.? Having a team prepared to execute these or a 3rd party strategic sourcing partner can help make this process go much smoother.

New products & Services ? Along with the new products and services that will be required early in the merge process there will usually be many other things that must be quickly sourced as well especially with Marketing and Branding, assuming a new image or company name is a result of the process.? Bags, signage, business cards, websites, and uniforms just begin to scratch the surface of the marketing related items that are frequently needed on the day a merger or acquisition is complete.? There are other projects as it relates to IT infrastructure, temporary labor, warehouse supplies and raw material, however, that are just as important and especially so if keeping a unified standard of product or service is required and more than one standard between both companies exist.?

Companies involved with a merger or acquisition should have teams assigned to determine where the synergies and gaps are between the two companies and prepare plans for how sourcing will move forward starting at day one.? For more information on how SafeSourcing can assist your team with this type of planning 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.

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Retail spend management basics for e-procurement professionals and knowledge workers.

March 7th, 2014

A major step toward understanding where to spend your effort when building an e-procurement attack plan is to understand your own companies detailed financial data and how it can point you in the right direction for maximum impact.

Todays post is by Ron Southard, CEO at SafeSourcing.

I meet with buyers, category managers and? other e-procurement knowledge workers on a regular basis that want to know what categories are the best to select in the short term to prove the benefit of e-procurement or e-negotiation tools. This quite honestly is not a bad approach for pilot selection as it creates an almost sure thing that results in a lot of excitement and the energy to move the process forward within a company.

Quite often before meeting with a new client, I will analyze their annual report and their summary P&L to get a good idea of where the opportunities are hiding that can have quick hit impact. However in order to have long term viability as a way to conduct the business of buying, a more detailed analysis is required. Quite frankly before you can even begin to discuss vendor or supplier selection, management or evaluation this process is critical to long term success.

Some of the key data required to prepare you for this analysis can consist of but is certainly not limited to the following. All of this data is readily available from a variety of industry sources. Quite often the data is a year old but you can bet it is better than anything else your customer may be using today.

1.?Research and accumulate your specific Industry data
2.?Analyze last years P&L, GL and other financial data sources
3.?Compare your cost of goods with your Industries averages
4.?Compare your gross margins with you Industry averages
5.?Compare your net earnings with your industry averages
6.?Conduct the same comparisons with selected retailers with whom you compete
7.?Compare your departmental sales and contribution margin results to those of your specific industry.
8.?Look for department level anomalies
9.?Look for specific product anomalies within major and sub departments.
10.?Select top categories that are below plan and outside industry average for cost of goods and margin.
11.?Select top products that are underperforming to industry averages and plan

An example of the above might be to look at the major department of grocery and the major category of pet care then drill down to the sub category of cat and dog products and a list of all accessories. Now look at what products are underperforming to the industry and plan.? Continue your analysis with other underperforming categories.

Ask your e-procurement provider how they can assist you in accomplishing this with their tools.

Please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Services Account Manager to learn more about our risk free trial and conducting a category discovery on your behalf.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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An Ounce of Prevention Is Worth A Pound of Cure~ Benjamin Franklin

March 6th, 2014

March Is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month!

Today?s post is written by Heather Powell, Manager of the COE Department & Project Manager at SafeSourcing Inc.

Colon cancer affects men and women of all racial and ethnic groups, and is most often found in people 50 years or older. It is the third most common cancer in the United States, behind only lung and prostate cancers in men and lung and breast cancers in women, and the second leading cause of cancer death.

In fact, it is estimated that in 2013, 50,830 people will die of colon cancer. But the truth is: it doesn’t have to be this way. If everyone 50 years or older had a regular screening test, as many as 80% of deaths from colon cancer could be prevented.

Colon cancer is on the rise in the under 50 population too. Four words you don?t expect to hear when you?re young. But cancer doesn’t care how old you are. And colon cancer, although considered an older man’s disease, can strike anyone at any time. The hard reality: you’re never too young for colon cancer. That?s why we need to educate ourselves about the risks of this disease now.

Some people are at a higher risk than others for developing colorectal cancer. Having any of these things may increase your risk?

?? Inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease, or ulcerative colitis.
?? A personal or family history of colorectal cancer or colorectal polyps.
?? A genetic syndrome such as familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) or hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (Lynch syndrome).

If you think you may be at high risk for colorectal cancer, talk to your doctor about when and how often to get tested.

There are few symptoms of colorectal cancer. Please visit http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/dcpc/resources/features/ColorectalAwareness/ for a list of symptoms, and screening methods.

Wear BLUE March 7, 2014!

National Dress In Blue Day? fundraising efforts will benefit the Colon Cancer Alliance’s mission and screening, patient support and research programs. – See more at: http://support.ccalliance.org/site/TR?fr_id=1830&pg=entry#sthash.qoGkHI7X.dpuf

Colon Cancer has touched several SafeSourcing employees? lives and we care about our readers, customers, and vendor community health and happiness.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can help you with your eProcurement needs or on our ?Risk Free? trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative at 888-261-9070.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments!

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Apathy towards the use of e-procurement tools is dangerous for suppliers and sends the wrong message to host companies.

March 4th, 2014

This is a repost from 3 and 6 years ago based on a customer request to let suppliers know that if you don't agree to bid, please understand that you may lose your current business.

How should a company react when a supplier tells them that e-procurement tools have been around for a long time and are an old way of sourcing products and services or that they are not interested?

I think we all know what APATHY is, but to ground us I looked it up at answers.com and got the following definitions.

1. Lack of interest or concern, especially regarding matters of general importance or appeal; indifference.
2. Lack of emotion or feeling; impassiveness.

The question now is what do you do when you run into it during the e-procurement process?

Before I address that particular question, let me go on record as saying that any supplier who does not currently have a piece of a host companies business may not be worth doing business with if they tell you that they do not participate in reverse auctions or e-procurement events. I can’t imagine as a CEO taking that position or not wanting to bid on business that we don’t already have, particularly when it is being brought to us by a third party when my own sales team had not already uncovered it or created an opportunity with the company in the 1st place. I do not believe I would get any argument there from any other CEO either. So, to begin with make sure you are getting the answer from the top.

Here’s what to do if you are the host. Either have your sourcing partner call the supplier or call the supplier yourself. At SafeSourcing this is something we agree upon during the early stages of customer SOP development.

During the call be considerate of the supplier’s position, be brief and to the point and politely provide the following information.

1. We appreciate your concern with this process but want to make sure you understand that this is our preferred method of sourcing and it is fully supported by our executive office.
2. This is the only method we will use to evaluate vendors.
3. If you choose not to participate you will not be awarded any portion of the business going forward.
4. In the current economic environment are you sure you want to pass up an opportunity for new business?
5. Is your senior management aware of the fact that you are rejecting this opportunity?
6. Thank them for their time and request that they reconsider!   

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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The Snow Affect

March 3rd, 2014

The winter of 2013-14 has been one of the harshest winters on record, how is it affecting your business?

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

The winter of 2013-2014 will rise to new heights after the latest storm ravages the entire country.  The full effects of this winter will not felt in their entirety until later this year but reports in some areas are already known and will begin to change the procurement landscape before the winter is even over.

Logistics Availability – Recent studies and statistics have reported that the availability of Third Part Logistics (3PL) companies to handle the shipping demands of their customers is already starting this year with an alarming trend.  The supply of vehicles to handle shipments is grossly inadequate compared to the need.  As with any situation where the demand outweighs the supply the prices will not only rise but availability to even cover some of these shipments is suspect.  This affects when product arrives to a location causing a ripple affect across the supply chain.  With temperatures dropping so low, the option of using dry van vehicles in the winter to keep things cool has gone away as product in extreme cold can be damaged in the same way that heat can in the summer.  This has caused an increase in variable temperature equipment that has far outpaced the supply for this time of year.

Adjusting to buyer patterns – It is no secret that harsh weather not only affects when and if we are buying, but also what we buy.  Studies such as the one by Vikram Somaya, have analyzed weather and consuming buying data to develop correlations between what people buy and the weather.  This idea of weather changing buying patterns creates serious impacts in the business world as products with inventories reflecting normal weather go untouched while other products are in high demand and quickly out of stock (a retailer nightmare).  On top of the changes in buying, many parts of the country are faced with consumers staying in not purchasing anything.  Restaurants sit empty, stores void of shoppers and state and local governments missing millions of dollars in tax revenues.  Looking at historical trends and missed opportunities will allow businesses to more accurately create demand forecasts and contingency plans for supply if/when the weather goes bad.

Personnel Issues – One other problem area that comes from severe weather is the affect it has on personnel, not only within a company but within the suppliers and vendors that company does business with.  The world has become a much more “remote capable” place in which to operate but winter storms still affect the quality of work and availability for many people and can still result in power outages that bring work efforts to a standstill.  While businesses may not be able to control power outages or employees that are physically unable to get into work from their side or their suppliers side, they can control the urgency with which they address their projects in advance of inclement weather.  This means that on a Friday afternoon before a big potential storm they may stay an extra hour or two to ensure they work with everyone they can to be ready for potential bad weather instead of waiting and getting stuck with the effects of bad weather. 

Severe weather is a part of the world we live and out of our control but steps can be taken to minimize the effects those storms have on a business and supply chain.  For more information on how SafeSourcing can assist your team with planning for these occurrences 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.

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You cannot solve a problem you can’t identify or admit you have.

February 27th, 2014

We want to hide and avoid it many times!

Today’s post is by Ryan Melowic; Vice President of Customer Services at SafeSourcing

The problem is too big. We want to hide and avoid it many times. This is increasing in many organizations and unfortunately leaving money behind.

We all know how to solve a problem, but it usually isn’t the right problem we easily see.

If you don’t face the big problems too, then the simpler projects savings are being washed away by the elephant in the room. Being able to surface all the issues and building on that concept, not solving overnight, but admitting the problem and working towards a solution, will keep you out of any future pitfalls.

According to an article, Surfacing Problems Daily, has four steps to improve your company’s problem solving.

1.  Assess the current condition- what does your organization feel is a problem and what needs attention?
2.  Develop a mechanism- track/display/monitor the problem(s)
3.  Develop non-monetary incentives to surface problems- it gives people a reason to share the issue
4.  Define how leaders should respond- train leaders to not attack a problem that arises

Here at SafeSourcing we will solve your problems. No problem is too big for us.

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.

 

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It goes beyond the savings.

February 26th, 2014

When running an eRFX event there are many benefits that go far beyond savings!

Today’s post is by Ryan Melowic; Vice President of Customer Services at SafeSourcing.

When running an eRFX event there are many benefits that go far beyond savings. Most all benefits will eventually save you money, but it has value-added benefits that won’t show savings right away.

During the sourcing process it is best to establish goals that your company wants to achieve. What part of the current process is costing you money, where is there room for savings? The following goals are achieved when running a sourcing event.

Fewer Suppliers– Managing suppliers can be very costly to your company. All suppliers come with different invoices, contracts, contacts, and terms. The amount of time it takes to manage all the different suppliers will hinder any savings you originally planned on receiving. Lower the amount of suppliers will be great value in minimizing time with managing them.

Location– Are your shipments coming from across the country because the cost was so low? But are you washing away those savings in expediting shipments due to a current process and standard freight takes too long. Finding suppliers within closer proximity will save you shipping time and result in savings.

Standardizing Items– When sourcing item(s) in the customer-facing industry it is best to have a standard appearance and be able to control costs with identical item at a larger volume. Whether it is for new construction or remolding, standardizing the specifications and gathering a quote on the total volume/spend can save your company money.

Here at SafeSourcing we will work with achieving all your goals, however many there may be, and we can also help you create goals for sourcing events.

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.

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Framing the Problem.

February 25th, 2014

How we FRAME the problem can heavily influence the outcome!

Today’s Post is by Michael Figueroa, Account Manager at SafeSourcing.

A story is told about a researcher  who held an experiment to see how conceptually framing a problem influenced the outcome. He showed group 1 a pendulum swinging from a string, and told them to hang it up after providing them with nails and nothing else, and they ended up not completing the task in the allotted time. Group 2 was shown the pendulum weight, a string, and the nails, used the pendulum to hammer the nail into the wall, then hung it up with the string.
 
Group 1 couldn’t complete the task because they were thinking within the constraints of what they had just seen: A pendulum swinging from a string that needs to be hung up. Group 2 didn’t have that picture in mind, they saw all of the objects in front of them as tools to accomplish a given objective.

Creative problem solving requires the freedom to think outside of traditional constraints. Sometimes even mentioning these constraints can influence individuals and organizations in ways that negatively impact their ability to problem solve. If you really want to discover your teams innovative potential, give them all the variables, define the criteria for success, and set them to work. Counterintuitively, you may find that the less you define HOW the task is to be done, the more efficiently it will be accomplished.

We love finding creative ways to solve your procurement challenges! For more information on how SafeSourcing can assist your team 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.
 
We look forward to your comments.

 

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