Today’s post is by Steve Schwerin, Account Manager at SafeSourcing. 

Your procurement solution provider professionals may not have funky offices in San Francisco, London or New York to their credit-a picture painted by another author to describe another industry-but they may have what it takes to help your company address what was described as, “The Great Deceleration” in The Economist on July 27, 2013 as well as at economist.com.  I have to believe that we are going to see more and more written about how slower growth rates in emerging economies will affect the world at large.

Economies like those of China and India are slowing down.  This might not be something to dread as emerging markets like these have experienced extended periods of double-digit growth over the past decade.  Now that they are bigger economies, smaller growth numbers don’t necessarily mean fewer goods and services produced.  They do, however, mean that there may be fewer low-hanging fruit to pick in a company’s search for cost savings through off-shoring and importing.

Where to turn in times like these?  Procurement might hold some of the answers, specifically eProcurement.  I think there are two things to consider here.  First, you may not be able to drive savings by merely looking off shore.  Second, as emerging economies slow, some prices in older markets are likely to become more competitive.  Rising prices in emerging markets are certainly one cause of this, but competition driven process improvements in older economies is another.  As you look around for options, your eProcurement solution provider professionals are in the perfect position to help you source the best products at the best price as these changes take effect.  Focusing on “The Great Deceleration,” if there is one, will not help you grow your business.  Contacting your eProcurement solution provider professional, however, IS a step that can do just that.     

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

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

Shopping carts and baskets seem like such a basic thing to source and yet because so many retailers have not changed their supplier in years, looking at new sources can be more complex than thought.  All of the details below will eventually come up and be addressed, but getting in front of them at the beginning can make the difference for the level of success achieved from the event and in having the proper information to decide whether to stay with an incumbent vendor or go with someone new.   Today we will look at a few of things to have prepared when starting a sourcing project for shopping carts.

Have the Art Handy – The first thing we run into when helping our customers run an event for carts or plastic bags or marketing material is that finding the original artwork that was provided to the incumbent vendors becomes a much bigger task than it should be.  Many times because of the long-standing relationships built with incumbents, details like the original artwork get held by the incumbent and forgotten by the customer.  This gets especially tricky if the original sourcing resource is no longer with the company.  Finding it in-house or requesting it from your incumbent is the first place to start.  Every other supplier will want to review the file and if a change is made it will be required for the work to be done.  Make sure that new artwork setup fees are either waived for a transfer of business by the new vendor or at least accounted for in a decision to switch vendors.

Stop the Thief – Shopping carts and baskets are coming with more and more options.  Anti-theft bars, drink holders, and improved child seats are all options which will need to be considered when the sourcing project begins.  Changes in business and culture may demand that you begin considering options like anti-theft bars that can be attached to the cart or specially made wheels that lock up when outside the range of the store.  Even if your company has no intention of changing anything about the current specification, now is the time when the suppliers are engaged for the opportunity for the business to understand wheat new options are available.  Many times they can provide migration paths for credit on your old carts while new carts come in to replace them.  This allows companies to upgrade their carts without absorbing the entire loss of the existing fleet.

Include the fees – New contracts and agreements are always great times to go back and investigate the past invoices and agreements that have been put in place and if necessary request that your incumbent provide you a detailed itemized breakdown of the fees they are charging you that are usually lumped into one line item on an invoice that read “Shopping Cart A – Qty-50 – Price $X,XXXXX”.   The longer the relationship has been in place the more important it is to see how that details behind that price are put together.  By understanding these extra fees you can begin to lay out a project that collects them from all suppliers in the same way and also provides you the leverage to have some of those fees eliminated or reduced in order to gain or keep the business.

Whether you are sourcing shopping carts for the first time or for the dozenth, being prepared with details about your current landscape and where you want to head are very important to establish early.  For more information on how SafeSourcing can assist with structuring one of these projects 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.

Today’s post is by Sarah Kouse; Customer Services Manager at SafeSourcing.

Below I will discuss some challenges that can take place with your client, the vendor/supplier, and also providing your client with overall results, as well as ways to overcome those challenges when they approach you.

Client – Challenges in all stages of the process can take place with your client. In the early stages, maybe the data provided does not contain the information needed or pieces of the data are missing. In the late stages of the process, maybe one of the vendors/suppliers is requesting information that you have to clear with the client. For example, if the vendor/supplier is requesting to meet with the client before they will accept to participate in the event.

Vendor/Suppliers – As I stated above, there may be a situation where a vendor or supplier refuses to participate in an event unless they can meet with the client. You may also have challenges with the way items are laid out in an event to submit pricing. Some vendors may price a little differently than most of the other vendors and they have a hard time developing their pricing for the event.

Overall – Challenges can take place in all stages of the procurement process and can be especially difficult when they apply to analyzing and creating the results of a project.  These challenges can come from many different sources but most have basic elements of planning, communication breakdown or incorrect expectations to begin with.

The best way to overcome these challenges is first of all; stay calm and maintain a clear head. If you get frustrated or flustered, it can cause you to not think clearly and sometimes make it difficult to make the best decision. Secondly, communication is the most important key to everything. If the communication is poor, without question, there will definitely be challenges. Lastly, know that there’s always a solution for everything. Sometimes the solution is not exactly what you would like, but with a clear head and quality communications, you can feel confident that the solution will be the right decision.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can help make sure your eProcurement event run more smoothly and produces great results or for information 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 and appreciate your comments.