PurchTips edition #169

It’s the New Year. New years bring new goals, right?

Well, there is a purchasing goal that is both common and wrong. That wrong goal looks similar to this: “Achieve cost savings of $500,000 this year.”

You may ask, “Why is this wrong? This is almost identical to my goal!”

The reason is apparent when you compare it to an example of a goal that is right: “Achieve a cost savings of $500,000 this year while maintaining or improving supplier performance.” Too often, unskilled purchasers try to achieve cost savings goals by replacing old suppliers with cheaper suppliers who fail to meet performance standards. That’s unacceptable and may actually reduce profits instead of increasing them.

As a talented, modern purchaser, you must get the best price while evaluating and qualifying suppliers that will perform better than the incumbent. This means improving on-time delivery, material defect rates, supplier service levels and internal customer satisfaction on top of getting a lower price.

Also consider that achieving cost savings does not always mean finding new suppliers. If ever there was a time ripe for negotiating with incumbent suppliers, it is in today’s weak global economy. Retaining existing suppliers – provided that they are financially healthy – is one way of mitigating the risk of having supplier performance degrade.

So be sure to mention supplier performance in your cost savings goals! And if you’re not in a position to rewrite your “wrong” cost savings goal, share metrics showing maintained or improved supplier performance when reporting your actual cost savings throughout the year. It will show management and internal customers that you know the importance and impact of modern purchasing.

Are you tired of not getting enough opportunities, respect, and money out of your procurement career? Well, guess what? Nothing will change unless you take action towards becoming a world-class procurement professional.

Earning your SPSM Certification is the action to take if you want to bring the most modern procurement practices into your organization and achieve your career potential. Download the SPSM Certification Guide today to learn how to get started on your journey to a more rewarding procurement career!

Are you a procurement leader whose team isn’t achieving the results you know are possible? Maybe it’s not enough cost savings. Or frustrating performance from the supply base. Or dissatisfied internal customers.

You need a performance improvement plan that’s easy to implement and quick to produce results. The NLPA can help.

Download our whitepaper “The Procurement Leader’s Guide To A More Successful Team.” You’ll learn the 7 steps for transforming your staff into a results-producing, world-class procurement team.

Members of the NLPA get more than just articles like this by email. As a member, you also get access to:

• The Procurement Training & Certification Starter Kit
• The latest Purchasing & Supply Management Salaries Report
• Leading-Edge Supply Management™ magazine
• Members-only webinars 10x per year
• And more!

If you haven’t been taking advantage of these benefits, why not log in and start now?