Where does the retail spend data you need for procurement reside?

October 20th, 2010

Very large retail companies have lots of systems and lots of data, very small retail companies have lots of paper in lots of places. So where do you suppose it is the easiest for retail procurement professionals to get their work done? The answer today is neither.

The problem today is that there is so much retail?data available that?buyers and category managers?could easily suffer business paralysis by data analysis.

Below is just a partial list of systems and places where data resides that is meaningful if not critical to sourcing professionals. Most of you can probably add to this list pretty easily. The unfortunate issue that confronts? retail procurement professionals daily is that most of this data is not integrated in any way and even at very large companies,? to much critical data is sitting on local employee desktops or even worse in their heads. And that is not what we mean by a neural network.

1.?ERP systems
2.?Enterprise Data Warehouse systems
3.?Replenishment systems
4.?Financial reporting systems
5.?Demand Planning systems
6.?Purchase Order management systems
7.?Distribution and Logistics systems
8.?Merchandise management systems
9.?Retail Planning systems
10.?Local employee desktops
11.?Contract management systems

Number two from above the enterprise data warehouse is probably the most logical place to bring all of these data sources or elements together within one logical data model that drives the master data source integrated with a s business reporting and? busyness intelligence front end. Small companies may never make it to this level, but if they can find a business partner that offers these solutions in a SaaS format it will be much better than the current; Hey? Joe, how many of these did we order last year?

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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Another COO procurement professionals should pay close attention to is Country Of Origin labeling.

October 19th, 2010

Country Of Origin information needs to be a significant part of your product traceability initiatives and required on all product imports.

One forward one back reporting is not enough if we plan to limit food borne illness outbreaks and other product safety issues that continue to put consumers and companies at risk.

According to Wikipedia, Country of origin (COO) is the country of manufacture, production, or growth where a product comes from.

All products clearly need to require is specific country of origin labeling, particularly as we continue to source more offshore products and services. Today, standards tend to be inconsistent from country to country. By example products enter North America from Europe that may carry country of origin labeling like ?Europe? or ?EU? rather than specific labeling indicating a product comes from France or Germany.

Manufactured products create a more unique issue, as individual products may include up to hundreds of components, pieces and parts from dozens of countries and assembled in other countries. While this issue requires significant work, there is absolutely no reason that we can not include country of origin labeling on all food products that enter our country.

We appreciate and look forward to your comments.

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What type of job areas might be involved or impacted by e-procurement?

October 18th, 2010

A SourceBook? member recently created a thread about what business functional areas might be involved or impacted by e-procurement?

SafeSourcing?s SourceBook? is a Professional Social Community for procurement professionals with nearly 1,000 members where just about any subject in the procurement area can be discussed with other procurement professionals.

The answers to the above thread were pretty basic but probably did a nice job of pointing the member who was looking for areas in which to focus a job search in the right direction.

There are certainly many more areas of a company that have e-procurement connections, but the following are probably a pretty good place to start.

1.?Finance
2.?Purchasing
3.?Logistics
4.?Manufacturing
5.?Warehousing
6.?Materials Management
7.?Inventory Management
8.?Supply Chain
9.?Distribution
10.?Transportation

See how SourceBook? can help you with your procurement questions.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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Is LEED an important element of retail construction project sourcing and should retail companies pursue certification adherence for their suppliers?

October 13th, 2010

In a continuing effort to provide education for retailer procurement professionals in ways to reduce their carbon footprints support triple bottom line accounting and add some meat to their CSR initiatives, today?s post focuses on the LEED process.

According to Wikipedia, The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), provides a suite of standards for environmentally sustainable construction. Since its inception in 1998, LEED has grown to encompass more than 14,000 projects in 50 U.S. States and 30 countries covering 1.062 billion square feet (99 km?) of development area. The hallmark of LEED is that it is an open and transparent process where the technical criteria proposed by the LEED committees are publicly reviewed for approval by the more than 10,000 membership organizations that currently constitute the USGBC.

Individuals recognized for their knowledge of the LEED rating system are permitted to use the LEED Accredited Professional (AP) acronym after their name, indicating they have passed the accreditation exam given by the Green Building Certification Institute (a third-party organization that handles accreditation for the USGBC.

There are many sources of education and certification courses available on line or in the class room. One good source is everblue training institute.

Please support triple bottom line and do your part to hold your suppliers accountable to LEED certification for your construction projects.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments

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Here are Eight (8) good reasons why Super Market Company’s should be doing more with e-procurement tools or getting new ones.

October 11th, 2010

We all know the supermarket industry is not a very profitable business, but the rate of improvement over the last 20 years is really not very good.

Let’s not event talk about the economy which should automatically make companies look at their procurement practices. Let’s not talk about adjustments or explanations as to final industry numbers like the food at home inflation rates. If you are a new CEO or for that matter if you still have your job, you should be looking at 2 things aggressively. The first is cost of goods and services and the 2nd is expenses.

Here are eight good reasons why.

1. Fiscal Year 2000/2001        Net Profit Percentage    1.25
2. Fiscal Year 2001/2002        Net Profit Percentage    1.36
3. Fiscal Year 2002/2003       Net Profit Percentage       .95   
4. Fiscal Year 2003/2004       Net Profit Percentage       .88
5. Fiscal Year 2004/2005       Net Profit Percentage     1.16
6. Fiscal Year 2005/2006       Net Profit Percentage     1.46
7. Fiscal Year 2006/2007      Net Profit Percentage     1.91
8. Fiscal Year 2007/2008      Net Profit Percentage     1.84

SafeSourcing can help you fix this problem in the present quarter. Click here for the SafeSourcing Risk Free Trial.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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Here are Eight (8) good reasons why Super Market Company?s should be doing more with e-procurement tools or getting new ones.

October 11th, 2010

We all know the supermarket industry is not a very profitable business, but the rate of improvement over the last 20 years is really not very good.

Let?s not event talk about the economy which should automatically make companies look at their procurement practices. Let?s not talk about adjustments or explanations as to final industry numbers like the food at home inflation rates. If you are a new CEO or for that matter if you still have your job, you should be looking at 2 things aggressively. The first is cost of goods and services and the 2nd is expenses.

Here are eight good reasons why.

1.?Fiscal Year 2000/2001? ????? Net Profit Percentage??? 1.25
2.?Fiscal Year 2001/2002 ?????? Net Profit Percentage ?? 1.36
3.?Fiscal Year 2002/2003 ????? Net Profit Percentage?????? .95???
4.?Fiscal Year 2003/2004 ????? Net Profit Percentage?????? .88
5.?Fiscal Year 2004/2005 ????? Net Profit Percentage???? 1.16
6.?Fiscal Year 2005/2006 ????? Net Profit Percentage ??? 1.46
7.?Fiscal Year 2006/2007 ???? Net Profit Percentage ??? 1.91
8.?Fiscal Year 2007/2008 ???? Net Profit Percentage ??? 1.84

SafeSourcing can help you fix this problem in the present quarter. Click here for the SafeSourcing Risk Free Trial.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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Retail buyers; be careful with your holiday and promotional giveaways purchasing.

October 7th, 2010

Retailers have used these types of products for years as marketing tools, and they run the gamut from Christmas ornaments to drinking glasses and children’s toys.

Historically these products may have come from U.S. manufacturers, but today they come from all over the world and don’t ask don’t tell is not the right way to insure product quality and safety. Typically these products are ordered in very large quantities and can be included in programs where you have to buy something  first or are just given away for free as gifts for visiting a retailer’s new location.

If you were to ask retail buyer where they bought these products,they could probably come up with an answer pretty quickly and most likely it is a marketing company. If you were to ask the same buyer where the product was sourced and what materials, compounds, additives etc. were in the product you would draw a blank stare. The additives could be anything from BPA, lead, melamine, cadmium or a variety of other potentially toxic products that we have posted on repeatedly.

This issue recently hit McDonalds where pressure was put on the company from federal regulators to recall 12 million “Shrek” themed glasses that contained cadmium which reportedly could be absorbed at hazardous levels by just touching a glass 8 times per day. McDonalds is a huge and very high quality retail company. If this can happen to them what about all of the mid tier retailers that are not as sophisticated in their purchasing techniques.

Ask your e-procurement solutions provider how they can help you with this problem without you having to ask them every time you buy something.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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Rest area safety tips for all retail travelers that want to avoid being a victim.

October 6th, 2010

Sometimes because we can post whatever we would like to, a blogger can be tangential to there regular theme when the subject matter is important enough.

I was reading today?s edition of USA TODAY and read the front page article titled Along Highways, signs of serial killings ?by Blake Morrison. The data was shocking to someone that travels a lot and also has family members that do so to make their living. Over the road travel is how most of our goods are shipped and is also a necessary part of how most suppliers representatives travel to call on our retailers and our retailers work with their stores.?

As such I am posting tips by AAA titled Avoid being a victim.

AAA offers these tips for motorists concerned about their safety at rest areas and truck stops:

??Avoid being the only person at a rest area.
??Park in well-lit spaces near the facilities.
??If you see someone suspicious, wait until the person has left or drive to another location.
??Keep your keys in your hands as you walk to your car. That way, you can quickly enter and lock your car.
??If you’re approached by someone seeking help or information while you’re in your car, keep the doors locked and crack your window to talk with them. Offer to call help for them, but do not get out of your car.
??If someone confronts or grabs you, react loudly and fight back. Make a scene.

Be SAFE out there.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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Creative green oriented education for procurement professionals to support your CSR goals.

October 4th, 2010

Most companies today have a variety of Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives in place including educational programs for their associates and trading partners or suppliers as to creative or better ways that they can support these initiatives in their work lives and at home.

Using creativity to support your educational programs can be as easy as visiting good websites that provide thought leadership as to creative courseware that can be used for schools and other organizations.

At first some may seem a little basic for corporate America but as you drill into the detail the ideas and themes can be easily applied to general education overviews for your teams. Two interesting websites are.

1.?www.edutopia.org
2.?www.gogreeninitiative.org

Both of the above websites offer class oriented or field trip oriented initiatives that can be easily modified for adult audiences in order to provide interesting learning segments that support your companies CSR initiatives and programs.

At www.edutopia.org?? they have a really neat database that can be searched by going to the following site extension www.eduatopia.org/go-green .? You can filter a variety of searches by grade level such as classes for grades 9-12th. Don?t worry to much about the content level, because most kids at this age know more about living a green life than we do. As such, these curriculums can be easily modified to provide interesting learning segments for all associates.

At www.gogreeninitiative.org? there are lots of interesting factoids that can? be explored and expanded upon such as; ?For every ton of paper that is recycled, the following is saved: 7,000 gallons of water; 380 gallons of oil; and enough electricity to power an average house for six months.?? How many off you new that? How many of your store managers know that? When you do a trash hauling e-procurement event is recycling taken into account?

Being creative just takes a little time and research and helps to foster a learning organization and a learning organization is a growing organization.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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Retail Contract Management 101 in an e-procurement world. Oral Contracts.

October 1st, 2010

There is an old joke that "an oral contract isn't worth the paper it's written on"

How much product is purchased by retailers using e-procurement tools for sale or for reuse that never ends up in an electronic or paper document/contract that insures the T&C?s negotiated are written down, tracked or executed upon?

Unfortunately, there are many more of these types of agreements in place than anyone on either side of an e-negotiation wants to admit, and your contract management software provides no answer to this problem unless senior management edicts that all purchases will have a contract in place before delivery or contract execution begins. And, with that in place will come delays you won?t believe that will in most cases insure that dates in your terms and conditions of your e-procurement events are also not met.
?
According to expertlaw.com it can be very difficult to prove that an oral contract exists. Absent proof of the terms of the contract, a party may be unable to enforce the contract or may be forced to settle for less than the original bargain. Thus, even when there is not an opportunity to draft up a formal contract, it is good practice to always make some sort of writing, signed by both parties, to memorialize the key terms of an agreement.
At the same time, under most circumstances, if the terms of an oral contract can be proved or are admitted by the other party, an oral contract is every bit as enforceable as one that is in writing.

Ask your e-procurement solutions provider how they would address this problem and as always, be careful out there.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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