taktik(z)» Procurement Category Archive | Direct Procurement (Raw Material and Production Goods) and Indirect Procurement (Maintenance, Repair and Operating (MRO) Supplies | Capital Good and Services) — taktik(z): Serving the Industrial Manufacturing Markets | Government, Defense and Infrastructure http://taktikz.com/blog Optimizing Industrial Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management Sat, 31 Jul 2010 17:44:18 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=5057 link(z): Y2010 | M05 | D134 | L1 http://taktikz.com/blog/2010/05/16/linkz-y2010-m05-d134-l1/ http://taktikz.com/blog/2010/05/16/linkz-y2010-m05-d134-l1/#comments Sun, 16 May 2010 06:01:00 +0000 taktik(z) http://taktikz.com/blog/2010/05/16/links-for-2010-05-15/

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]]> http://taktikz.com/blog/2010/05/16/linkz-y2010-m05-d134-l1/feed/ 0 GSA Schedule http://taktikz.com/blog/2010/05/01/gsa-schedule-win-government-contracts/ http://taktikz.com/blog/2010/05/01/gsa-schedule-win-government-contracts/#comments Sat, 01 May 2010 19:40:01 +0000 taktik(z) http://taktikz.com/blog/?p=22079 The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is the purchasing agent for the government with an annual procurement spend of tens of billions of dollars. The role of the agency is to simplify the buying process and to aggregate the government’s buying power to achieve the best value for the hundreds of federal agencies, as well as state and local buyers who are eligible to participate.

Using the GSA Schedules Program, GSA establishes long-term government-wide contracts with commercial businesses to provide access to more than 11 million products and services. As a small business, you may be able to realize the benefits of government contracting by becoming an approved vendor on the GSA Schedule, which can lead to increased visibility and credibility for your business.

This GSA Guide provides a good overview.

For further GSA info visit Getting on Schedule or GSA Schedules (FAQ)

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]]> http://taktikz.com/blog/2010/05/01/gsa-schedule-win-government-contracts/feed/ 1 UTC Increases Diverse Supplier Spend http://taktikz.com/blog/2008/11/13/utc-increases-diverse-supplier-spend/ http://taktikz.com/blog/2008/11/13/utc-increases-diverse-supplier-spend/#comments Thu, 13 Nov 2008 08:00:00 +0000 taktik(z) http://taktikz.com/blog/?p=9765 United Technologies Corp. has spent more than $367 million with minority suppliers in 2007 and expects this figure to increase this year at a double-digit clip.

In five years, the company has spent more than $1.3 billion with minority business enterprises. UTC hosted its seventh annual Minority Business Exchange recently in Hartford, CT.

>

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]]> http://taktikz.com/blog/2008/11/13/utc-increases-diverse-supplier-spend/feed/ 0 Defense Industry Boom Time Likely To Fade http://taktikz.com/blog/2008/10/14/defense-industry-boom-time-likely-to-fade/ http://taktikz.com/blog/2008/10/14/defense-industry-boom-time-likely-to-fade/#comments Tue, 14 Oct 2008 21:26:55 +0000 taktik(z) http://taktikz.com/blog/?p=9290 There are few industries whose fortunes are so closely tied to government as defense contractors, companies that now provide the military with everything from fighter jets to janitors. And for the past eight years, business has been very good.

But with that government customer now ailing, the boom times are likely to end.

Long-term problems loom for the defense industry — growing Pentagon costs for items other than weapons, calls for defense contracting reform by both men vying for the White House, and uncertainty over how massive government expenditures to prop up the economy will affect defense spending, by far the largest discretionary portion of the federal budget. With the Treasury pouring billions of dollars into rescue plans, there is suspicion that Washington’s appetite for expensive defense programs will diminish.

Major military contractors are scheduled to report their quarterly earnings next week, and with defense spending still robust, there are few forecasts of an immediate downturn for the industry that has enjoyed record profits in recent years. But analysts say leaner times are ahead.

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]]> http://taktikz.com/blog/2008/10/14/defense-industry-boom-time-likely-to-fade/feed/ 0 Manufacturers Should Address Indirect Spend http://taktikz.com/blog/2008/10/14/manufacturers-should-address-indirect-spend/ http://taktikz.com/blog/2008/10/14/manufacturers-should-address-indirect-spend/#comments Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:12:46 +0000 taktik(z) http://taktikz.com/blog/?p=9283 At $104B in annual revenue, HP is quite a large organization with $16.5B in Indirect and Services Spend. HP’s Procurement Organization initially focused their efforts on cost reductions but have since transformed to focus on Supplier Partnerships and Supplier Diversity.

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]]> http://taktikz.com/blog/2008/03/02/taktikz-links-2008-61-1/feed/ 0 8 Sources of Value http://taktikz.com/blog/2008/02/25/8-sources-of-value/ http://taktikz.com/blog/2008/02/25/8-sources-of-value/#comments Tue, 26 Feb 2008 01:46:10 +0000 taktik(z) http://taktikz.com/blog/2008/02/25/8-sources-of-value/ In part 2 of our continuing series, Optimizing Vendor Management, we look at our 8 Sources of Value.

  1. Demand Management

  2. Compliance

  3. Reduce Spot Buys

  4. Optimize In-bound Supply Chain

  5. Operations Process Improvements

  6. Inventory Reduction

  7. Critical Spares Reduction

  8. Manpower Savings

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]]> http://taktikz.com/blog/2008/02/25/8-sources-of-value/feed/ 1 8 Critical MRO Commodity Slices http://taktikz.com/blog/2008/02/25/critical-mro-commodity-slices/ http://taktikz.com/blog/2008/02/25/critical-mro-commodity-slices/#comments Tue, 26 Feb 2008 01:46:06 +0000 taktik(z) http://taktikz.com/blog/2008/02/25/8-critical-mro-commodity-slices/ In part 3 of our continuing series, Optimizing Vendor Management, we look at our 8 Critical MRO Commodity Slices.

  1. Industrial, Safety and Die Supplies

  2. Facility and Janitorial Supplies

  3. Fluid Power and Power Transmission

  4. Electrical and Electronic

  5. Business Supplies

  6. Chemical and Filtration Management

  7. Material Handling Equipment

  8. Repairable Asset Control

For more MRO product information, browse our Industrial MRO product line card.

For additional information regarding our repair services, check out these line cards: taktik(z) Services Electronic Components and Repair and our Electronic Components and Repair documentation on our wiki site

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]]> http://taktikz.com/blog/2008/02/25/critical-mro-commodity-slices/feed/ 0 What is Strategic Sourcing? http://taktikz.com/blog/2008/02/22/what-is-strategic-sourcing/ http://taktikz.com/blog/2008/02/22/what-is-strategic-sourcing/#comments Fri, 22 Feb 2008 20:16:54 +0000 taktik(z) http://taktikz.com/blog/2008/02/22/what-is-strategic-sourcing/ Purchases of outside goods and services can consume as much as 60% or more of a business’ revenues. Just 50% to as little as 15% of these expenses are closely managed in many companies. A mere 10% reduction in outside purchasing can increase profitability from 20%-60%.

In many businesses, the secret to lower costs, improved profits and a more competitive operation lies in the supply chain. These days, organizations are taking a fresh look at how they purchase products and services, and many are adopting a process called “strategic sourcing.”

With strategic sourcing, major manufacturers, retailers, governments and financial institutions, such as RBC, are achieving double-digit cost savings while strengthening ties with suppliers offering the best quality products and customer service.

The main objective is minimizing costs, but strategic sourcing takes an enlightened view of the supplier-customer relationship.

Strategic sourcing recognizes that people, including innovative suppliers, are a valuable part of an organization and focuses on reducing waste or non-value-added costs.

It is defined as: “A disciplined, systematic process for reducing the total costs of externally purchased materials, products and services while maintaining or improving levels of quality, service and technology.”

Here are five ways strategic sourcing is different:

  1. Total Cost, Not Just Purchase Price: From storage to repairs to disposal costs, there is more to a product or service than its sticker price. For example, a low-cost computer may be priced $300 less than its competition, but cost more before the end of its life because it uses cheap parts requiring more repairs.

  2. Consolidating Purchasing Power: If everyone in your business joined different health clubs, they would probably pay more for memberships than they might get by banding together and negotiating a discounted fee with one club. The same principle can help a strategic sourcing business lower its costs on everything from office supplies to temporary help.

  3. Tighter Supplier Relationships: By narrowing the number of suppliers used in the business, “partnering” in alliances and entering into mutually beneficial contracts, suppliers can work together with a strategic sourcing business to achieve standardization and improvements in cost, quality and time.

  4. Realigned Business Processes, Work And Information Flow: Strategic sourcing redesigns work and information flow to eliminate redundancies and non-value-added work. For instance, one U.S. company used over 140 classifications of temporary help positions. After a strategic sourcing review that simplified job specifications, the number of temporary help positions was just 19. Strategic sourcing can also help reduce the frequency of purchasing orders and inventory costs.

  5. Improved Teamwork And Purchasing Skills: Detailed information about products, markets and the buyers’ and sellers’ needs is essential to strategic sourcing. By creating cross-functional teams that can include suppliers, a business can overcome organizational barriers and inspire collaboration.

Does it work?

Reports from mid-sized and large North American, European and Asian companies adopting the strategic sourcing approach suggest the reduction in a business’ non-interest expense can be 10%-30%.

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