How much more can I expect to pay for holiday dinners this year?

November 16th, 2022

If you are like everyone else you have noticed that you have been spending way more on your groceries...

 

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

If you are like everyone else, you have noticed that you have been spending way more on your groceries now than ever before.  Now with the holidays coming you might be wondering how much more it will cost to buy and prepare your holiday dinners.  According to researchers, grocery prices are approximately 12 percent higher than they were this time last year.  Prices for the traditionally bought items for the holidays like turkey, butter, eggs, and bread are up even more than 12 percent.  The price of turkey is about 17 percent higher, and it is forecasted that it could go as high as 23 percent.  Some reasons for the rise in cost for the turkey is due to inflation and the avian flu which has reduced the supply of the staple holiday bird.  Other ingredients that are used in the holiday preparation such as eggs are up about 40 percent, flour is up about 25 percent and butter is up about 34 percent.  Some analysts are even suggesting that it may be cheaper to dine out rather than buying the groceries and preparing the meals for friends and family at home.  This is because the cost of dining out has risen about 8.6 percent over the last year compared to the 12 percent rise in the cost of eating at home.  Regardless of the price increases nearly 87 percent of people surveyed said that they will be preparing their usual meals this holiday season.  Below is a list of other items and approximately how much more they may cost this holiday season.

  • Ham 9%
  • Canned Fruits 18%
  • Canned Vegetables 18%
  • Potatoes 15%
  • Fresh Rolls 14%
  • Juices 13%
  • Seasonings 10%
  • Flour 24%
  • Sugar 15%
  • Sauces and Gravies 15%

Interested in learning how SafeSourcing can help your company save money during these and other shortages?  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 as

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How do you keep track of all the moving parts with your Procurement Team?

November 14th, 2022

Purchase Orders, Contracts, Specifications, and vendors OH MY.

 

Today’s post is by Ronald D. Southard, CEO at SafeSourcing Inc

You must be a WIZARD, and we have any easy to deploy solution for you.

SafeDashboard™ is the configurable entry point for companies to view every piece of information and tool that they have access to within the SafeSourceIt™ Portfolio.

Custom fit for every company, and to some extent every role and user within the company, the SafeDashboard™ allows a company to see the information that is most relevant to specific users in a way that does not require them to jump from screen to screen.

KPIs can be included to give executives an overview of their overall sourcing event activity within the system.

SafeSourcing is a Procure to Pay SaaS based provider of a number of e-Procurement solutions and associated white glove services that are part of our SaaS offered SafeSourceIt™ eSourcing suite. These include but are not limited to SafeContract™, SafePO™, SafeDocument™ and our SafeSourceIt™ Global Supplier Database that includes over 557,000 vendor/suppliers.

To learn more, please contact a SafeSourcing customer services associate.

 

 

 

 

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Powerball is at Two Billion Dollars WOW. Did you buy a ticket?

November 7th, 2022

Any $5B retail company can save that much in a year. Just call me about our free trial.

 

Today’s post is by Ronald D. Southard, CEO at SafeSourcing Inc

If you took the risk of buying a ticket or many tickets in the recent Power Ball. Join the losers club. That includes yours truly. According to sources, your chance of winning Powerball is 1 in 292 million. You have a better chance of being struck by lightning. Oh, and guess what? You cannot get your money back.

So, if you were silly enough to make this bet as I was and will do on Monday, why not try a sure thing. SafeSourcing guarantees our results. If you don’t win, you don’t pay. Our risk-free trial just might be the best thing to happen to your company. How many jobs would be saved or delayed, or new initiatives started if you had a billion dollars.

Here’s An Example:

Assume a $5B Retail Company. Assume cost of goods for this company is 70 percent or $3.5B. Let’s also assume this company were to only source thirty percent of their for-resale COGS. or $1.5B. With SafeSourcing’ s average annual savings of 24%, savings generated would be $840M. Now let’s assume that we also source the indirect or expense category. That would be $1.5B minus average payroll and benefits expense of 20%, so $1.2B. If we also average 24% savings here, that would be an additional savings of $288M. Therefor total savings would be $1.128B. From here we’d have to manage award of business and contract begin and end dates.

If you don’t have $5B in sales, the numbers would still be dramatic. When’s the last time Powerball guaranteed a $1M winner.

Can you find thirty percent of your COGS or Not for Resale spend to source? That’s up to you! Can you test me, if you’d like, this link will come directly to me. Your team will tell you this is not possible. I guarantee that your odds are better than 1 in 292 million.

SafeSourcing is a Procure to Pay SaaS based provider of a number of e-Procurement solutions and associated white glove services that are part of our SaaS offered SafeSourceIt™ eSourcing suite. These include but are not limited to SafeContract™, SafePO™, SafeDocument™ and our SafeSourceIt™ Global Supplier Database that includes over 557,000 vendor/suppliers.

Best of Luck!

For more information, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Services Associate.

 

 

 

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What happens when no one believes you?

November 4th, 2022

Well, for the most part the phone does not ring. And YOUR company loses BIG TIME.

 

Today’s post is by Ronald D. Southard, CEO at SafeSourcing Inc

Over and over and over again. So, just what are you missing?

SafeSourcing is a a Spend Management Company. We consistently reduce costs greater than 24% of what companies can negotiate on their own, across their entire spend improving net earnings significantly. We also GUARENTEE it. So, test me if you dare. All you have to lose is the best total year business results your company has ever achieved. Insert here the sound of a clucking Chicken!

SafeSourcing is a Procure to Pay SaaS based provider of a number of e-Procurement solutions and associated white glove services that are part of our SaaS offered SafeSourceIt™ eSourcing suite. These include but are not limited to SafeContract™, SafePO™, SafeDocument™ and our SafeSourceIt™ Global Supplier Database that includes over 557,000 vendor/suppliers.

For more information, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Services Associate.

 

 

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Have you ever eSourced a House?

October 27th, 2022

What about an Office Building, Land or Materials?

 

Today’s post is by Ronald D. Southard, CEO at SafeSourcing Inc

These are two good questions as the real estate market reacts to work from home, inflation driven mortgage rates and uninterested buyers.  I have often thought about using a reverse auction tool to source a home. It should work in that it allows for initial offers, sets parameters for interested buyers and does not restrict you from over bidding or underbidding while providing feedback as to whether you are below the list price, reserve price and where you are ranked in the bid process. Easy right?

At SafeSourcing we have done all types of RFP’s and RFQ’s for construction related expenditures including land, architects, general contractors, sub-contractors and about any material you can think of needed for the final build. We then also hold the general contractors responsible to the items that drive their bid submission. Below are categories that have been sourced quite a few times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SafeSourcing is a Procure to Pay SaaS based provider of a number of e-Procurement solutions and associated white glove services that are part of our SaaS offered SafeSourceIt™ eSourcing suite. These include but are not limited to SafeContract™, SafePO™, SafeDocument™ and our SafeSourceIt™ Global Supplier Database that includes over 557,000 vendor/suppliers.

To learn more, please contact a SafeSourcing customer services associate.

 

 

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Economic Order Quantity and Other Procurement Terms

October 26th, 2022

So is that different than net landed cost.

 

Today’s post is by Ronald D. Southard, CEO at SafeSourcing Inc

In procurement bets practices, ever evolving terminologies can get you into trouble if you don’t understand the slight differences or assume terms have the same meaning.

The landed cost is the total cost of acquiring and shipping a product. It is the total price paid by a retailer till they receive the goods. The common charges involved are shipping costs, customs fees, insurance, and overheads.

The Economic Order Quantity is the size of an order at which the totally procurement and inventory carrying cost is at the lowest possible threshold. The formula can be used to determine production levels or order interval lengths and is used by large corporations around the world. The components for the formula include the demand for the year, cost to place a single order, and the cost to hold one unit of inventory for a year.

SafeSourcing is a Procure to Pay SaaS based provider of a number of e-Procurement solutions and associated white glove services that are part of our SaaS offered SafeSourceIt™ eSourcing suite. These include but are not limited to Safe Contract™, SafePO™, SafeDocument™ and our SafeSourceIt™ Global Supplier Database that includes over 557,000 vendor/suppliers.

To learn more, please contact a SafeSourcing customer services associate.

 

 

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What is your company doing to support the environment in a SmartWay

October 24th, 2022

Our Suppliers are held accountable to a number of environmental standards

 

Today’s post is by Ronald D. Southard, CEO at SafeSourcing Inc

In 2004, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched SmartWaySM — an innovative brand that represents environmentally cleaner, more fuel efficient transportation options. In its simplest form, the SmartWay brand identifies products and services that reduce transportation-related emissions.  However, the impact of the brand is much greater as the SmartWay brand signifies a partnership among government, business, and consumers to protect our environment, reduce fuel consumption, and improve our air quality for future generations.

The SafeSourceIt™ Supplier Database is one the largest eSourcing supplier databases in North America with over 527,000 suppliers. To achieve maximum savings when using an e-procurement event, you need numerous suppliers aggressively vying for your business. SafeSourcing customers can request summary or detailed data from the same tool and download it to a variety of file formats. Our Suppliers are held accountable to a number of environmental standards that support our customers social responsibility initiatives

If you would like to learn more, please contact a SafeSourcing customer services associate.

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Retailers it’s really pretty simple; just look at your Gross Profit.

October 20th, 2022

If you want to know if your company is doing a good job with its procurement practices, begin by looking at your gross profit, then......

 

Todays post is by Ron Southard, CEO at SafeSourcing Inc.

How many times do we hear all of the reasons for a retail company’s performance being off? It’s the cost of doing business over seas, the economy, the cost of fuel, heath care costs etc. How often do we hear, that we are doing better than the same period a year ago or we are exceeding plan. All of that is nice stuff, but the bottom line is your bottom line. If you top line sales are up and your net profit is up it does not necessarily mean that you have all of your procurement issues under control.

Let’s start with some numbers you might want to look at. Don’t just assume that profit is a good thing because profit could be caused by an imbalance in your category margins.

Here are a few good questions to ask yourself.
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1. How do your cost of goods compare to the rest of the industry for a chain of your size?
2. How do your operating expenses compare to other chains of your size?
3. How do your gross margins compare to other chains your size?

All of the above can be good indicators of overall company health and certainly procurement health. If your cost of goods is higher than industry averages for a chain of your size, why is that? Is there a specific category that is causing the issue? Do you know how to isolate the problem and then eliminate it?

If you don’t have or know this information, you should ask your e-procurement provider if they have it, because they should if they want to model an improvement plan for you.

As an example, here is an example of a previous years U.S. based convenience store chains targets for non fuel.

1. Cost of Goods Sold should run somewhere around 71% or 72%
2. Gross Profit should run around 28% to 30%
3. Operating Expenses should run around 26% to 29%
4. Net Operating Income around 2%

While these numbers are certainly off based on Pandemic issues, product  or services mix, you can build a case model on them to compare before and after for you company. That is if you have a tool like SafeBIM™ from SafeSourcing. BIM stands for Business Impact Model.

If you are way out of balance with these numbers and want to understand how to rebalance them, contact a  SafeSourcing Customer Services Associate.

 

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How can Companies and Individuals save money when fuel prices are constantly rising?”

October 19th, 2022

If you drive, then it's no surprise that fuel prices are again rising!

 

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

If you drive, then you may have noticed that the fuel prices are starting to rise again.  Over the summer the price of fuel did start to come down because of a variety of price stabilization efforts that seems to have brought us some temporary relief.  One of these efforts was a historic release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.  The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is the world’s largest supply of emergency crude oil and was established primarily to reduce the impact of disruptions in the supply of petroleum products and to help carry out the obligation of the United States under the international energy program.  But now, after three months of fuel prices declining, they are now starting to creep up again.  Part of the reason for this rise in prices is because OPEC recently announced that they are cutting its oil production by two million barrels a day.  According to the Saudi foreign ministry the decision was adopted through a consensus, considered the balance of supply and demand, and was aimed at curbing market volatility.  No matter what the reason is for the cut in production we will see higher prices at the pump.  Below are some actions you can take to try and save some money with the rising fuel prices.

  • Fill Up on the Cheapest Days of the Week
  • Use Fuel Reward Cards
  • Join a Grocery Store Reward Program
  • Use a Fuel App to Find Cheapest Locations
  • Check Your Fuel Cap and Replace if Broken or Cracked
  • Accelerate Slowly when Taking Off
  • Do not Speed
  • Spend Less Time Idling
  • Plan your Routes
  • Use Cruise Control on Long Uninterrupted Trips
  • Reduce AC Use
  • Remove Excess Cargo Weight
  • Maintain Correct Tire Pressure

SafeSourcing is a Procure to Pay SaaS based provider of a number of e-Procurement solutions and associated white glove services that are part of our SaaS offered SafeSourceIt™ eSourcing suite. These include but are not limited to SafeContract™, SafePO™, SafeDocument™ and our SafeSourceIt™ Global Supplier Database that includes over 557,000 vendor/suppliers.

For more information, please contact SafeSourcing.

 

 

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Trick or Treat?

October 17th, 2022

Recently, I was getting an estimate on a fairly small home improvement project.........

 

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/

 

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