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

Document management systems (DSM) are computer software tools used to manage and help track the lifecycle of your documents.  Implementing a document management tool allows you to check out, lock and check in your important documents.  Using these features will allow you to maintain older versions of the documents and compare changes that are made.  Because there are multiple versions of the documents stored, you can roll back to an older version if unwanted changes occur.  Each version that is checked in is stored and contains information such as the date, time, description and the user that made the changes.  Using the document management tool also ensures that all of your documents are stored in one secure place and can easily be searched and located when needed.  Another benefit of using a document management system is security.  The access to the documents can be set up so that users or groups can access certain folders and files.  The access can be as finite as limiting a user to access to only a single file.

Below are some of the benefits that can be achieved from a well-designed document management system like our SafeDocument™.

• Central Repository for Easy Retrieval
• Enhanced Security
• Reduced Storage Space
• Improved Search Capabilities
• Notifications when changes occur
• Reliable Backup and Recovery

There are several things to keep in mind before purchasing a Document Management System; such as the number of users and the amount of space you will need.  At SafeSourcing, we can gather all the necessary information for you and help you decide why SafeDocument™ is the right DMS for 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 blog is by Margaret Stewart, Manager of HR and Administration at SafeSourcing Inc.

Baseball is widely considered America’s pastime with a colorful history and a nostalgic place in many people’s lives. Some of the lessons learned in baseball can also apply to everyday life, including your business. Here are quite a few common teachings that many of us learned from baseball and how they apply to your business.

1. Hit a home run – to be very successful. This can mean successfully completing your project, gaining a new client, making your goals, or exceeding your goals. While just one person in baseball will hit a home run at a time, the whole team benefits. In business, the whole team can be responsible for hitting a home run.
2. A ball park figure – an estimate. When this phrase is used, it can have a wide range of estimation. For example, a person may offer a ballpark figure for a new hire, which may cover a range of a few thousand dollars, whereas a ballpark figure of a company’s entire spend may range from several million dollars to tens of millions.
3. Strike out – to fail. This phrase is often used in business, and especially sales. Often sales teams will try a pitch a few times, like in baseball, before they deem it a strike out and will not spend any more time or effort continuing, but rather try a new approach.
4. Batting a thousand – maintaining a perfect record. This is when a person has been exceptionally successful in their ventures to a point where failure never seems to be an option. While such a high record in anything cannot be expected or maintained indefinitely, it is always a goal for everyone to strive for.
5. Play hardball – use extreme measures to ensure success. This phase can be used to describe individuals or businesses that take more extreme stances when it comes to compromise. They may maintain a firm position on an offer, which may or may not work out in their favor.
6. Go to bat for someone – to aid or support someone. This can describe when someone comes to your aid in some way, whether to reiterate strategies or points, defend positions, or just take some of the burden of a person or team for an amount of time.
7. Throw a curve ball – to do something unexpected. This phase is very common in business and many businesses take great care to avoid curve balls, even hiring analysts and researchers to ensure no signs of an upcoming curveball were missed. However, like the definition states, curveballs refer to the unexpected, so being prepared for anything can help your organization combat any curve balls coming.
8. On the ball – very aware, responsible, and intelligent. This phase in business is commonly used to describe a person or team who takes initiative, is proactive, or generally takes care of the things necessary without trouble, hassle, or complaint.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can help you cover your procurement bases, 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, Vice President of Sales and Services at SafeSourcing.

“If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you too?” Usually, when you hear a parent ask this question, then they are saying this because they don’t approve of the child’s decisions. While I understand the sentiment, I’d propose an alternative and that we think about this more in the sense of trying something new.

There are some who have still not jumped off the bridge into e-Procurement. Perhaps they look at their peers who have taken to using e-Procurement with the same dismissive view as the parent who is disappointed in their child. What they have probably not considered is that what they have deemed a questionable decision is actually very beneficial.

The difficult part is being open to alternatives. Many who do not use e-Procurement will point to their well-established procurement practices, their own experience, and their rolodex as the evidence that they should not even consider jumping off the bridge that their friends have jumped off.

But, by allowing for an open mind, you might come to realize that e-Procurement is also very well established, that the providers in the space such as SafeSourcing have incredible experience, and that your rolodex is important and will be included but will be augmented by vendors from a database with hundreds of thousands of global sources of supply.

I’m not suggesting that anyone blindly do as others do or succumb unnecessarily to peer pressure. I’m saying that anyone who has responsibility for purchasing has a fiduciary duty to examine all options. Sometimes, you’ll find that jumping off the bridge is the right thing to do.

For more information, please contact SafeSourcing.  We look forward to your comments.

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

Most of us have had some experience with one, if not all, and you may very well dread having to see one another again. But why are so many people anxious about seeing a doctor, lawyer, or accountant? Going to a doctor often means we are sick or are in need of some sort of treatment, which is hardly pleasant. Needing to see an attorney often implies civil or criminal matters and finding out what repercussions may arise. Seeing an accountant could mean that either tax season has arrived or that your finances are too complicated to do yourself.

Another common link between these three professions is money. Each profession can charge you significant amounts each time to visit or talk. Sometimes, you may even get a bill for something you weren’t expecting. Often people try very hard to avoid hiring one of these professionals simply due to the unknown amount of money you may find yourself liable for. So, why are these professions still so successful? The answer is because they are worth it.

Everyone in these professions has to go through a lot of training and education. Even after the education and training, they must be tested. Even after that, certifications must be routinely updated. All of this costs time and money, and often these professional absorb massive amounts of debt as they initially work through their education. For a high price tag, however, they are expected to know and advise on some of the most important aspects of a person’s life, so they need to be up to date and more than knowledgeable in their field. They have to be experts.

While other professions also require vast amounts of education or experience, some also require the same type of dedication and continual research and education that is often seen with doctors, lawyers, and accountants.

At SafeSourcing, we expect and train our account managers and project managers to also be experts in their field, which means being prepared to give you advice on your procurement needs, categories, spend, and whatever else may arise during our process. Fortunately, SafeSourcing is here to save you money instead of breaking the bank.

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