Today’s blog is by Margaret Stewart, Director of HR and Administration at SafeSourcing Inc..

Lockdowns have been on the rise again as Covid cases rise and many cities, provinces, states, or entire countries are implementing new rules to try and slow spread to help keep people safe. While there are vaccines coming, it will likely be a long time before there are enough doses for everyone and to get life pre-Covid back. So, while we must go about our days as they are now, there are some things to do to keep your lockdown life as normal and regular as possible.

Last spring different hobbies began trending and one of them was bread making. While this may not be everyone’s cup of tea, the idea is similar. Find a new hobby or set aside time for an old hobby and keep it up. This can be any number of different things like cooking, crosswords, making videos, reading, woodwork, painting, or even redecorating. In fact, for some people a hobby you enjoy can even result in a little extra money if you want to sell you skill or finished product.

While for many people the weather may not be ideal for walks or outdoor activities, there are other ways to get out of the house, even if it is just virtually. This is where the internet and the vast amounts of information can be a game changer. You can take virtual tours of many places across the globe. You can view art from museums, take a google maps stroll down your old road, or you can even take a virtual tour of downhill skiing!

In addition to finding things to do for fun, it is important to also keep connected to others. People are a social species and that need must be fulfilled. Set aside time every week to call a friend or family member, or you could event start with a pen pal and write letters to each other. Video calls have been excellent ways to not only talk to others, but also to see how people are doing. You can get your friends opinion on that new hair cut or keep up with how big the grandkids have gotten.

Whatever way you decide to keep a lockdown lifestyle as normal and rewarding as you can, we must all make sure business is taken care of too. This is where SafeSourcing can help. We can help your organization find goods or services that you need and help you to find the right supplier for it.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can help with your procurement needs or on our

Risk Free trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.  We have an entire team ready to assist you today.

Today’s post is by Dave Wenig, Senior Vice President of Sales and Services at SafeSourcing Inc.

The word essential has seen so much more use in the past 10 months or so. Because of this, many of us have had a chance to stop and think whether we are an essential worker and what that really means. I mention this to help point out that the word can sometimes be subjective.

During the last 10 months, I have had a lot of really interesting conversations with people in all sorts of roles in their different organizations. I have heard a lot about their trials and the new and unforeseen challenges they have faced.

What I have come to see as an outside observer with a wider view of how people approach similar challenges is that it can be hard to see past the challenges that are right in front of us. Here are the top three challenges and why the SafeSourcing’s services are essential even in the face of them.

1. New and ongoing challenges. While it sometimes feels like we have all settled into the changes we had to make to adjust to the pandemic, the reality is this is not behind us. Staffing issues and ongoing workplace safety concerns take too much attention. But that is actually a reason why you should be working with SafeSourcing. We stay focused on your procurement-related initiatives so you can focus on all the new challenges that you have to face. There is no reason to have to choose between the efforts.
2. There just are not enough resources. For too many of our customers, they must do more with less. Between layoffs, furloughs, and absences, there is a pretty good chance we have all felt a strain. Here again, SafeSourcing is an extension of your own team. We can assist you, so you do not have to worry about spreading yourself too thin. You will reduce expenses and can use that savings to acquire more resources.
3. My other responsibilities are higher priorities. Managing your costs directly relates to any of your other strategic responsibilities. Whether you are responsible for sales, HR, IT, or any other role, I guarantee your own goals are in line with managing costs. If you are responsible for growing your company’s revenue, you should also be concerned with improving your company’s gross margin. At the end of the day, everyone in the organization needs to be responsible stewards of its expenses. You keep your eye on your goals and bring us on to keep our eye on your costs.

The main takeaway is that if you can keep an open mind about the benefits of strategic sourcing, you will find that one of the biggest is that it can be a great solution to your challenges both now and in the future.

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 assist you today.

Today’s post is assembled by Ron Southard, CEO at SafeSourcing based on data from our white papers and past blogs at SafeSourcing Inc.

John is a very successful person. He does extremely well and, because of some great ideas he is sold, is making more money than he can spend. The more he spends, the more he seems to make. When he goes to a restaurant or to a store, he barely glances at the prices because he knows he has plenty of money in the bank. If he wants something or wants to take a trip, he just spends the money and does it. If John saves money throughout this, he barely notices it because he gets the things he needs and wants whenever he feels like it. He thinks that he is well-insulated to the emergencies that may come and believes he will always have enough.

No Time to Save – There may not be too many businesses in the position that John is in, but there are some. These companies are ones that are and have done very well, growing faster than they can sometimes handle and increasing their revenue year after year. Their resources are completely focused on the growth of their fortunate business, so they have little time to invest in doing the things to save money now. In their minds, it is tough to justify spending time on a process to save a million dollars when they could invest that same time to grow their profits by ten million. They know there may be a time when they must save and cut costs, but that time is not today. This can lead to issues down the road if they do not have the infrastructure in place to transition to a new way of business.

The Crash “Down the road” – There always seems to be an end to the growth “down the road” followed by a time that requires expense reduction. If cost-controlling processes, tools, and partnerships are not established when the company is growing it is difficult to turn those on when expenses must be cut. In many of these cases this involves cutting blindly from the #1 expense: headcount. As we saw during the turmoil of the auto industry, staff was greatly reduced, plants were closed, and jobs lost to combat lost revenue. Having processes in place that are operating, even at a minimal effort, provides a system that can be ramped up to help later if needed.

Trickle Down Effect – As many people in John’s life will attest, when the controller of the money is unconcerned about how that money is spent, those around him tend not to either. John’s wife, children, employees, and friends have the tendency to spend John’s money just as easily as he does. In the business world, this translates to employees who travel without trying to get the deals, paying extra money to fly on a certain airline, or staying in a specific hotel because they want the miles or points. It can also mean that managers and executives may spend too much money enjoying the benefits of strong growth without the consideration that the growth and extra cash may someday go away.

Growth is a great thing as is rewarding those people who got it that way. The best approach to dealing with growth and increased revenue, however, is to put the programs in place to prepare for a time in the future when it goes away. By putting savings processes and policies in place when things are good, even if you do not put a huge time investment into it, you can be prepared for leaner times.

Please check back tomorrow for a post Part VII Wrap Up entitled Regardless! In order to learn more about SafeSourcing, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Services Associate and ask about our risk free trial program.