Looking for a new Procurement Service Provider? Look no further!

March 10th, 2021

SafeSourcing, Inc. is here for you, where we focus on YOU and YOUR needs, and not just sell you a tool, we provide you exceptional guaranteed white glove service!

 

Today’s post is our archives at SafeSourcing Inc.

SafeSourcing, Inc. is here for you, where we focus on YOU and YOUR needs, and not just sell you a tool, we provide you exceptional service!

10X

 

 

 

 

About us:

Just in time, an innovative alternative has arrived. SafeSourcing is loaded with efficient and comprehensive tools and programs that turn the procurement process into a highly productive endeavor. SafeSourcing® is, literally, a one-stop shopping center.

At SafeSourcing, we focus on safety and security. All our vendors are part of a high quality supplier database with many associated tables that support security and safety in the supply chain. SafeSourcing’s suppliers are also checked for their support of socially responsible initiatives including their eco-friendly practices.

To that end, our SafeSourceIt™ Supplier Database of over 427,000 global suppliers contains over twenty-five unique certification standards that are supported by our best practice initiatives such as GFSI, ISO 22000, Green Seal, ECO-LOGO, Fair Trade, SQF and Certified Humane Raised & Hand-Fed.

The SafeSourcing objective is to help buyers save considerably on costs. History shows that in selected categories, buyers have saved as much as 30-40%. Auction events can literally be set up in minutes, creating a significant efficiency improvement over traditional offerings. Studies have shown that a 5% saving in procurement costs translates into an effective increase in sales growth of 30%.

“As our technology advances, new companies are given the tools to do business in a better, smarter, more streamlined and cost effective way. SafeSourcing is one of those companies and delivering these advances to the procurement community is why we are here.” Ron Southard, CEO, SafeSourcing.

SafeSourcing is committed to proactively supporting safety and environmental standards in the global supply chain. We donate a portion of our net profits to retail education, green and safety initiatives.

Are you interest in learning more about SafeSourcing and how we can help your company? SafeSourcing can assist you in exploring your procurement solutions for your business 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.

 

Posted in , | Comments Off on Looking for a new Procurement Service Provider? Look no further!

The Central Procurement Function!

March 9th, 2021

A customer asked me today to define Central Procurement for them and where they should report!

 

Today’s post is from Ron Southard, CEO at SafeSourcing Inc.

As you can imagine the answer to this question could actually be pages in length. However the following is directionally correct based on the question and minus the organizational structure and alignment. However, it is this authors firm belief that Procurement should ultimately report to Finance. Example: CPO reports to CFO.

The Central Procurement Function in responsible for the procurement of goods, services and capital projects by an authorized group within a company’s hierarchy. Central procurement in a best case scenario includes the financial decision making authority specific to that procurement on behalf of the entire company for reuse or resale from an approved list of vendors or suppliers. In some cases the budget for a specific spend may reside within another functional area  where central procurement collaborates and negotiates on behalf of that areas subject matter experts but the subject matter experts approve the final vendor selection.  In the case of manufacturing company’s  this function also includes the purchase of commodities used in the manufacture of finished goods.

The central procurement function is typically authorized within a company in order to insure consistency thought-out the organizations procurement process by eliminating the potential negative effects of non-collaborative, non-aggregated purchasing by multiple divisions, departments and other corporate entities that can support rogue or unstructured buying.

Measurements of a central procurement organizations success can differ widely from company to company depending upon where they fall relative to a procurement maturity model. Typically these organizations are measured by overall procurement Key Performance Indicators or KPI’s at the procurement department level that usually includes the following at a minimum.

1.  Percent of spend under management
2.  Price Improvement
3.  Quality Improvement
4.  Safety Improvement
5.  Reduction in Carbon Footprint
6.  Service Level Improvement
7.  Distribution Flexibility
8.  On  Time Delivery Improvement
9.  Supplier Management

Management of these KPI’s is intended to insure that  companies have a defined  processes in place so as to promote a fair and open competitive model for the supplier community that’s  interested in soliciting their business.  This also minimizes the opportunity for fraud and collusion while insuring the best possible product or service is purchased at the best possible price and overall value to the company.

If you’d like to learn more about the central procurement function, please contact SafeSourcing.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

Posted in , , | Comments Off on The Central Procurement Function!

A Sourcing Diatribe you should read and share with your finance team!

March 8th, 2021

Does your Procurement team really understand why your prices are going up? Or not going down in a significant way?

 

 

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

Here’s the diatribe from two years ago that still applies today and they still tell you why they don’t.

Example: Your finance department in reviewing current costs looks at your waste management costs and discovers that they have gone up significantly over the last two years. They call your Category Manager (if you have one) in order to ask why? The answer they get back is that in discussions with your current vendor, their costs have gone up significantly. Your finance department representative asks for examples. The answer he/she gets, is as follows, “I don’t know, but I’ll reach out and ask”.

Alternative Example: Your finance department in reviewing current costs looks at your waste management costs and discovers that they have gone up significantly over the past two years. They call your Sourcing provider SafeSourcing Inc. (if they are) in order to ask why? The answer they get back is that in discussions with your current vendor, their costs have gone up significantly. Your finance department representative asks SafeSourcing for examples. The answer he/she receives is as follows.

There are several reasons. The first is that 2 years ago the Chinese were the largest importers of recycled materials, specifically plastics and papers. At the time they were importing approximately 15M metric tons. Today they are importing approximately 7M metric tons. This has gone from a revenue producing opportunity for suppliers to a cost. Additionally, there is a shortfall of drivers in the US that has caused demand for their skills to increase accordingly. As a result, all freight hauling focused companies have experienced a shortfall of drivers and an increase in costs for the drivers that they do hire.

Additionally, diesel prices in 2017 were lower than they are today. While these prices have eroded somewhat (about 6%) between 2018 to 2019, they are still not at the low levels they were in 2017. There are additional areas to also consider like new equipment that are also higher based on demand. Now can I provide you with a strategy as to how we (SafeSourcing) can mitigate these costs going forward and maybe even rain them in some?

I know all executives have had these types of frustrating conversations internally as well as with your suppliers. I also know that SafeSourcing regularly provides these types of answers and reviews across hundreds of categories for our customers. It is the precise reason that our average savings across all categories during the last 2 years is greater than 24%.

While the above is a specific example, what can you tell me about your freight costs, supplies costs, commodity costs, construction costs, equipment costs, items for resale costs etc. Probably not as much as SafeSourcing can tell you. Give us a call and find out.

For more information regarding SafeSourcing and how we can help you with your sourcing, or regarding our Risk Free Trial Program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service representative, you’ll be glad you did! We have an entire team ready to assist you today.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

Posted in , | Comments Off on A Sourcing Diatribe you should read and share with your finance team!

SafeSourcing Inc. is hosting a Collaborative Technology RFQ

March 5th, 2021

We held a similar event last week in the healthcare industry and our customers achieved 34% cost reduction

 

Todays post is from Ronald D. Southard, Chief Executive Officer at SafeSourcing Inc.

Executives Leadership Teams:

SafeSourcing Inc. is hosting a Collaborative Technology RFQ event on behalf of our customers for PC, Tablets, Peripherals etc. in the VERY near future.

We held a similar event last week in the healthcare industry and our customers achieved 34% cost reduction on their exact configurations and other budgeted purchases.

Based on current market dynamics, the opportunity to save NOW is very significant.

Your technology team will tell you that they are already getting the best price and that we can’t possibly beat it. THEY ARE NOT, and YES WE CAN! Our opportunity is ZERO risk. If you do not reduce your costs, you will never be invoiced by SafeSourcing. You may keep the updated Terms and Conditions, Supplier Research and Final Report Package we provide all participants as our thanks for trying and future use.

Please respond to this email with your interest and who we should work with. I will keep you updated as to progress. This is my personal email address for this RFQ.

Please feel free to share with anyone you think might benefit.

Thank you,

 

 

Posted in , , | Comments Off on SafeSourcing Inc. is hosting a Collaborative Technology RFQ

The U.S. Consumer Price Index has risen 1.4% since January 2020.

March 2nd, 2021

This is pretty Surprising (NOT REALLY) during a pandemic Isn't it? You can keep your costs down though.

 

Todays post is by Ronald D. Southard, CEO at SafeSourcing Inc.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services. Indexes are available for the U.S. and various geographic areas. Average price data for select utility, automotive fuel, and food items are also available.

Additionally, according to the BLS, this index is up +1.4% since January of 2020. I think most of the consumer community must think why prices are going up during a pandemic. Why are companies not trying to take care of their customers and keep cost reasonable?

Unfortunately, many companies site the pandemic as a primary reason for raising their prices. In a nutshell, their prices are going up because their supplier’s prices are going up, because commodity prices are going up while in many cases demand is going down. For one, this author does not buy it, and neither should you whether you are a consumer or a company. There are ways to mitigate cost increases. For the most part, they ALWAYS work, during a pandemic or any other crisis.

For every commodity that rises there are also commodities that fall. For every company that raises their prices to their end user be it consumer or company, there are others that want your business bad enough to keep prices stable if not lower them. The issue is that companies must be willing to put the work in if they want to keep prices down. Too many companies continue to operate in a business-as-usual manner. It is easy to spot when individuals or companies operate from the “this is how I learned it, and this is how I do it” point of view. Some clues are.

  1. They buy from the same suppliers repeatedly.
  2. They do not have a clear view of their existing contracts.
  3. They do not have a view of their performance against those contracts.
  4. They do not have a view of additional sources of supply and rely too much on single source.
  5. They do not put their products and services out to bid on a regular basis.
  6. They do not have current specifications for their products or services.

Unfortunately, smaller companies do get to the point where they cannot absorb higher costs. If they try to pass it on to their customers, their customers go elsewhere as customer loyalty is not as high in this decile of consumers or during challenging times like we faced during 2020 and today.

Here is a promise. If you cannot figure out how to keep your costs down, contact us at SafeSourcing because we can. As a matter of fact, call me personally 480-773-7524 or email me at ronsouthard@safesourcing.com.

Here is to better times and better prices.

Posted in | Comments Off on The U.S. Consumer Price Index has risen 1.4% since January 2020.

What are you doing about your Contract Management Needs?

February 26th, 2021

A staggering number of fortune 1000 companies do not have contract management tools in place. In fact probably 80% of all companies are in this same situation.

 

Todays post is by Ronald D. Southard, CEO at SafeSourcing Inc.

If you want to insure against contract leakage that can be as much as 5% per year and also protect the savings from your hard fought eNegotiations, it may be time to take a look at your contract management needs.

Most contract management systems have relatively short ROI periods. In fact a company might even be lucky enough as they go through their data collection process to find a single contract that when analyzed might pay for the entire system.

There are all sorts of benefits associated with using contract management software. Probably the most important and least recognized of which is finally having all spend data in one location enabling more effective negotiations. If you have ever run an e-procurement event and tried to assemble a simple specification or incumbent supplier data you already understand the time involved. Administrative costs alone can be reduced by 25-30%.  That’s a huge number in today’s world of insufficient staff.

If you want to get started, here are some basics that a system should be able to provide.

1. Create contracts
2. Maintain contracts
3. Control contracts
4. Track user access to contracts
5. Track and monitor the status of contract Meta data
a. Award date
b. Contract begin date
c. Contract end date
d. Begin delivery date
e. Escalator language
f. Notification clauses
g. Termination Clauses
6. Automatically alert buyers and management of required actions
7. Custom Reporting
8. Supplier Scorecards

If you want to get started tomorrow, please contact a SafeSourcing customer services account manager and ask about SafeContract™.

We look forward to and appreciate you comments

Posted in , , | Comments Off on What are you doing about your Contract Management Needs?

The Benefits of Contract Management

February 25th, 2021

Buyers rely on contracts with suppliers to keep their business going

 

 

Today’s post is our SafeSourcing Archives

Buyers rely on contracts with suppliers to keep their business going. Shippers, vendors, outsourced services and independent contractors all require a high level of contract management system to maintain efficient relationships for their organization. Understanding the impact of poor contract administration on their organization can justify the investment in comprehensive contract management services.  However, one of the biggest pitfalls of not having a contract management system in place is the risk of a contract expiring without the buyer realizing it and thus the buyer being in the control of the supplier to either keep goods and services coming or deliveries just stop since the contract came to the end of the term date.

A contract is drawn up to create the guidelines for a business relationship. When you abide by the terms of the contract, you reap the benefits that it has to offer. But poor contract administration can cause you to violate terms of your contract, which can lead to penalties, fines and a potential lawsuit. Each move made with a contracted entity should be dictated by good contract management to avoid the high cost of the contract penalty clause.

An efficient contracted relationship includes a reporting system that informs both parties of activity performed under the contract. Without this reporting, the two sides have no way of monitoring the benefits of the agreement and developing any changes to make when the agreement comes up for renewal. Effective reporting also keeps track of quantities that helps each side monitor their usage and determine when contract limits may have been met.  Poor contract administration can cause each side of an agreement to lose track of the contract term. Companies can get caught up in the daily routine of doing business and lose sight of contract renewal dates. With a relaxed or no contract management system in place, companies could be operating under expired contracts and not realize it.

Fortune 1000 companies generate an average of 40,000 to 80,000 contracts; less than 80% of retailers have a Contract Management system in place.

  • Today’s Retail Environment
    •  Fragmented Contract Management Procedures
    •  Labor Intensive
    •  Lack of common systems infrastructure
    •  Poor contract visibility/analysis/compliance
  • Regulatory compliance
    •  Contracts dictate supplier-customer relationship
    •  Pricing, Terms
    •  Service levels, Quality
  •  Forcing companies to strengthen contract policies
    •  Document procedures
    •  Track and control financial exposure
    •  Mitigate risk
  •  Sarbanes-Oxley
    •  Every Transaction
      •  Approved/Stored/Reported

How to avoid accidentally extending an expired contract is the key to ensuring that an expired contract isn’t kept on foot is to engage in good contract management. Know your contract and monitor contract performance. Be aware of deadlines and notice period and communicate and document any changes.

If you are planning to explore the benefits of contract management, feel free to contact SafeSourcing.   If you would like more information on how SafeSourcing can help you with a contract management system, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service representative.  We have an entire team ready to assist you today.

We look forward to your comments.

 

 

Posted in | Comments Off on The Benefits of Contract Management

In these days of big data, how should retailers manage their legacy contracts?

February 24th, 2021

With the advent of SaaS based Contract Management Offerings it’s not too difficult?

 

We are all aware that the majority of retailers large and small do not have contract management solutions in place. In order to mitigate their risk, where should focus be placed when beginning implementation?

We have conversations all of the time with retailers as to what is the best way to store and leverage the language or data within existing contracts. My answer has always been the same and that is the identification of your critical Metadata.

According to Wikipedia Metadata is loosely defined as data about data. Though this definition is easy to remember, it is not very precise. The strength of this definition is in recognizing that metadata is data. As such, metadata can be stored and managed in a database.

When we think about contract management, we need to be thinking about mitigating risk and not necessarily all of the language embedded in a contract. On many occasions this information is listed on addendums or attachments and not necessarily in the master agreement itself. For sake of simplicity, and this is certainly not an exhaustive list the following twenty items reflect the type of metadata you might want to hi-lite and set alert targets against in your current contracts.

1.  Supplier or Seller Information
2.  Purchaser or Buyer Information
3.  Detail of Goods to be purchased
4.  Detail of Services to be purchased
5.  Delivery Timeline Details of the Goods and or Services
6.  Agreed Upon Price
7.  When and where should payments are to be made?
8.  Payment Terms
9.  Down Payment Terms
10.  Delivery Dates
11.  Delivery Location or locations
12.  Risk of Loss or Damage and transfer language
13.  Is Assignment of this Agreement Allowed?
14.  Detailed Warranty
15.  Trademark infringement language
16.  Origination Dates
17.  Termination Dates
18.  Termination Notice
19.  Additional Clauses
20.  Signature Details

The above should be data that is considered for inclusion during the review process that your solution provider puts in place for you during the early stages of implementation, training and review of any contract management offering.

If you’d like to learn more about SafeContract™ from Safesourcing and the services provided to assist in defining your Metadata please contact a SafeSourcing customer services account manager.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

Posted in | Comments Off on In these days of big data, how should retailers manage their legacy contracts?

Retailers; is your sourcing transparent enough?

February 21st, 2021

This is a significant question? If you are not using e-procurement tools the answer is most likely NO!

 

Todays post is by Ronald D. Southard, CEO at SafeSourcing Inc.

If you are not sourcing at least 30% of your cost of goods and services using e-procurement tools, you are lagging your industry leaders as well as being significantly behind other industries. As such; you are not getting the best costs and not driving the best margins for your company.

Reverse auctions since their inception more than a 16 years ago haven driven healthy competition amongst supplier companies. As such the results of a reverse auction can provide a great benchmark for both the buyer and the supplier. For the buyer the results can be used as a tool to evaluate how to best source other products and services. Additionally suppliers that are not the low quote or winning bid now have the opportunity to evaluate why that is and what they need to do in order to improve or to be more competitive in the market place. This of course is all happening without the need to collect, collate, compare or negotiate during the process. In other words it is happening transparently to the normal sourcing process. I watched a reverse auction today where 4 suppliers placed 180 quotes for a dozen line items in under 30 minutes. No buyer can do that. Additionally reverse auctions provide the opportunity for suppliers that are outside of your business area or knowledge base to bid for your business.

Possibly the single largest area of benefit to reverse auctions outside of price compression  for  procurement professionals  is that it offers  a significant opportunity for process improvement since most solution providers offer a standard process for hosting reverse auctions. Everything is done in one place using standard processes in building the event to the final analysis of the bids collected. Information availability is immediate for evaluation and is archived for easy access in the future. This reduces the overall procurement life cycle, eliminates or reduces the opportunity for human error, and provides a standard way to conduct and award business.

Please contact a SafeSourcing Project Manager in order to learn more.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

Posted in , | Comments Off on Retailers; is your sourcing transparent enough?

COVID Keepers

February 19th, 2021

We are all looking forward to the day when we can resume our normal activities..

 

Today’s post is written by Ivy Ray, Senior Procurement Specialist at SafeSourcing Inc.

We are all looking forward to the day when we can resume our normal activities, post COVID style. We will be able to congregate with one another soon, but it will be a new normal. There are some improvements and innovations that were born out of this tragedy that should remain. This has been true throughout the decades.

During the Great Depression, the electric washing machine was in its infancy and many people could not afford to own one, so a couple of entrepreneurs got together and invested in buying a few of them to rent out; thus, the birth of the laundromat. Shelf stable food products such as Spam and macaroni and cheese in a box were created out of necessity, during the Great Depression and WWII. People needed products that were inexpensive, could be prepared quickly.

Due to our current situation, nearly every industry has had to rethink how they are operating and how to stay relevant.  Brick-and-mortar retailers have developed a stronger online presence. Restaurants which were traditionally known to only provide dine-in services have had to find a better way to serve their community by offering take-out service and partnering with delivery services such as Uber Eats and DoorDash. Some restaurants also had to upgrade their POS system to accommodate tracking orders and deliveries.

Technology, in general, has become more valuable because to do business, you need to have a way to connect to your market and to your employees via remote methods. Buy online and pickup in store, also known as BOPIS, was available in some areas but has gained popularity during the COVID crisis. Grocery stores are offering curb-side pick-up and delivery services. Behind the scenes, there are several layers of technology required to maintain this type of operation. Not to mention added security to protect the buyer from fraud and theft.

In the education arena, from K-12 to college, students are learning remotely, and educators are learning to navigate delivery of their curriculum in a virtual world. Unfortunately, snow days are collateral damage.  As a result, when we go back, there is no going back to business as usual. The supply chain has been reimagined and there are some things worth keeping. Make new friends but keep the old!

For more information on how SafeSourcing can assist you in exploring your procurement

solutions for your business 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.

 

 

Posted in | Comments Off on COVID Keepers

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »
© 2025 SafeSourcing