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michael

Nov 14

Your Procurement Blueprint

By Procurement No Comments

Embarking on the Journey of Strategic Procurement: Crafting Your Blueprint for Success

 

In the grand scheme of business operations, procurement often takes a backseat in the limelight, yet it remains a cornerstone of a company’s strategic foundation. This pivotal process, if navigated with foresight and finesse, can propel a business to new heights of efficiency and financial prowess.

The question then arises: What does your Procurement Blueprint look like, and how does it integrate within the larger vision of your enterprise?

Understanding the Essence of a Procurement Blueprint

Procurement, when envisioned as a blueprint, suggests a strategic, systematic approach akin to an architect’s detailed plan for a building.

It’s a comprehensive design that details every beam and bolt of the procurement function — from process mapping to technology integration. This blueprint is the silent sentinel of your supply chain, ensuring every aspect is meticulously orchestrated and aligned with your business’s heartbeat.

The Architectural Parallel: Procurement and Building Design

Just as an architect meticulously plans each aspect of a building’s construction, a procurement blueprint outlines each stage of the procurement cycle with precision. We’re talking about a step-by-step guide, from supplier selection and contract negotiation to purchase order management and performance evaluation.

Each phase is pivotal, akin to the foundational layers of a high-rise. Take supplier selection — it’s not merely about who can give you the best price, but who aligns with your quality standards, ethical practices, and delivery schedules.

Contract negotiation is about crafting agreements that are flexible yet robust, ensuring they weather market fluctuations and unforeseen events. Purchase order management is the logistics ballet, where timing is everything, and performance evaluation is the retrospective analysis that sharpens your blueprint for future builds.

Incorporating Best Practices and Technology

A procurement blueprint is not static; it’s a living document that evolves with best practices and technological advancements. Leveraging technology, such as SAP Ariba™, is like choosing the right materials for construction — it can make or break the efficiency and resilience of your procurement operations.

SAP Ariba, for instance, streamlines procurement by providing end-to-end automated solutions, reducing manual errors, and saving time. It allows for better supplier management, contract compliance, and spend analysis, turning data into actionable insights. By integrating such technology, your blueprint is not just a plan; it’s a high-powered engine driving your procurement process.

Tailoring to Fit: The Customization of Your Blueprint

No two companies are the same, and neither should their procurement blueprints be. Your blueprint should be a tailored suit, fitting the contours of your company’s needs and strategy. It’s about understanding your company’s unique market position, internal processes, and long-term goals.

Customization means scrutinizing the supply chain to identify areas for cost savings, efficiency improvements, and risk mitigation. It’s also about aligning procurement objectives with overall business goals, whether that’s market expansion, sustainability, or innovation.

The Foundation: Building a Strong Procurement Framework

At its core, a procurement blueprint lays the groundwork for a robust procurement operation. It builds a strong foundation that supports the weight of supply chain optimization and delivers tangible value through cost savings and efficiency.

A well-structured blueprint not only guides current operations but also equips your company to adapt to changes in the market, technology, and regulatory environments. It’s a tool that helps manage risks and seize opportunities, ensuring procurement is an enabler of growth, not a bottleneck.

The Outcome: Value Creation and Strategic Advantage

The true worth of a procurement blueprint lies in the value it creates for the company. It’s not just about cutting costs; it’s about investing in relationships, quality, and innovation. It’s about strategic sourcing that aligns with company values and goals, creating a competitive advantage.

A robust procurement strategy can lead to improved supplier relationships, where partners are engaged in a collaborative, win-win relationship. It can streamline operations, reduce cycle times, and enhance the company’s ability to respond to market demands.

Your Blueprint, Your Legacy

Just as a building’s blueprint is critical to its structural integrity and functionality, so too is a procurement blueprint to a company’s operational and financial health. A well-crafted procurement blueprint is not just a reflection of your company’s current practices; it’s a roadmap to where you want to go and the legacy you wish to build.

As we delve into the intricacies of creating such a blueprint, we must ask ourselves: Are we merely laying bricks and mortar, or are we sculpting the future skyline of our business? The answer lies in the strength of your procurement blueprint — your strategic masterplan for procurement excellence.

Sep 05

Kickoff Time: What Procurement Pros Can Learn From Football Season

By Procurement No Comments

Summer is winding down, school is back in session, and a chill is in the air – that can only mean football season has arrived!

As both college and professional teams take the field this fall, there are valuable insights procurement professionals can gain from the gridiron.

Even if you aren’t a devoted football fan, the lessons from this beloved sport can help take your procurement game to the next level.

Build a Championship Team

A “dream team” procurement organization isn’t built overnight like a top football program. It takes a thoughtful draft strategy, constantly evaluating needs versus available talent. Creating depth and competence across the function requires mixing promising rookies with veteran players who know how to do the job.

Procurement managers must regularly assess gaps, recruit standout new team members, and develop rising stars.

Investing in training and development will strengthen the bench. And just as a football team strives for unity, a collaborative, tight-knit procurement group will outshine a disjointed roster.

Be Ready for Any Play

Broken plays and audibles are par for the course on the football field. Running backs have to quickly change direction to dodge tackles. Quarterbacks adjust on the fly and find new targets downfield. Procurement pros know things sometimes go differently than planned, too.

Supply chain disruptions, new regulations, mergers and acquisitions, emerging tech, and shifting stakeholder needs can force changes to supplier timelines, agreements, and processes. Like skilled players, procurement teams must think fast, pivot, and adapt to the dynamic environment.

Mastering the art of agility turns challenges into fresh opportunities.

Go Deep on Analysis

Coaches and players spend hours reviewing game film, analyzing strengths and weaknesses, tendencies, and patterns. This intensive prep work is vital in forming a winning strategy. Procurement should adopt the same laser focus when assessing suppliers and markets.

Detailed spend and risk analysis will spotlight sourcing priorities to tackle. Digging into customer feedback and usage metrics will pinpoint where demand is headed. And performance data will indicate which suppliers are all-star players versus underperformers.

Just like coaches mapping out plays, solid analytics position procurement to make the right moves.

Teamwork Scores Big Results

On the football field, it takes cohesion, communication, and coordination across the team to score. Hand-offs, blocks, fakes, catches, and more – every player fulfilling their role is critical to driving the ball down the field.

Procurement wins when there is alignment across the business, too. Including stakeholders early, maintaining open dialog, and earning buy-in helps procurement execute sourcing strategies smoothly.

Cross-functional collaboration also provides a more accurate view of organizational needs and the best path to meet them. Unified teamwork is a proven game-winning approach.

Foster a Championship Culture

The best college and professional football franchises have a winning tradition that sets a tone of excellence and continuous improvement. Players and coaches set high standards and do whatever it takes to achieve them.

Procurement groups can also establish cultural benchmarks, adopt best practices, and create an environment where team members feel valued and motivated to succeed. Whether it’s celebrating cost-saving wins, advancing skills through training, or giving back to the community, creating procurement team pride and unity will pay dividends.

Keep Eyes on the Prize

Of course, every football team is laser-focused on one ultimate objective – to win the league championship! Though the season is long, every practice, play, and decision aims to inch closer to the prize.

Similarly, procurement needs to keep the big-picture goals on the scoreboard. Is it cost mitigation, risk reduction, user satisfaction, or sustainable supply chains? Despite day-to-day tasks, maintaining perspective on desired outcomes and aligning strategies to get there will ensure procurement eyes the right prize.

So, as you follow football this season, notice lessons from the gridiron that could raise your procurement organization’s game.

With preparation, adaptability, analytics, teamwork, culture, and strategic vision, your procurement program will be positioned to score big wins all season long!

 

Need a procurement game plan? Talk to the team at Premikati!

Jun 14

The Undeniable Value of Procurement Managed Services for Portfolio Performance

By Private Equity No Comments

Procurement’s Hidden Superpower: How Managed Services Turn Costs Into Cash

Operating partners are always on the hunt for ways to squeeze more value out of their portfolio companies. But here’s the thing: while everyone’s chasing flashy tech upgrades and sexy growth strategies, they’re ignoring the goldmine right under their noses.

Procurement.

Yes, procurement. The department most people treat like a necessary evil. But what if I told you it could be your secret weapon for cost savings and operational efficiency?

Enter procurement-managed services.

Why Managed Services Are the Procurement Game-Changer You Need

Let’s face it: traditional procurement is broken. It’s slow, clunky, and about as exciting as watching paint dry. But managed services? They’re the upgrade your portfolio companies didn’t know they needed.

Here’s why:

  • Data-Driven Decisions: Managed services bring analytics to the table, turning gut-feel buying into a science.
  • Immediate Impact: We’re talking 8% to 12% savings on purchase costs—right out of the gate.
  • Scalable Expertise: Think of it as having a team of procurement ninjas on speed dial, ready to tackle everything from paperclips to cloud contracts.

The Secret Sauce: Intelligent Buying + Smart Spending

Managed services aren’t just about cutting costs. They’re about spending smarter.

  • Volume Aggregation: By pooling demand across clients, managed services can negotiate prices that make your CFO do a happy dance.
  • Category Expertise: From IT to facilities, these teams bring real-time market insights that most in-house teams can only dream of.
  • Sustainable Savings: This isn’t a one-time win. It’s a long-term strategy that keeps delivering, quarter after quarter.

The Proof Is in the Pudding (and the Profits)

Still not convinced? Let’s talk numbers.

  • One company hacked 19% off its operating costs by outsourcing its purchasing function.
  • Another saw average savings of nearly 30% in its first three categories after centralizing procurement.

That’s not just pocket change. That’s transformational.

But Wait—There’s a Catch

Before you rush to outsource everything, here’s the reality check: managed services aren’t a magic bullet.

  • Strategic Buying Requires Collaboration: Labor arbitrage works for transactional stuff, but strategic procurement? That needs close internal teamwork.
  • Demand Management Is Tricky: Capturing 40% to 50% of total savings through demand and spec management? It’s possible, but it’s not easy.

The key is knowing what to outsource and what to keep in-house.

The Big Picture: Procurement as a Strategic Asset

Here’s the bottom line: managed services can turn procurement from a cost center into a value driver.

  • Advanced Analytics: They’ll mine your spending data for insights you didn’t even know were there.
  • Industry Best Practices: Learn from the pros and avoid reinventing the wheel.
  • Scalable Solutions: Whether you’re managing one portfolio company or a dozen, managed services grow with you.

The TL;DR

Procurement-managed services aren’t just a nice-to-have. They’re a must-have for operating partners who want to unlock hidden value in their portfolio companies.

So, what’s your move? Keep treating procurement like an afterthought, or turn it into your secret weapon?

As an SAP Ariba™ Gold Partner, PREMIKATI is here to help you do just that.

Click here to talk to our team. (No procurement jargon, we promise.)

 

Jul 12

Contract Cubes for Private Equity

By Private Equity No Comments

Contract Cubes: How PE Firms Turn Paperwork Into a Profit Engine

In private equity, time isn’t just money—it’s oxygen. And most PE firms are suffocating under analog contracts, rogue spreadsheets, and procurement habits stuck in the Stone Age.

Here’s the problem: managing supplier contracts across 10 (or 100) portfolio companies isn’t just tedious. It’s a massive missed opportunity.

PE firms stuck in spreadsheet purgatory? They’re leaving millions on the table. But the ones using tools like SAP’s contract cubes? They’re not just saving time—they’re printing money.

Why Contract Cubes Are PE’s New Best Friend

Let’s cut through the jargon: contract cubes are like Google for your procurement chaos. They turn messy contract data into actionable intel—fast.

The result? Firms using them aren’t just managing contracts. They’re weaponizing them.

1. Keyword Magic: Find Hidden Gold in Your Contracts
Imagine typing “cloud storage” and instantly seeing:

  • Which 5 portfolio companies are paying 3 different prices for the same SaaS tool
  • That one supplier willing to slash rates if you consolidate orders
  • The niche vendor two portcos already use (and love)

That’s the power of searchable, centralized contract data. No more “We didn’t know MarketingCo was already buying this!” moments.

2. Numbers Don’t Lie (But Your Spreadsheets Do)
Contract cubes serve up the cold, hard facts:

  • “Supplier A’s ‘discount’ is 12% higher than Supplier B’s standard rate”
  • “Renewal deadline in 14 days → renegotiate NOW or get price-gouged”
  • “This vendor’s delivery times suck (but Accounting hasn’t noticed… yet)”

Transparency = power. And power means better deals, fewer emergencies, and LPs who stop asking “Why didn’t we catch this sooner?”

3. Supplier Darwinism: Keep the Best, Ditch the Rest
Contract cubes let you rank suppliers like a fantasy football draft:

  • “This mom-and-pop shop delivers faster than Amazon”
  • “That ‘strategic partner’ jacked up prices 18% last quarter”
  • “These 3 vendors will give kickbacks if we bundle contracts”

Suddenly, every renewal becomes a profit opportunity—not a panic attack.

4. The Big Picture Most PE Firms Miss
While competitors sweat individual portco performance, contract cube users spot trends like:

  • “Every industrial company in our portfolio is overpaying for HVAC maintenance”
  • “We could save $2M/year by creating an internal marketplace for IT hardware”
  • “This niche supplier’s AI tool just became a must-have for 80% of our SaaS companies”

That’s how you go from managing portfolios to dominating markets.

The Ugly Truth No One Admits
Even rockstar procurement teams drown in cross-portco complexity. Why?

  • Legacy contracts buried in Sharepoint purgatory
  • Departmental buyers who think “volume discount” means using the same Staples coupon
  • Renewal dates that sneak up like a Netflix subscription you forgot to cancel

That’s why Premikati’s PE-specific procurement BPO exists. We don’t just implement contract cubes—we:

  • Mine your contracts for savings you didn’t know existed
  • Turn supplier data into negotiation ammo
  • Handle the messy work so your team looks like geniuses

The Bottom Line
In PE, margins are won in the fine print. Contract cubes don’t just help you read that print—they help you rewrite it in your favor.

Ready to stop being a paperwork janitor and start being a profit architect?

Click here to talk to our team. (We’ll bring the digital shovel.)

Premikati: SAP Ariba™ Gold Partners who actually make procurement fun (or at least profitable).

Dec 21

The Future of Work: Women in Procurement

By Procurement No Comments

The past 22-months have dramatically altered both how and where we work. And women have been disproportionately affected.

How will this change as we begin to emerge from the pandemic? How can we build a networked economy and create new opportunities for women?

Join Dawn Tiura, President & CEO of the Sourcing Industry Group, in conversation with Marisol Buczynski Buchanan, President & CEO of Premikati, and Elizabeth Lizotte-Brown, Sr Director for Channel Partnerships, The Mom Project, for a discussion on these topics and their perspectives.

Dec 22

3 Business Resolutions You Can Actually Keep In 2021

By Procurement No Comments

The New Year of 2021 is right around the corner, and many are breathing a sigh of relief that 2020 is finally coming to a close. After a daunting, strenuous, and uncertain year for nearly everyone on the globe, the tradition of setting New Year’s resolutions can be a welcome change of pace that requires focus on the positive and a future that holds brighter possibilities that are, at least somewhat, within our control.

But if you’re like many people, your business resolutions may suffer from an eyes-bigger-than-your mouth scenario. Despite a color-coded bullet journal, habit tracker, ergonomic chair, and the best of intentions, businesses usually run out of steam within the first few weeks. And this year, there’s all the stipulations and precautions to navigate in the midst of a pandemic to also consider—things like attend 10x business networking events, etc.

We’ve put together a list of three, Covid-friendly New Year’s resolutions for business that you can actually keep amid the chaos.

Prioritize worker health and safety above anything else

Now more than ever, it’s important to make sure your employees are taken care of. Follow all recommendations such as safe social distancing, proper mask usage that is enforced, and regular hand washing.

Additionally, you can set aside time for employees to simply chat on a call wih their coworkers. For many adults, the people we work with are our main source of non-family socialization with people in our age group. If working from home is starting to make employees feel isolated and irritable, schedule time on the clock for workers to regain some camaraderie.

This is a good tactic for reputation management as well. Businesses who chose money over worker safety in early 2020 have received a lot of backlash for their actions. Many people have begun to actively refuse to purchase from brands that don’t respect their workers.

Clean up your remote work processes

If you just started with online work because of the pandemic, then you’ve likely gone through some growing pains this year. In 2021, vow to clean up your remote work processes by:

  • Managing tool subscriptions. Delete unneeded accounts to save immediate cash.
  • Creating standard operating procedures for common tasks such as blog posts
  • Choosing a unified system for all employees such as Google Drive or Slack and then communicating

Learn how to set effective KPIs

Just like personal goals, many businesses struggle with KPIs. They sound great on paper, but don’t perform their intended function in an overarching sense.

Take some time out in 2021 in order to reclaim time for years to come by doing a deep dive into goal planning and key performance indicators. Explore how to set realistic goals and KPIs that will actually gauge your success at meeting them.

Learning to set effective KPIs now can save you years of tried and failed attempts, wasted money, and trial-and-error loops that make only tiny incremental progress. Choosing the right ones and working toward them with consistency can be a gamechanger in your business if you’re used to doing everything by feeling, instinct, and happenstance. Having some measurable stats can also boost your team’s morale and keep them on track with insight into how what they do fits into the big picture of what’s most important to your company.

What are your New Year’s resolutions? At Premikati, we’re working harder than ever to make sure our clients have a wide range of features, a supplier list not to be reckoned with, and a simple interface for all of their purchasing needs. We also offer business process outsourcing in order to optimize the use of your time so you can use your time to its fullest.

Dec 22

What 2021 Has In Store For Supply Chain And Procurement

By Blog No Comments

As December 31, 2020 fast approaches, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that we might as well start calling the “new normal” plain-old no-modifier “normal,” because what we used to call normal is over. While that reality sets in, we turn towards 2021 with hope of redemption, some way to calm the effects of the first year of this decade. 

We’ve seen a record-breaking number of named storms this season at a whopping 30, six of which were major hurricanes. We’ve seen the rise of the coronavirus pandemic, the overburdened hospitals and overtaxed supply chains which led to no respirators and no toilet paper and a lot of desperate people. We’ve seen riots abound. And politics? Let’s not even start down that path. 

But we’ve also seen the advent of not one, but multiple vaccinations show results in fighting Covid-19, the product of researchers around the globe sharing for the greater good. We’ve seen suppliers and manufacturers rise to the occasion to protect humanity at its most vulnerable. More than any other year in recent decades, we’ve seen the innovation and sheer force of will that keep people going, growing, changing, and making progress no matter the obstacles in the way. You can see it with online schooling, work from home, distilleries turned sanitizer manufacturers, and widespread curbside pickup. As easy as it is to lose track of, as a species, we are teaming up to fight the pandemic and to support one another, as best we can from a safe social distance (six feet apart, we’re told.) 

So what do all these changes mean for supply chain and manufacturing? This segment of the economy has not escaped unscathed, and 2021 is likely to bring even more profound changes as complex ideas come to fruition in the face of a chaotic world. Here’s what you can expect: 

All eyes on supply chain, our unsuspecting heroes

Supply chain professionals tend to fly under the radar, invisibly managing the gears that keep humanity buzzing along. But when people can’t get the equipment they need to survive or maintain their basic quality of life (things like toilet paper, Lysol, hand soap, N-95 masks, and respirators, to name a few) then those who have never given a second thought to where and from whom all these sorts of items come, they start to scrutinize the why’s. 

During Covid, this has meant monitoring suppliers for ethical dilemmas such as price gouging or dangerous working conditions. Throughout 2021, expect consumers and businesses alike to offer deep scrutiny to supply chain practices as old world ways break down entirely in our now-digital economy (with our overburdened postal service.)  

Suppliers who come up with innovative solutions and respect the health of their employees will see increased loyalty and applause while people are paying more attention than ever. As is natural, bad apples will float to the top—perhaps only faster now in the mid-pandemic world. 

Expect more recognition, too, as consumers begin to see and value the role of various players in their supply chains.

A much colder supply chain

As vaccines are introduced to patients around the globe, somebody has to transport these ultra-sensitive products. Current Covid vaccines require a maintained temperature of  -70 degrees Celsius ©, or -94 Fahrenheit. With so many people at risk, and each patient requiring two doses for the vaccine to be effective, we can expect a rise in focus on transportation refrigeration technology that can sustain such low temperatures. In the same vein, a need for transparency and verifiable track records that show chain of custody, temperature consistency, etc. (probably via some IoT device paired with blockchain tech) will drive innovations among supply chain startups.

Susan Beardslee, Freight Transportation, and Logistics Principal Analyst at ABI Research has described the efforts needed to effectively supply the Covid-19 vaccines as “Herculean” and requiring “efforts beyond the actual vaccine development and approval.”

Continued volatility and increased automation

No one in supply chain, logistics, or manufacturing has been spared of the uncertainty and volatility caused by the coronavirus. Driver shortages and overburdened warehouses paired with a teetering economy make for delicate and unprecedented balance to be struck in order to stay afloat and stay relevant. Many in the supply chain realm are turning to machine learning in order to help predict what might come next and how to proceed. Some manufacturers consider lights-out factories that are fully automated—essentially, someone pops in to turn the lights out, and the robots handle the rest. 

Businesses will need to remain flexible in order to adapt to what 2021 has to offer without breaking under the weight of the chaos. 

The disappearance of smaller companies

Of course, not everyone will succeed, even if they stay flexible and do everything “right.” Covid-19 has already brought businesses to their knees across a wide range of industries. An unfortunate truth is that smaller companies often can’t face the pressure or constantly changing variables that come with a crisis-minded market.

At least in the US, government funding for small business can sometimes be finicky to navigate, and there’s no guarantee of continued support for small businesses. 

Nearshoring and Regionalization

Expect supply chain companies to look to nearshoring and regionalization to help manage logistics and cost. Companies will more frequently turn to neighboring countries for products that may have once been bought overseas. This allows for redundancy, cost savings, and strengthening and revitalization of local economies for an easier recovery from 2020’s effects. 

Some aspects of 2021 are just going to be a matter of wait and see, especially as rapidly as the world is changing in response to the pandemic. No matter the specs you need from a supplier, 

Premikati Marketplace has you covered. If you’re looking for professional services to help give you a competitive edge in today’s strange market, Premikati can help by managing your business processes using our team of experts. Reach out to us today to see how we can help your business flourish in 2021. 

Dec 07

2 Things Your Business Needs To Do ASAP

By Procurement No Comments

Do you need to take a serious assessment of your business right now?

For months, we’ve seen how COVID-19 has affected our personal lives, businesses, and the way our society functions in general. And if you haven’t taken the time to really dive into how your business is functioning from the ground up, I challenge you to make this your top priority.

The impact that COVID-19 has had on business is emphasizing what has always been true: The future is filled with unforeseen circumstances, and the world is changing fast. Businesses need to be smart, agile, and innovative, but it’s hard to do this if you don’t have a solid foundation in place.

Many businesses are experiencing budget cuts and a reduced workforce. Now is the time to become more strategic with your game plan and fix or improve current processes.

Plain and simple, if you haven’t already, you need to:

1. Cut costs.
2. Make sure time is used efficiently as possible.

Of course, while this may be simple, it is frequently not easy. Here are ways you can approach making these essential assessments:

You Need to Dial In Your Spending.
We want our businesses to not just survive—we want them to thrive. However, especially in the last several months, many companies have shifted into survival mode.

Companies in many industries are having to take a hard look at their expenses, and there have been significant cuts across the board. It’s essential to stay lean and mean, and you need to be bold, proactive, and smart when evaluating where you can cut back.

Part of successfully cutting costs begins with asking the right questions. I encourage businesses to consider:

  • What do you actually NEED for your business to operate right now? Are you actually accumulating things you don’t need? How have your needs changed with more employees working from home?
  • How are purchases approved? Who is in charge of approving purchases? Are they able to review and approve in a timely manner? Are inefficient processes causing your business to miss out on important opportunities that could have been? Who is spending money on what, and how can you find out this information?
  • Are you actually buying from the BEST supplier for your specific needs? Are you getting the very best deals on items you truly need? Are the products you’re using high quality? Does your supplier provide a top-notch shopping experience so you don’t waste time? Does your supplier provide excellent customer service?

Not only do you need to simplify your procurement process, but you need to make sure you’re also getting the most out of it.

Is Valuable Time Being Wasted?

While working from home can have its perks, there is an added layer of complexity due to the unique challenges of COVID-19. People are not simply “working from home”; they are doing everything from home. And with budget cuts, employees may be working harder and longer hours than ever.

Your goal here is to let your employees spend time on the things that really sustain and grow your business. Again, identifying how to fix and improve processes begins with asking the right questions:

  • Are your employees wasting valuable hours on easy-to-solve procurement issues? For example, how many hours do they spend manually reconciling purchase orders with invoices? (How many hours or days does this add up to each year?)
  • How long do employees spend researching the suppliers with the lowest costs? After investing in hours researching suppliers, have you ended up actually saving money? Are the suppliers reputable? Do they offer white glove customer support where you can talk to a real person right away?
  • How much time does it take to get set up with each new supplier? Is it worth the investment? How long until you’ll need to find a new supplier to grow with your business? How long will it take you to figure out if it’s the best fit for your needs?

Don’t waste time doing things that have simple, elegant solutions already available.

***

No matter what your unique challenges may be during this time, every business can benefit from taking a hard look at how time and money are being used.

If you read this and felt slightly panicked or overwhelmed, you’re not alone. This stuff is hard. It can be time-consuming to figure out, and sometimes it can feel easier to let things get done the way they always have, instead of making the investment in a potential solution that may or may not work out. You need to figure out a way to make big changes… without wasting even more money and time.

Premikati Marketplace has you covered. How can you know for sure? We know from experience exactly what businesses (like yours!) struggle with the most.

Premikati Marketplace helps your business:

  • Cut costs. Companies that use Premikati Marketplace save up to 35% due to pre-negotiated pricing on millions of items, efficiencies, and spend visibility.
  • Use time efficiently. Set up Premikati Marketplace in less than 24 hours. You don’t need any IT or technical admin support, either.

Click here to learn more about the Premikati Marketplace

Oct 02

The Spokes in the Wheel of Procurement

By Procurement No Comments

So many things have changed in 2020, what a year! But, what matters most is ensuring the spokes of your procurement wheels are all there. It really comes down to the most important fundamentals within the entire procurement space.

Typically, procurement involves designing and deploying strategies that will drive value from the supplier base. To start this process requires in-depth research on current and emerging trends to help determine new solutions and which suppliers are the best fit. Then, it is about managing relationships, conducting best practices in negotiation, and driving a cost-effective plan. Tools to ensure best-in-class procurement can vary from business to another, but here are the essential practices.

Use cloud-based procurement tools

There isn’t a better time than the present to implement future-ready procurement activities. Make sure team members have more time to spend on strategic initiatives, as well as reducing repetitive manual tasks are all vital for continuity especially in the face of unprecedented circumstances.

Invariably, technology plays a massive component of everyday activities. As such, a procurement digital transformation becomes inevitable. Moreover, competitive organizations are the ones taking the lead around implementing digital procurement processes.

Initiate supplier evaluation

Unquestionably this is a crucial step. It takes analytical insights and data to evaluate a potential supplier comprehensively before sending out the contract. In addition, you must execute due diligence around quality, delivery, pricing, and supply chain transparency. Some say this is one of the most important spokes of your procurement wheel.

Many businesses consider procurement as one of their top priorities since it can take up a significant portion of their overall spend. While many companies still have manual procurement practices in place, it’s critical to transition to and embrace relevant technology solutions to keep up with evolving business and consumer demands.

Interview prospective vendors

It is imperative to interview vendors to learn more about their services and products. Every business has a set of suppliers who deliver essential products and services. Yet, qualifying and managing suppliers can become quite complex. It begins with identification of a prospective supplier, then onboarding, scheduling, invoicing, and payments. When executed manually, these processes can take hours each. Other ways to improve supplier engagement include:

  • Viewing suppliers as strategic partners
  • Setting parameters around specific KPIs
  • Creating a mutually-beneficial partnership based on trust
  • Facilitating easy communication and collaboration

Optimize inventory

Depending on the economy, and shifts in the market, profit margins can shrink. As such, it is crucial to constantly be on the lookout for ways to improve profits and control spend. So then, procurement should be involved in optimizing inventory as the cost of “holding” inventory is much greater than ordering products. Generally, holding costs should be no more than 30 percent – this includes consumable items, electronics, clothing, and more.

So what causes an unbalanced inventory? Usually, it is the result of ineffective forecasting and planning. To improve inventory management requires data-driven analytics and insights. Ask these questions to help optimize your inventory:

  • Have any products or services been over-or-under purchased?
  • What is the ratio of operating inventory relative to excess stock?
  • What is the desired rate of purchases?
  • Do purchase orders align with current inventory levels?

Incorporate spend transparency

Transparency opens opportunities for finding savings and enhancing operational efficiencies. Not to mention, spend transparency enables accountability while mitigating the potential for fraud. What steps can you take to incorporate spend transparency? Below are a few of the fundamentals:

  • Spend time defining and deploying procurement policies
  • Document every step of your procurement wheel and monitor progress
  • Make sure your contracts are fool-proof
  • Execute audits frequently

The objective is to decimate maverick and dark spending. With procurement technology, you can use the power of automation and analytics to do just that.

Improve contract management

How would you rate your bargaining abilities? Negotiation skills are paramount in terms of procurement. You don’t want to bend on either quantity or quality. When you embark upon a well-negotiated partnership, you improve your competitive edge while inducing cost savings where needed. One of the most common issues in procurement is contract management.

Why do contracts matter? For many reasons including consistency, supply chain continuity, and budgeting. And, it’s also critical to have a central repository where you can quickly review, manage, and audit your contracts at any time – accessible from anywhere.

Collaborate with suppliers

Now that you have initiated the contract, it’s time to ensure a steady workflow to ensure product shipment or service delivery remains smooth. This is also the time to have backup plans in place in the event of an unforeseen scenario. Supplier management is all about people management.

Manage in-house expectations

Remember that you will still need to win over the confidence of your team members regarding both quantity and quality expectations. As a result, it is important to be prepared for any potential issues, to be transparent with your responses, and to be open to team suggestions.

Review periodically

You might have signed the contract, but it’s not over yet. Now, you must be vigilant to keep suppliers on task with fulfilling their agreements. Still, you must be diplomatic at all times. Keep an eye on the contracts, market conditions, and evolving business requirements.

Final thought

You are now aware of the spokes of your procurement wheel. Some of these processes might seem familiar while others could be new. Nonetheless, procurement excellence mandates proper implementation. The first step in creating a competitive and sustainable procurement process is with the right technology tools. Only then can you make data-driven decisions, maintain compliance, reduce expenses, optimize inventory, and more. Contact Premikati today if you’re ready to take the spokes of your procurement wheel to the next level.

Sep 04

Contract Management for CFOs

By Contract Management No Comments

7 Ways Financial Departments Benefit From A Modern Contract Management System

 

Finance and procurement go together like peanut butter and jelly. Procurement teams must have both time and funds to complete their tasks while financial departments must control spend and guide money towards the highest-impact activities available. Contract management software like SAP Ariba help finance and procurement work together smoothly while saving everyone a ton of time and money. Here are seven ways a good contract management system can benefit your financial department: 

Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TOC)

If there’s one thing that excites a finance pro as much as increasing a company’s revenue, it’s saving a boatload of money. Using a contract management system is a high-impact path to lower TOC vs. a traditional pen, paper, and fax machine system. Between reduced liability costs, on-time contract renewals, salaries that go further thanks to a major speedboost, and data-based insights into suppliers, a proper contract management system can go a long way to reduce costs. As compared to the analog method and other digital contract management systems on the market, SAP Ariba offers more bang for the buck at a lower price point for any small to medium enterprise looking for a robust contract management system. 

Mitigate The Risk Of Costly Liability Issues

Many risks are preventable with the right tools. Contract management systems help mitigate risks, effectively saving money, in a variety of ways. First, they reduce contract errors such as unsigned fields or accepting a modified, nonstandard contract without review. Because compliance and performance information is stored within the CMS, it’s also easier to see which suppliers may pose problems for the business in the future by offering shoddy quality products or failing to maintain compliance with governmental agencies. 

Stopping these problems from the onset can save massive amounts of money in legal fees as well as reductions due to loss of reputation. 

Broadstroke Benefits With E-signatures

E-signatures let suppliers sign their contracts online. This process can save a lot of money compared to mailing back and forth paper materials which can be bulky and expensive, especially in the face of rising mail costs. The e-signature, however, is traceable and secure. Platforms that offer this service such as DocuSign—the software of choice for SAP Ariba contracts—come with other perks too. They walk signers through each step of the signing process, highlighting the field to sign or initial to make sure no spaces are left blank. This reduces fees that could be associated with any legal recourse that arises from an unsigned or improperly-signed contract. 

Save Time And Reduce Salary Costs

Perhaps more beneficial, e-signature software reminds signers to complete the task which not only ensures compliance, it saves a ton of money in time procurement doesn’t have to spend to reach out and pester people for signature. The cost associated with procurement and legal professionals can quickly balloon if employees get bogged down in sluggish outdated processes. By providing contract templates and a clause library as well as esignature functionality and dashboards with the most important information, each employee can focus more on high-impact tasks instead of menial, wrote jobs. 

Never Miss A Key Date

Especially when underperformance has been an issue, missing a key date to cancel or renew a contract with a supplier can be devastating financially. While it can be incredibly tedious to try to manage all major contract renewal dates using analog methods, a good contract management system can keep everyone on track for success. SAP Ariba offers users a dashboard with upcoming important dates such as contract renewals so there is ample time for research and negotiation that could save a lot of money.

Gain Full Visibility Of The Entire Contract Lifecycle

Optimization is hard when you can’t see everything at play. Contract management software offers financial departments full visibility into the contract management lifecycle making it easier to analyze, strategize, and optimize for the best possible cash flow scenario. With SAP Ariba, the entire set of actions from initiation to renewal are kept in a central database with a variety of other supplier information within a fully-auditable trail. 

Analyze Your Best-Value Suppliers 

With more information about each individual supplier, finance professionals gain insight into  how each supplier plays a role in the organization. Which suppliers bring the most value to the table based on a variety of factors? Where is there room for negotiation? Which suppliers should be replaced as soon as possible. By understanding where value lies within your contracts and suppliers, it’s easier to make wise choices without all the guesswork of papers and pens. 

About Premikati

Premikati is a woman-owned business of procurement experts providing best-in-class software to maximize your company’s ROI.  

Our award-winning team has a 100% success rate implementing on-time and on-budget, due to our agility, leanness, operational experience, and the ability to tailor the transformation process from C-level to end user. (For more information, visit www.premikati.com)

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