OCTOBER 2011
Welcome to the autumn issue of our newsletter. It has the usual company news and updates and we have also invited Peter Smith of Spend Matters to provide the Perspective. Peter warns of the dangers of complacency in sourcing and highlights how, in his experience, healthy scepticism brings about continual improvement. It is fascinating read.
I always find the move from summer to autumn makes the seasons more tangible as the days get shorter and weather deteriorates (in the Northern hemisphere at least). However, what the transition also does is highlight how seasonal behaviour is often rooted in habit rather than any rational need. If we think about sourcing, most companies still tend to buy on a calendar year with autumn being the busiest period as they look to get things in place for the next year. In our experience this is not necessarily the best strategy as everyone gets very busy and sometimes too busy to allocate adequate time and resource to what can be complex projects. What we find is that companies running sourcing events ‘out of season’ often find that suppliers have more time to consider the requirements and are better placed to be more creative with their offers and are often more competitive. Clearly in some cases it is not possible to change but it is worth realising that tying the sourcing cycle to the calendar could be a habit worth kicking and you may find suppliers are excited at the prospect of bidding out of season.
Enjoy By the Buy… and many thanks for your continued support.
Garry Mansell
CEO, Trade Extensions