Today’s post is by Gayl Southard, Administrative Consultant, SafeSourcing.

The world has gotten smaller with technology. You can be connected around the globe in seconds by computers and telephones. Businesses can reach people in seconds that were entirely inaccessible years ago.  The phone may be best tool available.  That being said, why are we so bad at it.  Here are some techniques to consider when making a call.

• When your call is answered, ask if this is a good time to talk. Get the name of the person that answers the call. Use their name when speaking with them.
• You want to answer the call on the second or third ring. Speak slowly and articulate what you are saying. If you switch to speakerphone, make sure your connection is still acceptable. Focus on the caller, do not interrupt. Make sure your cell phone ringer is off.
• Make sure you are not eating or chewing gum. Do not shuffle papers.
• Your voice should be pleasant when answering a call. Some people recommend smiling when you answer a call. You want to make sure your customers feel they are important.
• Try to start all calls with good news, even if you have bad news to report.
• Have an agenda that you wish to accomplish.
• Start early in your career to keep track of 100-300 most important people in your network. Keeping track of people’s birthdays can really help a sales person. People like to be acknowledged and remembered.
• Call ahead to make sure your customer is there before making a cold call.
• When leaving a message start with your name, day, date, and time and guarantee you will call back in 24 hours. Set aside a specific time to return calls each day.

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Harvey MacKay, AZCentral, 4/9/2018

For more information on SafeSourcing, or on our Risk Free trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service representative. We have an entire team ready to assist you.

Today’s post is written by Heather Powell, Manager of Major Accounts and Special Projects at SafeSourcing Inc.

McDonald’s announced this week that by 2020 all of the UK will use paper straws. In the US McDonald’s will be test alternative straws to the plastic version. Sea World already uses paper straws and has eliminated plastic shopping bags and A&W in Canada will offer paper straws only by the end of this year.

So why all the “sudden” changes? As you may know, even though oceans cover more than 70 percent of the Earth, humans have dumped so much plastic into them that animals such as pilot whales are dying from consuming it. By 2050, according to a prediction from the MacArthur Foundation, there will be more plastic than fish in our oceans unless something drastically changes in the meantime. Also, this past spring, reports came out that over 83% of our bottled water contains plastic particles.₁

Laws are changing globally to combat the single-use/disposable crisis to our environment. For example; styrofoam cups are banned in California and California is also looking to make new laws to include plastic straws.

Our landfills are filling up with plastics such as water bottles, coffee pods, ziplock bagies, cereal bags, and many more items that typically don’t get recycled. Think back to what you have thrown away in the past 24 hours, how much of it was a plastic that couldn’t be recycled?

What are your business practices to emlinate or reduce your use of single-use plastics? Have you looked at alternative products? Long term what are your company goals to reduce waste or your carbon footprint?

SafeSourcing offers a wide variety of business solutions to your purchasing needs and one of those solutions is research and market changes. We at SafeSourcing can do the leg work for you to find alternatives and give the current market pricing and fluctuating market trends.

Are you interested in more information on how SafeSourcing can assist you in exploring your procurement solutions for your business or on our “Risk Free” trial program for RFPs and RFQs, 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.

_{References:———————————————————————————————————}

1. _{https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/mcdonalds-plastic-straws-phasing-out-uk-britain.html}

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

A friend of ours recently used a local company to clean their dryer vent.  From being a fireman in the past, I know that clogged vents can lead to overheating and fires, but I did not know there are companies that specialize in this service.  I guess the reason I did not know this is because all of the places that I had lived in the past had the dryer located on an outside wall. Because of the location, the vent was usually less than a foot long because it went straight through the wall to the outside. To clean the vents, I would just move out the dryer twice a year and manually inspect the vent and use a vacuum to clean up any residue.  This isn’t the case in our new house. The laundry room is located in a central part of the upstairs so the vent is located in the wall and goes under the floor boards to an outside wall. Because of the length, there is a greater possibility of having a clog.  These clogs are not just fire hazards, as stated above, but can also cost you a lot of money by lowering the efficiency of the drying.  Clogged or partially clogged vents restrict the airflow which causes the dryer to take longer and be less efficient.  It also makes the machine work harder which causes wear and tear leading to costly maintenance repairs.  As you know, dryers do contain lint traps but these traps do not trap all of the lint that is produced when drying which leads to the possible build up within the vent.  So it is recommended that you clean the vents at least once a year.  Below are some common signs that you may need to clean your vent.

• Longer drying times
• Damp or moldy smelling clothes
• Lint visible in the opening outside
• Outside vent flap not opening during use
• Outside of dryer and clothes are very hot
• Noticeable burning smell

If you need help with your dryer vent maintenance, we can gather all the necessary information for you and help you decide which company meets your needs.  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 by Dave Wenig, Vice President of Sales and Services at SafeSourcing Inc.

Chances are, at some point, that you have had to face some unwanted changes in your life. Some changes are personal and some are professional, but they aren’t always fun. You may have been advised by friends or loved ones to embrace change. I’m not trying to tell you that at all. I am telling you that you should learn to accept change.

In eProcurement, change is usually the name of the game. That holds true for the vendors that participate in our online Request for Quote (RFQ) events and it is also true for our clients who are the hosts of these RFQ events. I thought I would share my perspective on change as it relates to vendor and client in eProcurement.

Vendors 

Change comes with the territory for vendors in an eProcurement RFQ. Whether you are an incumbent vendor or not, the results of the RFQ event are likely to bring change. This can be a very positive change. Vendors invited to participate in an RFQ event have an opportunity to secure new business through their participation. The host of the RFQ event might be one that the vendor has been calling on for years, or the host may be a net new sales opportunity. Either way, the potential for a positive change is there. Incumbent vendors might be more reluctant to the change. Certainly, there is risk in any such process that the incumbent vendor may not be awarded after the RFQ. That’s not always the case. Either way, it’s best to accept the change and make the most of the opportunity.

Clients 

The client who is hosting the RFQ event must also accept change. As a result of the RFQ event, their award decision may mean that they will be awarding to a new vendor. This might not be a vendor that they have worked with in the past. For this reason, there are always steps in the process which will allow this change to be managed by the client. One of the most common ways to manage this change to ensure that it is successful is to request and review samples. There are many other ways as well. This is meant to be a positive change. While savings is important and one of the largest benefits of the change that comes with this process, it is not the only benefit. Change can also come in the form of product or process improvements or in service levels. Accepting change and being open minded is very important.

I don’t view change as positive or negative. There are definitely times when change falls pretty directly into one of those categories, but the concept of change doesn’t imply either. In eProcurement, change should be accepted and managed. Perhaps through acceptance, you might even find you’ll be able to embrace it.

For more information as to how SafeSourcing has been able to assist its clients adapt to the ever changing world of procurement best practices, please contact a SafeSourcing customers services account manager.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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

If you have never utilized e-procurement or used a procurement partner, you may not know what to expect when first beginning. Typically, a procurement partner works with your team to assist with the procurement process. This can mean a number of things, and could include e-procurement tools, like those offered by SafeSourcing. These tools and the expertise of a procurement partner can greatly help with the success of your own efforts and can help your organization realize more savings, more opportunities, and a more streamlined and quicker process.

When working with these tools and your procurement partner, it is important to outline what you hope to achieve from the process. Making your expectations known can help direct those procurement efforts to produce the results most sought. For example, if an organization is seeking to use a new product in store, a procurement professional can help research that product, list potential suppliers, and provide a market estimate of costs to implement that product. If an organization is expanding into a new region, your procurement partner can source everything you might need, from construction companies and building supplies to products to fill the new stores. Even if a company is looking for a private label product from a certified green vendor, that is what your procurement partner would focus on finding.

Ultimately, utilizing e-procurement, and especially a procurement partner, can help you attain the results you hope for. However, if expectations aren’t known or aren’t relayed, the outcome may not align with what was wanted. A procurement partner’s job is to help your organization get the results it desires and works with you and for you to ensure the outcome is a success, because when your organization succeeds, so does your procurement team.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can help your procurement 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.

Today’s post is by Gayl Southard, Administrative Consultant, SafeSourcing.

According to a study by Dscout Inc., a mobile app research firm, the average person taps, swipes, pokes their phones 2,617 times each day. That adds up to 2 hours and 25 minutes everyday!  Chief Executive, Jason Brown, of Brown, Parker & DeMarinas, observed while giving a business presentation, the majority in attendance were all fiddling their phones.  He was so angered by this that he issued a company edict: “Don’t show up at a meeting with me with your phone.  If someone shows up with their phone, it’ll be their last meeting.”

Although smartphones allow people to get their jobs done remotely, they are also the leading productivity killers at the job. Research conducted by the University of Texas, revealed that the shear presence of a smartphone on the desk, untouched, the cognitive performance  was lower than if the phone was stored in a purse, pocket, or a coat hanging near the workspace.

Mat Ishbua, CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage banned phones from meetings two years ago, and recently requested that his executive team refrain from using their phones to and from meetings. He stated that you are never too important not to say hello to fellow employees or make eye contact.

For more information on SafeSourcing, or on our Risk Free trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service representative. We have an entire team ready to assist you.

References…………………………………………….

John Simmons, WSJ, 5/17/2018