Category Archives: RFx / Auctions
Greg Henkin Managing, Partner iXchange, has more than 30 years of experience in the insurance industry. He has held senior management positions in several major insurance brokerages, owned his own brokerage and risk management consulting firms, and now owns and operates the iXchange. In his experience, reverse auctions in the insurance space are most successful when the sourcing event follows these six steps: Establish goals and parameters. Agree on the timing and date of the auction. In addition, you should … More
In Part 1, I covered the model and value of free tools. Click here to read Part 1. In Part 2, I will cover another important component of free tools, support. Another hard truth about free eSourcing tools is that many of them do not come with much support. Perhaps you get some online manuals or a video tutorial, but don’t expect live, experienced user support to help guide you during critical events. The onset of an eSourcing program is … More
Many companies these days are providing free services and technology to different markets. This is not a new trend. Over a decade ago, I got my first free, Web-based e-mail account. It was a Hotmail account and, in fact, I still have it today. Free storage, free tools, free address book, etc. – it’s pretty cool. Today, you can find dozens of free, Web-based e-mail solutions, each having its own hook but all looking pretty much the same. The one … More
As sourcing organizations mature, it becomes more and more challenging to deliver significant savings across well-sourced categories. However, it has been Paladin Associates’ experience that there continue to be opportunities in both direct and indirect categories. Recently a client engaged Paladin to lead the sourcing process for Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers (FIBCs). While the process was not unusual, its rigor demonstrated efficiency, effectiveness and the capability to deliver not only savings, but to provide greater understanding of and continuity of … More
As organizations transition to more “e-enabled” platforms to conduct business ¬— whether it’s e-sourcing, supplier Web portals or conducting business meetings via WebEx or Skype — they will benefit from more opportunities to use these technologies to supplement workforce capability. Recently, I had the opportunity to collaborate with an academic colleague at Indiana University in Indianapolis (IUPUI), Dr. Peggy Daniels Lee, who was teaching a sourcing class. At the time, I was teaching a B2B marketing class at Indiana State … More
The use of reverse auctions has significantly reduced the costs of many commodities that corporations purchase. The “art” of spend management and Group Purchasing Organizations (GPO’s) using reverse auctions is becoming common among private equity firms. The principal focus of spend management is on goods and commodities. The successful application of reverse auctions to such corporate service “spend” categories as legal, accounting and insurance is relatively limited. A few large corporations have experimented with the use of reverse auctions for … More
Is your procurement team presenting symptoms of a serious addiction? If its members are truly and utterly addicted to their macros, pivot tables and spreadsheets, now is the time to stage an intervention. It’s time to take back the efficiency and sanity of your procurement team. This endeavor will not be easy, but remember that you invested tens of thousands of dollars on very powerful sourcing software. Remind them that your sourcing solution helps to minimize the project cycle time. … More
It seems that there are still some misunderstandings in the marketplace about the place of reverse auctions in eSourcing. I’ve noticed that several procurement professionals are facing resistance from their internal stakeholders to using eSourcing platforms. This puzzled me, so I decided to put on my detective’s hat. In my investigation, I determined that many procurement professionals: • Use a rigorous sourcing process or “playbook” • Have a common platform that provides a centralized place for everyone to collaborate and gain visibility … More
A recent article from the Iasta Insights sourcing newsletter listed twelve symptoms or indicators that your organization might be ready for a procurement transformation. According to the article, procurement organizations with five or more symptoms were probably ready. Read the complete article here: Diagnosing the Spend Patient: Twelve Symptoms that may Suggest a Procurement Transformation. The very first indicator, reverse auctions have become a strategy and not just a tool or tactic in a broader sourcing program, made me pause. … More
In Greek mythology, Cerberus is the three-headed dog guarding the gates of Hades. For many of today’s retailers, approaching the topic of indirect or non-merchandise spend is like fighting a three-headed dog. It stumps many retailers because purchases of indirect goods and services are usually not controlled by a center-led procurement organization. Even though indirect goods and services are part of division or store budgets, many retailers have little or no visibility across buying organizations and into spending habits. Retailers … More
People, process and technology are the core of developing a Center of Excellence, which is the fourth tactic to achieving sourcing credibility. People: Does your team help create the IQ of the organization? • Conduct training to fill in the gaps and implement sourcing best practices to build the “nerve center” for a best-in-class process. Process: Do you have processes in place to build the organization disciple for evolutionary cycles that generate greater spend under management? • Evaluate and map current processes. … More
The use of e-sourcing software to interact with potential suppliers has grown dramatically in recent years. However, this same software has been under-utilized in the arena of gathering, analyzing and categorizing internal stakeholder feedback at the outset of a sourcing project. Companies can use their e-sourcing tool to gather (and house) critical internal stakeholder information via the survey portion of the tool. There are many advantages to this approach. First, using the tool sends a clear message that the company … More
• Do you have accurate information to analyze the costs of your fleet? • Can you monitor the fuel and maintenance costs of your vehicles? • Do you have well-defined fleet policies and practices? • Do you know that having “green” fleet driver behaviors reduces costs? • Do you have the most competitive lease and services rates? If not, you can follow these tips to lower costs and improve service levels in Fleet Management: – Collect fleet mileage information for cost analysis, vehicle monitoring and control … More
Love it or hate it, but there is no denying that eSourcing has revolutionized the purchasing arena. Negotiations will never be the same. Strategic eSourcing initiatives, processes and technology bring clear benefits to companies by: • Speeding up the negotiation time. Time savings is one of the most significant benefits of using eSourcing. • Increasing transparency. Both companies and suppliers get real-time visibility into what should be considered fair market prices. • Levelling the playing field for all parties. Everyone receives the information … More
