Source One Management Services, LLC was announced by Supply and Demand Chain Executive Magazine as the recipient of the publication’s “100 Award” for conducting one of the “Great Supply Chain Projects of 2012.”  As a repeat awardee, Source One is recognized, for the seventh consecutive year, as a supply chain and procurement solution provider that is leading companies to supply chain excellence.  Honorees including Source One will be featured in the June 2012 issue of the magazine.

“Source One is honored to be recognized again by one of the top industry publications for our unique supply chain solutions that optimize our clients’ internal processes and allow them to sustain profitability,” said Steve Belli, Chief Executive Officer of Source One Management Services, LLC.

The Supply and Demand Chain Executive 100 award spotlights successful and innovative transformation projects that deliver bottom-line value to small, medium and large enterprises across the range of supply chain functions that this industry’s professionals face today. The supply chain projects featured in this awards program serve as a roadmap for new opportunities to drive operational improvements. The project submissions were evaluated based on the ambitiousness of the project, creative application of technologies and solutions, and the extent of the business results and impact.

“Our goal with this year’s ’100′ is to put the spotlight on successful and innovative transformation projects that are delivering bottom-line value to small, medium and large enterprises across the different functions that comprise the supply chain,” said Barry Hochfelder, Editor of Supply & Demand Chain Executive. “The projects featured in the ’100′ article can serve as a roadmap for supply chain executives looking for new opportunities to drive improvement in their own operations.”

This year, Source One was recognized for helping an academic medical center sustain profitability through the implementation of a supply chain transformation program. After conducting a comprehensive review and analysis of the medical center’s supply chain process, over a dozen spend categories were chosen for a strategic sourcing initiative.   Based on the favorable results and
hard-dollar unit cost savings in the first round of projects, the hospital’s executive team had enough confidence in the Source One team and their ability to produce results that they added core business categories (direct spend), such as blood products and medical equipment. The expert team also collaborated with the client’s Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) to broaden the scope of cost-reduction opportunities which allowed the medical center to achieve significant savings.

“The success of this project was largely due to the strong teaming effort between Source One and the hospital’s executive committee, with strong buy-in and support from the stakeholders.  As a direct result of our team’s efforts, our client was able to maintain profitability and avoid layoffs of medical staff,” said Joe Payne, Vice President of Professional Services.

Supply & Demand Chain Executive Magazine is the executive’s user manual for successful supply and demand chain transformation, utilizing hard-hitting analysis, viewpoints and unbiased case studies to steer executives and supply management professionals through the complicated, yet critical, world of supply and demand chain enablement to gain competitive advantage. For more information visit www.SDCExec.com.

In this continuing series, Jennifer Ulrich shares her experiences in the trenches of executing strategic sourcing projects, to give you practical insights into best practices.

Companies have various intentions when they consider hiring a strategic sourcing consultant such as Source One Management Services. These might range from general to specific cost reductions, process streamlining, spend analysis, to general subject matter expertise. Another potential reason for companies to enlist a strategic sourcing consultant is to align their purchasing department and develop a more strategic approach to their internal supply chain. And just how are they doing this? The following article will discuss how and why management is moving in this direction and how they are implementing this within their organizations. Some thoughts on how sourcing consultants can contribute to the efforts will also be provided.

CFO Research Services and Ariba conducted a survey of 263 finance executives and found that the following were areas of improvement for procurement professionals (as highlighted by Alex Saric, 04 May 2012, Procurement Leaders, The Executive Network):

• Managing working capital
• Improving collaboration with suppliers
• Managing risks to business performance
• Expanding into new markets or business lines

The role of purchasing within the organization has expanded beyond the basic tasks of purchase order creation and approvals to a more strategic role that involves collaboration with internal and external resources. Companies are finding that this is one way to capitalize on their current resources as opposed to expending additional funds to acquire new personnel. Essentially, companies understand that a one-time cost reduction or a short term plan is not enough. The old adage, ‘Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he can feed himself for life,’ comes into play here. By training staff to cultivate their skills and maximize their resources, internally as well as externally, companies are able to improve upon their existing processes. By building strategic alliances, procurement teams can ensure that they are working efficiently and effectively with management to reach a common set of goals.

Purchasing teams need to be involved in every step of the process, from the sourcing of a particular category all the way through the implementation of the contract. They should also be included in the continuous improvement stage of the supplier relationship to ensure that they are realizing the most opportunity from their vendors throughout the life of the agreement(s). Strategic alliances are internal to the organization in the form of a supportive management team or solid decision makers. External alliances exist in vendors who provide that extra something above and beyond the basic product or service lines. The procurement team is at the core of building alliances that will strengthen the company’s purchasing culture.

Based on my experiences in strategic sourcing, this trend of aligning resource teams is becoming more commonplace in all industries. Strategic sourcing consultants can play a major role in helping organizations achieve their financial and valuation goals. Firms like Source One bring more than just subject matter expertise into the equation. My fellow experts and I are able to transfer our knowledge of the industry and expose organizations to better ways of managing their supplier relationships, in addition to understanding what their costs are and how they affect the bottom line. For more information on how Source One can help you and your company today check us out at, sourceoneinc.com.