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In today's competitive 🥊 business landscape, companies are constantly looking for ways to gain a strategic advantage and increase their bottom line. While many procurement organizations focus on direct spend categories such as raw materials or production equipment, there is an often overlooked area that can bring significant cost savings and add value to the company - indirect spend. With there being only a few 🗓️ weeks left in 2023 and some org's are currently in the midst of internal performance reviews....🚨 now is the time to start preparing for your Q1 2024 if you haven't already.

As we approach the final quarter of the year, now is a critical juncture for businesses to strategize and plan their #procurement activities for the upcoming 2024 year. Successful procurement is fundamental to an organization's efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and competitiveness. In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into essential steps and expert insights to help procurement teams strategically prepare for a successful 2024.

As the calendar turns to November, businesses enter the final quarter of the year, often marking the time for potential contract renewals and strategic planning for the upcoming year. For many organizations, printer hardware and toner supply contracts are integral components of their daily operations. These contracts can significantly impact the organization's productivity, operational costs, and overall efficiency.

In today's competitive business landscape, efficient sourcing and procurement have become critical functions for most companies seeking to optimize their supply chain. However, sourcing is not without its challenges. The cost of raw materials, delivery delays, poor supplier performance, and unpredictable demand can all put a strain on sourcing and procurement activities.

In recent years, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors have become increasingly important considerations for investors worldwide. As investors seek to align their portfolios with ethical and sustainable principles, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) has emerged as a critical catalyst shaping investor sentiment towards companies implicated in forced labor practices.

In recent times, the issue of forced labor in supply chains has gained significant attention on the global stage. One noteworthy development that highlights the growing concern surrounding this issue is the placement of Chinese company Ninestar on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Enforcement list. This act, which was signed into law to address forced labor concerns in Xinjiang, China, has far-reaching implications for global supply chains and social compliance.

As global front-runners - we, American businesses - bear a profound responsibility - no, a duty - to sever ties with nations that endorse forced labor practices, because let's face it....countries, entities, and persons engaging in forced labor practices are also intimately linked to the abhorrent crimes of human trafficking and child exploitation. Our economic prowess should never be wielded as a tool to bolster regimes that perpetuate such gross violations of human rights. Instead, our influence should be channeled towards promoting safe and equitable working conditions worldwide, underscoring our commitment to universal human dignity and freedom.

In the fast-paced and competitive business landscape of today, every relationship indeed counts. Hence, shifting from a traditional transactional supplier model to a more strategic business partner model can yield several significant advantages. This model allows organizations to realize cost savings by leveraging economies of scale, improving overall quality through shared best practices, diversifying your supplier base and reducing risk by ensuring supply chain continuity, and enhancing innovation by fostering a collaborative environment. Businesses, therefore, should place substantial emphasis on forming and nurturing these strategic partnerships ~ transforming mere suppliers into valued business partners.

While corporate direct spend policies are often under a microscope held by C-Suite managers, indirect spending seems to suffer from neglect. This disparate way of managing these two spending categories results in an unfortunate loss of cost savings and an explosion of expenses that can make it difficult for companies to thrive. Especially in today’s teetering economy, it is increasingly important to get indirect expenditures under control.

Indirect spend, while much overlooked, is often a prime area for cost savings — if it is managed correctly.

Spending decisions must be considered carefully in every business, especially in the economically volatile markets that are dominating the current business landscape. Typically, procurement departments use two major categories to define their spending: direct and indirect. While direct spending refers to the purchase of goods and services that are needed to produce a company’s final product, indirect spending is less definitive.

One of the worst global economic declines – also known as The Great Recession – officially began in December 2007 and ran through June of 2009. The complete collapse of the housing market caused this 18-month economic hardship affected not just young adults in their 20s and 30s but also many Americans ages 50 and older as they were all directly or indirectly affected by rising unemployment, falling home values and a decline in the stock market. It is easily seen that all three have already started happening and those who choose to ignore these recession signs will be in for a startling reality check.

The pandemic allowed commerce to continue with companies allowing employees to #WFH and continue even with #HybridWorkEnvironments.....giving out home-office “allowances” for purchases like monitors, keyboards….and yes, you guessed it….better work from home office printers. The downside of this was that specifically printer ink and toner spend became #RogueSpend as there were no requirements for printer model standardization.

As we approach the end of the calendar year – and for many of you, the end of your fiscal first quarter, let’s discuss the ways sloppy indirect spend data is costing your company a ton of money without you knowing it.

Are your printers running out of toner too quickly? Extended yield cartridges can keep them printing longer, surpassing the highest page yields of national printer brands.

More than ever before, we are in an age where #Procurement demands the following:

Hosted by Sarah Scudder with The Real Sourcing Network, the June #Ptalk recording is now available! #FOMO no more! You can get caught up everything you missed from this month's session.

There are countless articles being written these days about the ways companies are improving their environmental footprints on the world, from PepsiCo reducing its use of plastics to Goodyear's journey to a zero-waste landfill. But have CPOs thought of the impact illegally-cloned Chinese printer toner cartridges have on the environment or on their supply chain? Probably not.