Motor Oil a Slippery Slope

February 22nd, 2018

Why are there different types of motor oil?

 

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

When you used to get an oil change you would just look in the manual and see what weight the manufacturer recommended for your vehicle.  It was that easy!  Now when you get an oil change you have the option of choosing the type of oil you would like to use as well.  So what are the different types and how do you choose the correct type?  This depends on the type of engine and may depend on the mileage that is on your vehicle.

First let’s start with conventional oil.  This is usually standard motor oil recommended by  most manufacturers.  Carmakers will specify a 5w-20 or 5w30 oil for use in lower temperatures and offer 10w-30 as an alternative in higher temperature areas.  When using this oil it is important to change the oil and filter as recommended by the manufacturer.

Another type of oil is full synthetic oil.  This oil is used for high tech engines such as sport cars or higher end luxury cars.  Synthetic oils are more superior and have longer lasting performance.  The oil is chemically engineered and works better in extreme high temperatures and flows better at low temperatures.  This oil is more expensive and not always necessary for most vehicles.

Synthetic blend oil is a mixture of conventional oil and synthetic oil which adds extra resistance to oxidation.  This oil is usually used in vehicles such as SUVs and pickups because they offer better protection for heavier loads and higher temperatures.  This oil is a little more expensive than conventional and a lot less expensive than full synthetic.

High mileage oil is for exactly what it sounds like.  This oil is made for vehicles that have high miles on them.  This oil contains additives such as seal conditioners that are used to expand and increase the life of the seals within the engine. This oil was designed to be used with vehicles that have over 75,000 miles.

As you can see the different types of oils are manufactured to be specific to the type of engine, type of use, and the amount of mileage.  If you find yourself needing a licensed maintenance company to maintain your vehicles, feel free to contact SafeSourcing.  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.

We look forward to your comments.

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Make the Change, Ride The Wave

February 21st, 2018

Who remembers Tupperware parties?

 

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

Who remembers Tupperware parties?  I was recently viewing an actual original marketing promotion of Tupperware products, while watching movies on the Turner Classic Movie channel. It certainly stirred up old memories of a time when everyone I knew owned a set of the colorful, stackable food storage containers. There is also a sales lesson to be learned here.

When Earl Tupper first introduced that molded plastic bowl with the airtight lid, people did not want it.  It sat on the store shelves until a woman named Brownie Wise took sales to a new level by implementing the direct marketing sales strategy known as the “Tupperware Party”. The parties were revolutionary in that they offered an alternative model for commercial success based around female co-operation rather than aggressive competition. It was a “perfect storm” where the product and the sales method were conducive to post-war era housewives who could gather together in a social setting and make money. Sales grew into a world-wide, multimillion-dollar success for Tupperware which continued throughout the 50s and 60s, but fell off sharply after the 70s when women joined the workforce in record numbers.

This formula proved to be commercially successful, but Tupperware was not the first to use this sales model.  The J.D. Larkin Company, a soap manufacturer in Buffalo, New York, dramatically grew company’s annual sales from about $220,000 in 1892 to over $15 million in 1906. “The Larkin Idea” enlisted a dedicated army of small-town and rural women to serve as de facto sales agents. Larkin was among the first large-scale manufacturers to eliminate all dealers—wholesalers, retailers, traveling salesmen, and brokers, representing the entire middle of the distribution chain.

Tupperware enjoyed a huge wave of success and then leveled off in the 90s. It was a big thing, which was good while it lasted.  Sales of Larkin products were buoyant through the 1910s, and tapered off in 1920 at around $28 million. Over the past couple of decades there have been other companies which have adopted the direct sales format, adding their own twist.

The right sales strategy is key, and change is inevitable. There is something to be said for knowing when to make the right change at the right time. Be ready to ride the wave when the next perfect storm comes, or you may just get washed out and eaten by the sharks!

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.

Resources and References————————————————-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupperware

https://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/from-factory-to-family-the-creation-of-a-corporate-culture#5

 

 

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Do you keep your receipts?

February 16th, 2018

Maybe you shouldn’t!

 

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

Many of us use our debit or credit cards every day and by the end of the week, wind up with a stack of receipts. My receipts wind up cluttering my purse and pockets until I make it to a trash can, because the majority of the time I don’t even need them. While having so many receipts was previously a minor nuisance, after learning more about what it takes to make those receipts, avoiding receipts all together may be a better way to go from now on.

Receipts are typically made of thermal paper and are coated in different chemicals that react to heat, which causes the print to appear on the receipt. One such chemical used in thermal paper is Bisphenol A (BPA), which has been noted as a health and environmental hazard. This certainly makes me want to turn down a receipt next time I’m offered one, but sometimes a receipt is necessary.

Last October, a chemical plant in China made headlines that it would be shutting down for environmental reasons for at least several months. That plant produced a chemical that is used in thermal paper and it is estimated that it provided 70% of the world’s supply. At first glance, many might think this has no bearing on their lives, but it may very well affect every one of us.

When that particular Chinese plant shut down, thermal production paper slowed across the market. While other producers of the needed chemicals stepped up production, they struggle to make up for the difference, and that affects pricing. As prices rise, retailers begin looking for new suppliers or alternatives. One of the best ways to do this is to implement your procurement partner in your searches. They can assist not only with cost avoidance, but also with research of thermal paper alternatives, the effects thermal paper on health or the environment, or what it would take to make your point of sale digital.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can help your organization avoid cost increases or on finding new alternative technologies, 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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Swim Like A Shark

February 15th, 2018

Sourcing strategies learned from the behavior of sharks.

 

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

As you read this today, imagine the image of a great white shark. Perhaps, you’re picturing it attacking its prey as in one of those nature documentaries. I simply picture the great white shark swimming through the water. I’d wager that when you think of sharks, you don’t immediately equate that image to those of us in the procurement field. But should you? In my own observations, I see sharks as powerful creatures that possess the tools and the skills to execute against their goals. For sharks, those goals are all related to hunting and survival.

Procurement professionals are sharks. Their goals also include hunting and survival. They hunt for savings and they are critical to the survival of any organization.

Sharks, as hunters, have incredible focus. If you try to imagine how to think like a shark, you may imagine being on the hunt looking for the splashing motions of a tasty meal. If you’re in procurement, you are looking for contract expirations, the length of time since categories have been competitively sourced, Market conditions, and other key indicators that tell you when you need to focus on a particular category. Once you have your sights set on a category, you are focused and driven in the hunt for savings.

To swim like a shark in procurement is to adopt the traits of the shark in your own behavior. A shark would not be deterred by some of the traditional objections to sourcing a category. Sharks would not care that the vendor has been a partner for 15 years. Sharks would not care if the vendor rep plays golf with the Vice President every week. Sharks expect a price decrease based on indices, not just increases. Sharks would see the potential savings objectively and would apply determination and ferocity until it had completed the task at hand.

One more interesting trait of sharks is their confidence. Sharks seem to know that they are sharks. Great white sharks appear to realize their place in the food chain. Procurement professionals too should know that they are sharks and realize that they have a very important role to play as well.

Go and swim like a shark. For more information, please contact SafeSourcing.

We look forward to your comments.

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Are you doing business with your suppliers “A” Players?

February 14th, 2018

You can classify all employees within an organization into three distinct categories!

 

Today’s post is our SafeSourcing. archives!

You can classify all employees in an organization into three categories: A, B, and C players. Should an organization strive for 90% of employees being ‘A’ players? No, a healthy distribution of A and B players is what an organization should strive for.

C Players– All employees generally start as C players due to their training and inability to bring a benefit to the company right off the bat. Genuine A and B players will not be C players long. They will eventually bring value to the company and move to an A or B player. The employees that remain C players will eventually be weeded out of the company.

B Players– B players can perform the tasks given to them well, but show no initiative to perform beyond average. B players show more loyalty to a company. In many cases B players are former A players, but do not want the responsibility anymore for whatever reason (age, personal, family, etc.). B players will complete the task given to them and with their loyalty will save companies money in hiring and training.

A Players– Everyone wants a company full of A players. A players are responsible and work to bring great benefit to the company. Sure they are experienced, motivated, and bring great benefits to your company, but how long will they stay satisfied? With the knowledge, motivation, and experience A players have it can be challenging for organizations to sustain their employment. A players find greater opportunities and their loyalty is far less than B players.

What type of player is your company searching for? You cannot run a company with only one type of player. A successful organization will have a healthy balance of A and B players. Understanding who your A and B players are is an important key step.

We all work with the three different players from our suppliers and  we know it can be challenging to receive the results or information you have requested from a B or C player. If a company you are working with has not established  who their A, B, and C players are, then you could end up working with any of them for contract negotiations. At SafeSourcing we have an extensive SafeSourceIt™ Supplier database and  existing relationships with  the suppliers that will deliver the results you request. SafeSourcing finds the suppliers A players in order to bring value to your company from the outside.

For more information on how we can help you with your procurement needs 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 and appreciate your comments.

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How Much Does FREE Cost? Simple Question right?

February 6th, 2018

Be careful when your service provider tells you that something is free. And read your contract!

 

Today’s post is from the SafeSourcing Archive

The byline to this post would seem simple but the number of large companies that are taken in by it is staggering.

My brother dropped his phone and to no surprise the screen was cracked. He took it into his wireless provider and without insurance he would have to buy a new phone. A new phone? That sounds great! Right? Well he did not have an upgrade available and without insurance he would have to buy the phone at “full retail price”.

The phone that cost him ZERO dollars when he signed a two-year contract was $349.99! I understand that the contract gets you a better deal, but how do wireless providers make a profit when they are just “giving away” phones.

Wireless providers subsidize the cost of your phone into your wireless plan. They have to pay the manufacturer for these phones, but take such a large hit initially in the contract. It takes wireless providers an average of at least six months to begin making a profit on your wireless contract. Makes you wonder how low your service contract could be a month if you paid “full retail” price for your phone.

Many companies have used the word ‘FREE’ to sell a product or service, but are they really free? If you did not accept the free or significantly low cost coffee maker for the office would the year supply of coffee be cheaper? There is a cost for free and that cost usually falls back on the customer or consumer.

SafeSourcing, Inc. has the knowledge and expertise to eliminate the cost of ‘free’ from your service related plans.  If you’d like more information on how avoid the free pitfall, please contact a SafeSourcing customer services representative.

Be careful out there or you might just get what you have not asked for.

We look forward to hearing from you.

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The High Cost of Baking with All Natural Ingredients

February 2nd, 2018

Did you know that harvesting vanilla is one of the most labor-intensive foods on Earth?

 

 

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

Gerry Newman, owner of Albemarle Baking Co., in Charlottesville, VA, buys vanilla for his business. Just a few years ago one-gallon of organic, fair-trade vanilla was $64.  In June of 2017, that same gallon is $245.  It is a global phenomenon for pastry chefs and ice cream makers.  Some businesses have changed their recipes to use less vanilla or have switched suppliers to find a cheaper product.  “It’s not certified organic.  It’s not fair trade, he says.  There’s guilt I have over that, because we’re talking about something that’s all hand labor, and if these people aren’t being treated fairly, it’s really sad.”

Harvesting vanilla is one of the most labor-intensive foods on Earth. Vanilla beans are from the seeds of an orchid.  It grows wild in Mexico where birds and insects pollinate the flowers; however, most vanilla now is grown in Madagascar where the pollination is done by hand.  After the seed pod has been harvested, the pod is soaked in hot water, it  is then wrapped in woolen blankets for roughly 48 hours, and then placed in a wooden box to sweat.  The pods are then laid out in the sun to dry, but only for one hour each day.  This process takes months.

There was a period of low prices for vanilla that many farmers abandoned their farms. A lot of companies had switched to a synthetic version of vanilla.  Synthetic vanilla is much cheaper than natural vanilla.  The package declaration may read “vanillin” or “artificial flavors”.

A savvy shopper prefers natural ingredients. Three years ago, Nestle and Hershey’s announced they were shifting to natural ingredients.  They wanted vanilla from orchid seeds.  That is when the supply did not meet the demand. The cost of vanilla beans in Madagascar costs more than 10 times what it did five years ago. Good news for farmers, but not so god for bakers.

Farmers in Madagascar are now rebuilding vanilla plantations as quickly as they can, but it takes 4-5 years before those orchids start producing seeds. Last March a cyclone hit Madagascar, destroying a third of the crop.  Also, theft has become a major problem for farmers.

For more information on SafeSourcing and how we can help you with your sourcing 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.

Resources————————————————————

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/06/16/527576487/our-love-of-all-natural-is-causing-a-vanilla-shortage

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More than negotiating contracts!

February 1st, 2018

What are different ways you can service your company today beyond traditional sourcing activities?

 

Today’s post is  from  our SafeSourcing archives.

If you are a sports enthusiast there is no doubt that you are probably familiar with the Buffalo Wild Wings chain of restaurants.  The fact that this statement is geared to sports fans and not food or Buffalo wings fans is the biggest reason this company is one of the fastest growing in the world.  By shifting the focus away from what they had traditionally done (food first; atmosphere second) to a primary sports fan destination that happens to offer good food, the chain has been able to explode with growth almost tripling revenue numbers in the last five years.  This effort to give customers more than the traditional offering and some of the ways procurement professionals can begin doing the same for their internal customers is the focus of today’s blog.

Get involved early – Negotiating contracts and handling vendor negotiations has always been a main focus of procurement teams.  Many times they are engaged well after the decision has been made for services and products.   The problem with this approach is that there is no longer any leverage for the procurement team to get a better deal for the company and often they are not equipped with the background details and project progress that allow them to execute the most beneficial contracts.  By getting engaged through annual or bi-annual meetings with the department heads, a procurement team can make themselves better prepared to help the department and the company get the most value from a new agreement once the decision has been made.

Provide Extra Information – With the assumption that they have been engaged early, procurement teams can offer their internal customers more than the traditional approach by helping departments better understand how they are spending money with their current incumbents.  Helping to track down the details of how well a contract has been executed, whether through internal means or directly from the incumbent suppliers, can provide very important details for departments in making decisions of who they do business with in the future.  Another way procurement teams can assist their internal customers is by helping them to understand how the company uses and feels about the products and services they have selected in the form of supplier scorecards.  These can be used as leverage for future contracts even if a supplier change is not made.

Offer New Tools – In some companies procurement teams are actively using eProcurement tools in conjunction with strategic sourcing partners to accomplish some of their goals on many sourcing projects.  So many times these solutions and partners offer functionality that other parts of the company can use.  Contract management, survey tools, and online RFx tools are just a few of the tools that procurement departments can bring to their internal customers that will provide extra value and support beyond what they have traditionally done.

At SafeSourcing we know that many procurement departments are looking for ways to be more involved with the purchasing projects that go on in the rest of the company. At SafeSourcing we want to work with your team to help provide extra value to your internal customers paving the way for involvement at a new level.   For more information on how we can help 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.

We look forward to your comments.

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What is a Blister Pack?

January 30th, 2018

Blister packs are the unsung hero of the retail world.

 

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

SafeSourcing helps clients save money on a wide variety of categories. From sugar to fuel hauling, there isn’t much we haven’t sourced for our clients. One category that we source regularly is Blister Packs. Blister Packs have consistently provided significant savings for our clients making it a successful event. Currently, we are offering an opportunity for you to become involved in that savings opportunity. But first let’s learn little about Blister Packs.

Blister packs are the unsung hero of the retail world. They are used to package products such as toys, hardware, medication, etc. Blister packs have been around for many years and come in many different forms. Blister packs are commonly used as unit-dose packaging for pharmaceutical tablets, capsules or lozenges. Specifically, that is our focus at the moment. In other regions of the world, blister packs are the main packaging type since pharmacy dispensing and re-packaging are not common. In some parts of the world, the pharmaceutical blister pack is known as a push-through pack.

Materials Used to make Blister Packs:

  • Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
  • Polyvinylidene Chloride (PVDC)
  • Polychlorotrifluoro Ethylene (PCTFE)
  • Cyclic Olefin Copolymers (COC)
  • Cold Form Foil
  • Lidding Foils

There are many benefits to using Blister Packs. Blister packaging is a cost effective way of showcasing a product. Due to the nature of the material and design, it makes it more cost effective than other types of packages that are on the market. There is a wide range of colors and finishes that blister packaging can be constructed to feature. Manufacturers can use that to help make their products stand out on shelves. Blister packaging allows either the manufacturer or retailer to include promotional materials or advertisements to help build a brand and increase customer loyalty. To prevent retail theft, packages are specifically designed so that the customer cannot “touch and feel” the product. Clear, protective, and durable thermoformed plastic packaging enables the customer to fully view the product while maintaining the security of the product. Blister packaging can easily be sealed using heat sealing machinery.

So what does this mean to you? Many of our retail pharmacy clients use Blister Packs at their stores. What many don’t realize at first is that there are numerous vendors in every region competing with the larger, national vendors and that this is a very competitive category when sourced using e-Procurement. With the use of SafeSourcing’s services, many of our clients have saved significantly. The last client who sourced this category with us saved over thirteen percent.

SafeCollaborative™ is a new way for many companies to pool their procurement needs to aggregate larger savings with higher purchasing volumes. We will be offering a Blister Pack SafeCollaborative RFQ Event in Q1 of 2018 which is open to any companies that might want to join. If you have any questions or are interested in participating please contact us at 888-261-9070

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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The Pitfalls of IT contracts

January 24th, 2018

How are you executing your organizations IT contracts today?

 

Today’s post is our SafeSourcing Archives.

IT contracts are difficult. 

Now that we have that out on the table let’s follow that up with a second statement:

IT Contracts are usually in the top 5 categories of spend of every company on the world.

When it comes to executing IT contracts the main problem boils down to having a service, software license or piece of hardware requiring a contract the details of which a legal team doesn’t always understand from a technical standpoint and which has legal elements an IT staff does not always push hard enough to improve.  Some companies have developed strong Legal IT staffs to handle this issue but most are letting the IT department review and approve contracts that meet the technical needs without attempting to improve the business or legal elements.   Today we will look at some of the elements which the legal and IT team should be working together on ensuring meet the standards needed by their company.

Technical Aspects  – Obviously the most important first step is to ensure that the service or product meets the technical requirements of the business.  This is accomplished by having a well-defined Statement of Work which clearly defines the roles of both parties and what will be delivered during the course of the contract.  For hardware and software this defines how much each party is responsible for the installation and configuration of the project and the support of the project moving forward.  This includes testing, specifications of what the solution needs to deliver, the timeline for delivery, and what is covered by warranty or maintenance and support agreement.

Legal Aspects – Once the technical requirements are met then the legal team needs ensure that all of the language surrounding the engagement and contract are also met and to the satisfaction of the company’s best interest.  One of the first sets of details must surround protection in case the relationship is not executed according to the agreed upon terms.  It is the job of the business to foster a productive and beneficial relationship with the vendors and the legal team’s responsibility to plan for the protection in case that does not occur.  Defining the governing laws and jurisdiction of a potential disagreement, precedence of documents attached to the agreement,   as well as details surrounding the termination of the agreement by either party are all things which must be examined so that the business can be protected from every angle.

Business Aspects – Several aspects affect the business portion, but most of them boil down to two areas; ownership details and pricing details.  Understanding the details of who owns the product is extremely important not only for various accounting reasons but also from a liability standpoint.  If anything happens to the product, who owns it and when will determine who takes on the cost to repair or replace that product.  Having this defined in advance will influence testing, evaluation, timelines and acceptance of the installation efforts.  Pricing is also very important and should be examined closely to ensure the company has the best terms in the way of payment schedule, rebates, discounts and other factors that will result in the best possible pricing and what has historically been ultra-high margin goods and services.

SafeSourcing routinely works with our customers’ IT departments on procurement projects to ensure many of these details are laid out and agreed upon before an award decision is even made.  For more information on how we can help your team with IT projects 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.

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