JULY 2011
Welcome to the summer edition of By the Buy… our regular company newsletter. We are half way through
what is turning into a very busy year and it's worth noting that we have already released two significant updates
for the platform. This gives an indication of our commitment to being on top of our game and producing the
best and most easy to use sourcing platform. Continual improvement is desirable in all walks of life but the
pace of change in this sector mean it is essential. We sometimes meet companies who seem to have adopted
a 'if it's not broken, why fix it?' attitude to sourcing and are extremely cautious when it comes to introducing new
methods. Clearly change can be daunting but the danger in standing still is that the rest of the industry moves
on exploiting new techniques while companies who have not looked at their sourcing processes, or what the
sourcing market can offer, are likely to be missing opportunities. Their processes may 'work' and may not be 'broken'
but only in the same way as a PC running Windows 95 is not broken - it is just not possible to do the things that
everyone else is doing as a matter of course.
Having said that, the majority of companies we meet and work with appreciate the competitive advantage afforded them by using leading edge techniques and are continually challenging us to improve the platform – hence two releases in six months.
Along with our technology, we also seek to continually improve the market expertise we can offer which is why we recently announced a strategic alliance with Drewry – the shipping and supply chain advisors. The alliance means we can provide unrivalled market knowledge for companies looking to run deep sea tenders and when this knowledge is used in conjunction with our sourcing platform it will allow deep sea tenders to take on a strategic element that is practically impossible to achieve otherwise. To mark the alliance we have invited Philip Damas of Drewry to provide the Perspective and he shows the knowledge Drewry possess with an analysis of the deep sea freight market.
As you would expect we also have the usual news and updates so until the next issue enjoy the summer and enjoy By the Buy…
Garry Mansell
CEO, Trade Extensions