Want to Increase Sales? It’s Time to Start Working Smarter, Not Harder. Here’s How
As all of our lives are lived at super warp speed trying to balance our work duties, our family lives, and still trying to squeeze in some time for our social lives, I find that time is our biggest commodity.
How Do You Accomplish This?
From a materials perspective, commodity management can help you increase sales by maximizing your time through technology, fulfillment, blanket purchase orders, and storage to streamline the materials management process. In the simplest form, commodity management deals with streamlining the materials management process which can be summarized in the most simplistic ways: delivering the correct materials, at an optimal price, in a timely manner to meet your needs. Well how do you accomplish this?
If you feel like you could use some some help with commodity management, keep reading for three ways to work smarter, not harder and increase sales.
3 Ways to Work Smarter, Not Harder, to Increase Sales
- Pick Out a Trusted Value Added Partner (VAP) – A VAP that can offer you quality products, at a fair price, and can deliver on time to meet your company’s needs. Rule one is to pick out a partner that can provide a benefit to your company and provide solutions, innovation, and most of all a competitive advantage that could not be achieved through a traditional purchasing process in regards to your labels and print. This can best be accomplished by choosing a VAP that is looking out for the best interest of your company both short and long term by bringing solutions and ideas to the table that will streamline both the ordering process as well the flow of materials within your organization.
- Use Technology as Your Ally – The days of faxing out multiple RFQ’s for every print and label requisition are over. By utilizing an ecommerce ordering and inventory management system with a trusted commodity management VAP, there are many benefits that will be realized and savings, both hard and soft dollars, will follow. First, utilize an on line ordering process via a company specific product set. Make your commodity manager talk in your language, your part #’s, and your product identification codes. It is counterproductive to have your team invest their time in learning your partner’s part number sets. Next, an effective on line inventory management systems will reduce inventory carrying costs by reducing lead times from weeks to days by utilizing blanket purchase orders. In addition, reporting and real time data will be available at your fingertips to make more informed decisions in assessing the proper Economic order quantities for one or multiple locations.
- Work Smarter – By entrusting a group of products (a commodity) with one trusted VAP, you are allowing yourself maximum savings and service opportunities. This can be accomplished by allowing your supplier to lock in long term pricing and volume discounts with their downstream suppliers based on committed volumes. In addition, multiple setups can be avoided and savings realized by less setups within the total commodity set. Long term strategy and direction can easily be shared with a single commodity manger to reduce obsolescence and get assistance with transition. The old saying goes, “knowledge is power” and if you have one trusted partner to communicate to, better decisions will be made.
A Win-Win Proposition for You
I have worked with commodity management partnerships for over twenty years and have seen firsthand the benefits that can be realized. At the end of the day, a commodity management partnership with trusted partners is a win-win proposition for you. It is formed through trust, savings, common goals, information sharing, and the common vision of long-term success for both parties.
Yes we all move at warp speed to accomplish our work, family, and social goals. But anytime a tool like commodity management can assist in one of those areas to free up time in other areas, it leads to a greater level of fulfillment in our home life and to a more successful work life. Get in touch with Superior and ask how we can help you increase sales and efficiencies by working smarter, not harder.
