Supplier relations have always been important to buyers but it seems that in the present economic climate, it is more crucial than ever to ensure that relationships between businesses and their supply chain remain healthy and free from corruption.

The Supply Management Reader Research Survey 2011 concluded that procurement professionals will be concentrating on cost cutting and supplier relationship management as key priorities throughout 2012.

Some organisations have already started to introduce new measures to help create more transparency in their supply chains.

The notoriously secretive software company, Apple, recently published a list of its suppliers in an effort to tackle criticism over how workers are treated; proving that unsatisfactory supplier relations can certainly generate negative publicity.

The company has also announced that it will be handing over auditing power to independent, non-profit organisation, the Fair Labour Association (FLA) in an attempt to provide unbiased audits across the whole of Apple’s supply chain.

In another example of a company striving to improve supplier relations, builder’s merchants Travis Perkins recently announced that it has invited staff from key vendors to work alongside the head office team. This is a move not too uncommon, with retailers Tesco and Walmart both reporting supply chain improvements since inviting suppliers to work in-house.

With enhanced supplier relations proving to benefit businesses, more may start to look in to increasing communication across their supply-chain.  Where it is not possible to work alongside suppliers, buyers may find eProcurement, eSourcing and contract management software to be beneficial, providing online supplier portals where suppliers and buyers can collaborate and control catalogues, contracts, invoices and other supporting documents.

With cost-cutting a high priority for procurement professionals this year, it seems that improving relationships, communication and trust with suppliers will prove to be a tactical move in helping to meet those savings targets.

Outsourcing has been a common topic for discussion in the procurement industry in recent weeks- this is perhaps due to the mixed bag of opinions that arise when it comes to weighing up the positives and negatives of sourcing products, services and whole departmental functions from external suppliers.

Logistics software company Freightgate conducted a study on trends for 2012 which concluded that supply chain and logistics outsourcing are set to become increasingly popular over the course of the year, with an increasing demand for better collaborative business processes said to be at the heart of the predicted trend.

Peter Smith started the New Year with an article in the UK Spend Matters blog titled ‘Why the public sector needs more outsourcing’ which has since sparked a series of discussions on the whole issue of outsourcing in both the public and private sectors.

The economics of outsourcing have long been disputed among buyers; mostly because of the costs associated with obtaining products and services from external suppliers. But there are also ethical factors to consider - unsafe oil rigs, poor railway maintenance and sub-standard cleaning in hospitals have all been associated with the culture of outsourcing, problems which can generate bad publicity as well as preventing organisations from achieving their (often well-publicised) CSR policy.

While procedures and software can be implemented to help organisations effectively monitor and measure the standards and costs of external suppliers, it is important to ensure that the right balance across quality, efficiency, responsibility and costs is achieved for outsourcing to meet the original needs and organisational objectives.

Over recent weeks the price of oil has been increasing at an alarming rate and with no sign of it slowing down, experts are predicting it could be a major cause of economic disturbance in 2012.

BBC News reported (03/01/2012) that Brent crude closed at $112.27 a barrel, up $4.89 on the day, while US crude was up $4.13 to $102.96.

Encouraging economic data published from the US, China, India and parts of Europe boosted hopes for global recovery and is being partially blamed for the shoot up in prices.

Another damning factor is the possible embargo on Iranian oil exports which was suggested by EU foreign ministers in an attempt to persuade Iran to halt its controversial nuclear programme. It is likely that the tensions in Iran will further increase pressure on governments and businesses to enhance fuel efficiency and seek alternative energy sources.

Supply Management reported last year that investment banking firm Goldman Sachs predicted that a barrel of oil would cost $140 by the end of 2012- the current price is worryingly, not too far from this benchmark. The implications of such a significant price increase would no doubt have a dramatic impact on the logistics sector which would then have a knock on effect for many industries across the world.

With oil costs rising at an astounding pace, money needs to be saved elsewhere –this may mean buyers reducing margins on products and services or a more likely scenario of buyers passing the rising costs on to their suppliers. Making savings wherever possible will be high on the agenda for procurement professionals in the coming months, as businesses fight to keep costs down and minimise the effect of soaring commodity prices.

This year has seen many eSourcing success stories, with both public sector bodies and private companies revealing huge savings following successful eAuction events.

Norfolk County Council revealed that it saved around £218,000 from just two electronic auctions for transport services and the Guardian Government Computing Network reported that an eAuction attracted around 60 operators for contracts to conduct services on 33 school run routes.

At Wax Digital, we have seen our clients drive successful sourcing savings through our on-demand web3 eSourcing platform, which can be delivered as either a managed or customer-driven event.  Oxford University and Friends Provident are amongst customers that have achieved average savings of 37% by utilising eAuctions.

As eTenders and eAuctions are now widely recognised as tactical and strategic tools to enhance savings, it is a great time for us to announce that our web3 eSourcing platform is now available in 10 different languages; Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish and Turkish. Purchasing from overseas suppliers has become somewhat a necessity in many industries to source the best value products, which means that being able to transcend language barriers between buyers and suppliers is now more important than ever.

It has been an exciting year for eProcurement and eSourcing and with another dip in the sea of recession predicted, it is likely that the popularity of eTenders and eAuctions will continue to grow in 2012, providing a helping hand to businesses and helping to achieve savings when they need them most.

Helping to reduce the effects of climate change has become a huge responsibility for big businesses and in recent years companies have been looking deeper in to their supply chains to source the most eco-friendly products in an attempt to minimise their impact on global warming.

The toy manufacturer Hasbro has recently published its core list of suppliers in an effort to encourage transparency and to address corporate social responsibility principles in its supply chain. Other large companies such as Nestle and Coca-Cola are also planning ways to decrease their carbon footprint.

The Drinks Business Review reported that Coca-Cola will be investing £50million into three of its UK facilities to help reduce water consumption and to provide new machines that will help decrease the need for cardboard packaging. Nestle Waters has splashed the cash too, spending £35 million on a new eco-friendly factory in Derbyshire. The company aims to significantly reduce the site’s total energy output and to also reduce the amount of water used in manufacturing.

So many big names are making a conscious effort to ‘go green’ and it is likely that more will follow suit over the next 12 months. With energy and water consumption becoming a major concern around the globe, there is no better time for companies to focus on managing their supply chains to enable them to purchase from the most environmentally-friendly sources possible.

From the start of next year, most public procurement processes are set to be governed by a 120-day deadline. 

Supply Management reported that Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude called for the changes in response to the revelation that the average government procurement currently takes around 200 days to complete. 

The government aims to achieve the target by encouraging closer and earlier engagement with suppliers and markets which should enable more clear and concise invitations to tender, it is hoped that publishing the data will expose failings in the system and encourage greater clarity in government procurements.

eProcurement software is proven to cut costs and shorten the buying cycle by providing transparency through the buying process as well as substantially reducing the processing time. Could eProcurement prove to be the key in helping the government adhere to the strict EU public procurement rules and meet the 120 day deadline?

According to a report published in Food Manufacture, the food and drink manufacturing sector has seen a fall in orders since the start of this year and with festive food prices set to soar in the weeks leading to Christmas, it could be a difficult season for the industry.

The turkey is already the dearest food on the traditional Christmas menu, but the cost per unit is set to rise even further, with the average price of a 12lb turkey increasing from £40 to £50 in just one year.

The Food & Drink Innovation Network reported that the rapidly expanding middle classes of China and India have had a big part to play in the price increase. Because there is a higher demand for meat, turkey feed costs have doubled since the same time last year and this has had a direct impact on the price of fresh meat.

With feed prices increasing substantially, it is inevitable that the price of meat will carry on rising. At times like this it is crucial that buyers dig deeper in to their supply chains to get the best deals on products to ensure that it isn’t the consumer who is left with an empty plate. 

Suppliers have been asked to contribute a per cent of their income from retail giant Marks and Spencer in an effort to revamp its 700 UK stores at a cost of over £600million.

This news first came to light back in October, but as Supply Management reported last week, M&S has now moved in to a negotiation stage with their top 60 suppliers.

The request has received a cold reception from many suppliers; one major supplier has reportedly refused to contribute, whilst others are seeing it as an opportunity to help boost Marks and Spencer’s profits, which could generate reoccurring business for the suppliers in the future.

M&S has so far kept quiet with regard to how they will enforce the request once it has been agreed. They have however suggested that the funding could come through a 1.25% levy on the annual amount that M&S spends with each of the chosen suppliers.

According to the Telegraph, suppliers want to know what they will get from the deal and so far that hasn’t been explained. With a view to providing benefits for both parties, there are other options that M&S could consider including the use of eProcurement technology such as e-sourcing software to run a series of forward and reverse auctions to achieve the same result.

Reverse auctions are particularly useful when a buyer wants to purchase a product for the best price, M&S could save money on the revamps by utilising reverse auctions for the refurbishment contracts themselves rather than levy the costs from unrelated suppliers. Refit contractors would no doubt relish the opportunity to bid for a contract to refit several hundred stores, or to even win a portion of that potential business.

Forward auctions could also be used to generate funds by inviting suppliers to bid for optimum store space in the revamped stores, which again provides a benefit to the supplier. Whilst it may not raise the entire funds needed it could reduce the amount of contributions M&S request from their remaining supply chain.

eSourcing platforms such as web3 can be used as both a strategic and tactical tool to generate savings, limit cost increases and encourage competition and transparency across the supply chain. It will be interesting to see how many of the 60 suppliers opt to support Marks and Spencer and to see how well the stores will do after the refurbishments have been completed.

Are you an M&S supplier? What is your opinion on the request? Are you a leading retailer that faces the same issue? We welcome your comments.

Supply Management reported this week that state income for some universities will be reduced from 60 percent to 40 percent, which will take many below the 50 percent marker that requires EU public procurement rule compliance.

Could reductions in public funding have an upside for universities and ring the changes in sourcing and procurement?

Minister for universities and science, David Willets thinks so.

While the cuts will hit universities hard, supply chain agility will offer a real opportunity. Establishments, like our client Durham University, will be able to operate more like the dynamic buyers of the private sector rather than the public procurement teams that so often get tangled up in red tape.

Being released from EU public procurement rules will mean that the higher education sector can start a new term of bigger savings and greater local economic support.

(Go on! Go on! Up! Up!) 

No, this isn’t the chant of the 33 Chilean miners returning to the earth’s surface last week. But talking of rescues, it was with interest that we read and monitored the recent news and conversation about a sourcing software vendor’s deal to offload its sourcing services arm to a leading BPO provider, citing a refocus on sourcing and procurement applications as a reason. 

Bob Ferrari’s Supply Chain Matters blog makes the point that while outsourcing is initially popular in achievement of savings in a shorter period of time, as the vendor in question’s customers “increased their learning in the use of the software, or conducting of major sourcing events” they “moved away from an external dependence.” 

Is this really a reason for the split? We disagree. Our evidence shows that it is entirely possible for BPO and software to co-exist, long term, in this market. Wax Digital operates both a services and software offering for many of its customers, some of whom choose to outsource at the beginning, then implement, while others simply want to outsource specific auctions and tenders where they need additional expertise, alongside their own use of our software.

We actively encourage increased client learning, one of speculated downfalls of this particular BPO arm, within our user base. The more they know, the more benefits they can realize from our systems. Knowledge transfer does not stifle our business in this way as most customers are not focused on brain rape. It simply opens new doors that they couldn’t previously visualize. They also appreciate the sharing of skills as it reinforces their decision to continue outsourcing to us. 

If the vendor’s BPO customers and prospects are now shunted to an independent as suggested, it changes the dynamics of their supplier relationship. Do they get a comparative service? Vendor independence might indicate the demise of being able to sign up to BPO that is specifically tailored to the same source to pay platform used internally. It comes at a price too. If seamlessly combined software and outsourcing services was one of the reasons the client made their software choice initially, the goalposts have now moved. 

Ferrari says that this event “should cause procurement executives as well as procurement technology selection teams to revisit existing assumptions regarding leveraged use of strategic sourcing technology and coupled services to deliver aggressive cost savings for the business.” We say organizations need to remain positive that this change in the market is not the death toll for bundled process outsourcing and software in the purchasing and supply arena. Never the twain shall meet? On the contrary, this is what a large majority of our customers tell us they want.