The Numbers Are In ​

April 18th, 2018

Taking a Look at 2017 Savings

 

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

The numbers are in, and while this might seem somewhat-braggadocios, 2017 was an incredible year for clients of SafeSourcing. As our readers are probably aware, SafeSourcing offers a wide variety of solutions in the Procure-to-Pay space. This includes our SafeSpendAnalysis™, SafeDocument™, the SafeSourceIt™ suite (electronic RFI, RFP, RFQ), and more. Of all these solutions, it is the RFQ that has always been the most interesting to our clients when it comes to value and ROI.

The RFQ, sometimes called the reverse auction, is a long-time client favorite. In 2017, SafeSourcing’s clients were able to benefit from some very incredible savings through the use of RFQs. Across all of the categories we hosted on behalf of all of our clients in various industry verticals, the average RFQ savings in 2017 was 24.81%.

With this level of savings, it is not hard to imagine exactly why there has been, and continues to be, such interest in the RFQ. As we are now well into 2018, we are happy to report that this trend is continuing and our clients are on track to have yet another big year for RFQ savings.

As we pause to reflect and enjoy this success, perhaps you might reflect as well. There is no reason why you should not enjoy this level of savings. By taking a strategic approach to your own categories, and by leveraging established best practices and the proper tools, this opportunity can be realized.

After reflection, if you feel that your own savings might have room for improvement, we should make time for a conversation.

For more information, please contact SafeSourcing.  

We look forward to your comments.

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Major Egg Recall Due to Salmonella

April 17th, 2018

The Food and Drug Administration conducted an investigation of the farm

 

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

Salmonella, a type of bacteria that causes serious illnesses and deaths, particularly among children and elderly people has caused Rose Acre Farms to recall their eggs after federal officials tied illnesses to the company’s facility in North Carolina. Twenty-two people on the East Coast have been sickened by Salmonella braenderup, however, no one has died.

The Food and Drug Administration conducted an investigation of the farm, which is located in Hyde County, N.C., and produces 2.3 million eggs a day from 3 million hens. Eggs produced at the farm are distributed to retail stores and restaurants in Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the Carolinas.

The contaminated eggs were sold under brand names such as Great Value, Country Daybreak, Glenview and Food Lion. They were also sold to Waffle House restaurants. Rose Acre Farms, a family-owned company headquartered in Seymour, Indiana, and has 17 facilities in eight states. This is the largest recall since 2010, when a major salmonella outbreak tied to Iowa egg farms sickened more than 1,500 people, said Bill Marler a Seattle-based personal injury attorney who focuses on food-borne illness litigation.

“More than 500 eggs from two Iowa farms owned and controlled by Austin J. DeCoster were recalled that year. DeCoster and his son, Peter DeCoster, each pleaded guilty to one count of introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce. Authorities said the DeCosters’ company, Quality Egg, Marler said this most recent outbreak involving Salmonella braenderup, unlike the one in 2010, was detected far more quickly, preventing dozens more from being sick. That’s partly because the type of salmonella bacteria is less common, so investigators were able to isolate it quicker, he said.”1

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, salmonella causes about 1.2 million illnesses, 23,000 hospitalizations and 450 deaths every year in the United States.

Allow SafeSourcing to help your business be more competitive with your sourcing needs. 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.

Resources——————————————————————————————————-

1 Kristine Phillips, Business, 4/15/2018

 

 

 

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Why e-Procurement?

April 9th, 2018

Is e-Procurement the right way to go in order to reduce your costs?

 

Today’s Post is by Eli Razov, SafeSourcing Account Manager.

Is e-Procurement the right way to go for your company? Why not just keep doing things the old fashioned way of which there are many. What would the real difference be? There are many benefits that result from using an e-Procurement service provider. A very important benefit is the time it saves a company on everything that goes on behind the scenes of procurement, even a single item or simple service can result in many many man hours on your part in order to complete a project. Why?

First identify the item or service you want to take to market. That first step alone can take some time. If it is a current item or service you already receive, you need to discover if the specifications are something you need and want, or is this something you are sourcing because you no longer believe that is the best product for your needs. Next dig up some invoices because you want to make sure of your current price in order for you to know what you need to beat it. Great, now you know what it is and how much you are paying. Next you need to figure out where to get it. Thankfully the internet helps with this step. Use your favorite search engine and type in what you are looking for along with manufactures or distributors. At this point you may have a list of four or five companies. Now it’s time to get contacts for these companies. Sometimes it is as simple as asking for someone in sales, or maybe if you’re lucky and the person that answered the phone can help you. Often times however you get someone that will take a message and have a customer service representative call you. Guess what you are only a fraction of the way there, if they call back at all.

Once you are finally in touch with a sales rep, it is time to discuss what you need. Typically you have to send them the specifications which require an email or fax of what you are looking for and anything other information that ensures that they know exactly what you want. At this point, they compile pricing and work with their teams and eventually send you their “best price”. So now you have to do that 3, 4, 5 or more times so you can compare these prices. Now that you have prices, it’s time to test the quality of the goods; or maybe it is a service, and you have to do some research to see if this is a reputable company. You will need to research any good or bad ratings they may have. So after waiting a few weeks, you have found the lowest price of the collection, but does that still give you the quality you are looking for?

But was that the best price? Did you get the best “value”? Who knows, you have already put so much time into finding the right vendor or supplier, this has to be the best. That is until you’re at an event with some peers and a counterpart is bragging how they got the same items at a drastically lower price. Now what, do you try to get out of that contract or do you stick it out for the remainder and repeat the process?

This is where we come in. SafeSourcing a full service eProcurement service provider does the leg work for you. We run a live sourcing event from start to finish while you can focus on your other business needs. We research your products; develop specification documents from our comprehensive list of over 470,000 vendors to ensure that we find the right one for you. We ensure low pricing with a live online bidding event for the vendors. After a sourcing event we compile reports on every action taken, as well as request any samples on your behalf with a strict timeline that you agree upon. We actually take the stress out of the entire procurement process.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can assist you or on our “Risk Free” trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Representative we have an entire team waiting to assist you today

 

 

 

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What is a price or commodity index and how is it used?

April 5th, 2018

Here's an older post from our archives that still has some legs.

 

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

SafeSourcing uses a number of  indices in our sourcing events every day and the same question always comes up from buyers when we do. While this is an older post from our archives I believe you will still find it useful today.

This author has heard a lot lately about prices indexes or indices. Every time we source something we are asked what index should we use. Although there are times when an index is helpful in sourcing in order to manage contracted pricing once a baseline has been determined versus the rise or fall of an index, that is not always the case for every product.

I was reading our local paper today “The Arizona Republic”. In their MARKET TIP on page 3 of the business section they had a nice synopsis of the Consumer Price Index or CPI relative to measuring inflation. It was brief and holds true in terms of how indices are used to measure the rise or drop in prices over time. In your annual contracts you may wish to review them quarterly and have escalator language that locks in price increases or decreases versus a specific index to protect you from volatile commodity markets like the oil market.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics website, 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. The CPI is used as an economic indicator, a deflator of other economic series and as a means of adjusting dollar values. The CPI affects nearly all Americans because of the many ways it is used.

To learn more about how the CPI index is used please visit the Bureau of Labor Statistics website.

If you’d like to learn more about the variety of indices and how they impact the many products that you buy for reuse as well as resale or if you are not in the business of prognostication, please contact a SafeSourcing  customer services account manager.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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Origin story: The whole 9 yards

April 1st, 2018

Have you ever had to fight for your life?

 

 

Today’s post is our SafeSourcing Archives

There is some disagreement about where the term “The whole 9 yards” originated, ranging anywhere from WW2, to baseball, to concrete trucks, but I think the metaphor offered by the machine gun story is the most helpful context. The story goes, that early machine gun ammunition belts came in 9 yard lengths, and so it was easy to see the metaphorical application for everyday life. If I could break down the meaning into 2 components and the emotion behind them, it would look like this:

“The whole 9 yards”:

  1. Meaning: Give it all you’ve got. Emotion: Determination.
  2. Meaning: Fight for your life. Emotion: Fear

In war, winning meant living. Either you won the fight, or someone killed you first. Can you recall a time you were in that severe a situation? Where you would either beat what was threatening your survival, or you weren’t going to make it? The closest I’ve come to that was when a malady was threatening to kill my wife, and maybe me along with it. We overcame it, but the win or die situation it created changed me forever by teaching me several things:

Failure identifies the limits we need to overcome. Until you know what your limits are, how can you overcome them? And how can you identify your limits, until you’ve tested your abilities to the point of failure? Take calculated risks, see temporary failure as a necessary step to success instead of a fixed state. Fail forward by getting back up overcoming your limitations. Once you know your limits, you know what needs to be destroyed in order to become more.

Fear is a powerful but dangerous motivator in that it motivates us to destroy what we fear. Externally imposing fear at work or in relationships can cause employees to work harder to preserve their jobs or force significant others to be more agreeable, but can also cause them to see the organization or you as the enemy, creating resentment and causing more long term problems than short term gains. Self-imposed fear caused by identifying your own limitations can cause you to destroy your own weaknesses, breeding humility and self-worth once overcome.

Apathy sells me short of what I’m capable of. How many times have you said or been told “I’m doing my best”? But ask yourself, if your life depended on the task at hand, would you be doing it any better? If the answer is yes, you’re selling yourself short. Why settle for assuming your best is less than it really is?

My worldview had to change to fit my observations. At one point I had to come to the honest realization that the approach I was taking wasn’t working and would probably end up killing me, even though my worldview told me it was the right approach. I wouldn’t have been willing to recognize the solution without the crisis. Once I allowed observation, research, and testing to inform my worldview rather than let my worldview filter what I allowed myself to consider, the solution became obvious.

It’s easy to get distracted from being your best by fear, apathy, lack of belief in ourselves, the opinions of others, or personal biases. Every activity you undertake is a once in a lifetime event that you can’t go back in time to do over. But if you truly give it your all, approaching it as thoroughly as you would if your life were on the line, you’ll never need to do anything over again. Don’t wait for your 9 yards to be spent before deciding the life you want to build is worth fighting for.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can assist your team with this process 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.

 

 

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Growth in the Internet Has Impacted Our Economy

March 28th, 2018

 

Today’s post is written by Ivy Ray, Account Manager at SafeSourcing Inc.

Toys R Us is closing their doors following a disastrous Christmas season.  Amazon, Walmart and Target all ratcheted up toy discounts during the holidays.  Toys R Us typically does well against the competition between Thanksgiving and Christmas, because of significant inventory offerings and a strategy of selling late at high margins after competitors sell out of ‘hot’ inventory and attracting last-minute shoppers who fear that online deliveries will not be made in time.  This year, however, was different.  As a result of a general decline in toy sales, competitors had full product offerings through the end of the holiday season and same-day and two-day delivery guarantees eased customer fears regarding online shopping.

Toys R Us was once king of the toy castle. In the 1990s, it was the biggest toy seller in the US, expanding rapidly as it pushed out smaller chains. But by 1998, things had changed, and Walmart began selling more toys than Toys R Us in the US.

A winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, Paul Krugman wrote in 1998, “The growth of the Internet will slow drastically, as the flaw in ‘Metcalfe’s law’…the Internet’s impact on the economy has been no greater than the fax machine’s.”  This seems silly now.  The Internet has had a major impact on our economy, and the shift has had an effect on everything in the marketplace, from home goods, to auto purchases, and to entertainment.

Most brick and mortar stores have had to recreate themselves to stay in business with the internet competition.  Even print media is fighting to stay alive in our internet culture. Change is good, if you’re on the right side of it, or if you know when to get ahead of it.

For more information on how 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.

 

References—————————————————-

http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-walmart-target-killed-toys-r-us-2018-3

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/346996

 

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New Pollution Laws in China Will Raise Prices of Vinyl Gloves and Cause A Shortage

March 27th, 2018

As China’s pollution levels hit an all-time high.....................................

 

Today’s blog is by Ashley Riviello, Account Manager at SafeSourcing.

As China’s pollution levels hit an all-time high, factories are being forced to shut down throughout Northern China. China has depended very heavily on coal to make itself the second-largest economy in the world, United States being number one. With the new pollution laws in China, how is this going to affect our vinyl glove cost and market?

The shortage of vinyl gloves will have a huge impact on the world. China is a major producer of vinyl used in latex-free gloves and in January of 2017, a production ban was imposed on vinyl glove factories due to record levels of air pollution. Vinyl has spiked in price by more than 55 percent in the past few months, from $946 per ton in September 2017 to $1,500 per ton today. That is a huge change. With a minimum of 170 production lines shut down in one area alone, this equals to around 1.7 million cases of disposable gloves. Longterm, all suppliers of vinyl gloves will be affected. Not only will there be a significant price change in the gloves, there will most likely be a shortage due to production being down. Anyone in the food, medical or surgical markets will be highly affected. Some companies have already started thinking of alternatives for vinyl gloves, such as a higher quality disposable nitrile glove or the octoglove which is a better quality than vinyl at half the price.

As we see the increase in price for vinyl gloves, and the shortage of supply, we will definitely be seeing a huge incline in new and alternative gloves for food and medical markets, most of which will be better quality at a cheaper price. Working with suppliers on a daily basis I would love to see this change and start saving people money, because that’s what SafeSourcing does.

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.

 

 

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Is your fleet prepared for Vehicle Emergencies

March 23rd, 2018

You know that unexpected things can happen at home and at work. How prepared is your fleet.

 

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

If you have been driving for a while, you know that unexpected things can happen.  Most of us spend hours in our cars and don’t think twice about emergencies that can occur while on the road.  These emergencies may not even involve you and your automobile.  With all of the traffic and congestion on the roadways, it is possible that you could end up stuck for hours because of bad weather or accidents.  It is important to be prepared and ready for these unexpected problems.  One way to prepare yourself is to have an emergency car kit in all of your vehicles.  These kits can be purchased or you can make your own kit stocked with all of the necessary items.  These emergencies don’t always happen in convenient places where cell phone service is available nor may a tow truck be nearby. Therefore, you need to be prepared for any conditions that may occur.  Below are some suggested items that you should include in your emergency car kit:

  • Jumper Cables
  • Tool Kit
  • First Aid Kit
  • Fire Extinguisher
  • Reflective Warning Triangles
  • Tow Strap
  • Foam Tire Sealant
  • Gloves
  • Flashlight
  • Duct Tape
  • Cell Phone Charger
  • Warm Blanket
  • Windshield Ice Scraper
  • Drinking Water
  • Non Perishable Snacks
  • Matches or a Lighter

If you need help researching emergency kits for your vehicles, feel free to contact SafeSourcing.   We can gather all the necessary information for you and help you decide which kit meets your needs.  If you would like more information on how SafeSourcing can help you, please contact a SafeSourcingCustomer Service representative.  We have an entire team ready to assist you today.

 

 

 

 

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Spend Visibility ​

March 20th, 2018

How well do you understand your spend?

 

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

How well do you understand your spend? Recently, I have been having more frequent conversations about understanding spend. What has been interesting lately is that this question seems to be on the top of the minds of procurement professionals. It seems that, collectively, this topic has had a bit of a renaissance and we will all be better off as a result. It has always been fairly common that companies don’t have a very clear view into their spend and there have been many different approaches on how to overcome this challenge. Some set out on a lengthy, labor-intensive process, perhaps turning to spend cubes and the like.

Regardless of the method used for analyzing spend; there are often some common concerns. One such concern is the time and resources required to complete this analysis. This is particularly true when an organization approaches this task on its own. Another concern is whether or not the output of the effort is actionable.

At SafeSourcing, we have been addressing this question for our clients for years. Our approach is called SafeSpendAnalysis™. SafeSourcing’s clients that leverage this solution are able to understand their spend in just about two weeks. Better yet, the results of this solution are actionable immediately. SafeSpendAnalysis™ analyzes 100% of our clients’ spend for a 12-month period and assigns all vendors into Categories and Subcategories. SafeSpendAnalysis™ also determines the estimated savings opportunity for each based on SafeSouring’s extensive category experience and data.

When we review the results with our clients, we typically spend an entire day onsite meeting with the teams that will benefit from the new information. When that day is done, we have a clear picture of what the top targets are and where to focus. We also typically have over 100 categories identified for eProcurement.

As a result of the SafeSpendAnalysis™, our clients can answer confidently that they understand their spend well. Beyond that, they are able to make decisions and take actions to control their spend.

I’ll ask again – How well do you understand your spend? For more information, please contact SafeSourcing.  

We look forward to your comments.

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How do you procure?

March 14th, 2018

We all procure in some way and how you procure could be affecting your pocket.

 

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

Whether for business or personal use, we all procure goods and services we need. Many of us even go further and shop around for what we need, especially if we want a certain quality, price, or customization. But the tools you use and the way you approach obtaining your needs can make a difference in what you pay.

Tools – First, the tools you use can help you get the results you want. If you need a repair on your car, you’d likely use the tools available to you, such as Yelp or Google reviews and Maps. These tools can provide you nearby mechanics and also let you know how to get in touch and get pricing. Just like for personal use, there are tools available if your business needs to source a service or good. Tools like contract management and large supplier databases can help your organization find the suppliers that meet your needs and can help monitor agreements you may make.

Partner – Next, getting help from others is highly beneficial in your procurement efforts. For the car repair example above, using a partner could simply mean getting reviews and feedback from other customers or seeking recommendations from people you know. For a business, reaching out to a professional procurement partner can help in a number of ways. They have the experience and know much of the suppliers available for whatever project you need. They can assist with specifications, pricing, and often have sets of tools you may not have had.

Timing – Finally, timing is significant when it comes to your sourcing project. If you need a mechanic in an emergency and the one you chose with the best price and quality isn’t open on weekends, you will have to change plans. Timing your project accurately can help you get the service you want at the time you want. This is the same for your business. If you wait to source your needed goods until your contracts are expired, your current supplier could dramatically raise prices. This could mean paying much more for what you were already getting until your procurement project can be completed.

The way you approach your procurement can affect your pocket in multiple ways. SafeSourcing can be your procurement partner and work with you every step of the way, bringing experience, tools, and dedication to help you get what you need the best way possible.

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.

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