Supplier Evaluations

Taking the time to evaluate your suppliers will pay dividends. If you have 100 vendors in your supply chain and about 20 of them are considered major vendors or suppliers you spend most of your operating budget on, then these are the vendors you want to take the time to properly manage. A supplier evaluation is an assessment on how they are doing or have been performing over the last 12 months. We recommend you complete a review at least once per year. Many companies like to use scorecards and most evaluations do have a scoring or weighted average calculation built into them. If you are about to launch into creating a performance review we can suggest you try to look at ready made templates to allow you to get some solid ideas on what types of questions you need to ask. Looking for more tips on vendor performance tools checkout RFQPro today.

Consignment Inventory

Consignment inventory is when your Vendor provides your business with products (inventory) and defers the payment until the products or inventory have been consumed or sold. For start-ups or companies hoping to use their capital in other growth areas versus investing in inventory this is an option. The consignee or the user assumes the goods from the vendor and stores the products at their place of business. Storing the inventory might mean a special section is set-up with bins and shelving to house the product. Inventory level are pre-determined by the parties based on an estimated usage. Payment is not made until the goods are used in-house or sold to a customer. Having the vendor assume the risk for obsolescence and carrying costs is attractive to many organizations and they are more than willing to pay more for such an arrangement. Another term for consignment inventory is vendor managed inventory (VMI) and most suppliers are prepared to offer this service just to secure your business. If you are looking for a sample form you can use for a an agreement for vendor managed inventory we would suggest looking at RFQPro.com

Manage your Vendors

Vendor performance, supplier evaluations, site audits, spend analysis are just a few of the areas which make up our topic today. Manage your vendors or suppliers involves performing what we call due diligence. If this supplier is important to your company you need to spend some time on them annually. What does this look like? You might need to complete a site audit or maybe your environmental and production manager will complete this inspection. It involves physically visiting their site to ensure there are no glaring concerns. Is there huge oil staining prevalent in all areas of their property? Is there waste and other unsafe conditions present inside the building? Is there zero inventory in their storage tanks? Are the employees unhappy? What about safety, documentation and there are many other areas which should be considered when you complete your tour. For a comprehensive site audit form we recommend you visit www.RFPTemplates.org and they also go into further explanations on the why and how. When it comes to a supplier performance review this is something that is usually completed by the purchasing staff. They gather the necessary information from all the other departments and put together a report which is weighted and which is then reviewed face to face with the supplier. Performance reviews with your suppliers can be good and can also have a more confrontation approach. Remember the idea is to provide corrective measures so the vendor pulls up their socks. For supplier evaluation forms we like www.RFQPro.com. The vendor performance form they offer is the best in the marketplace. It gives you a solid approach and indication of areas to review with your suppliers. As painful as managing your vendor can be sometimes the above gives you a way to do this without reinventing the wheel. Remember managing your vendors properly can save you money and headaches over the long term.

RFP Timelines and Suggestions

There is no simple method to issuing procurement related documents. Documents like request for quote or proposals and there are many more. They are legally binding documents and many companies have had their forms challenged. Vendor A may misinterpret your intention and if the stakes are high enough and they are on the losing end of your bid they sometimes resort to legal avenues to have bids re-tendered or awarded to them as a result of an anomaly in your tender documents. When it comes to the timelines there are many. You have your RFP issue date, the vendor response date, the award date and the project completion date. Sometimes there is a payment schedule which will involve payment being made when certain aspects of the contract are completed. Often called progress payments. Some other tips to help improve your chances at success when issuing a RFQ or RFP:

1. Provide a clear scope. Nothing will be more challenging for the vendor if they cannot have complete confidence in their response to to your request. A vendor response will have built in costs if the scope of work is not clear. These costs are extra as they cannot ascertain exact labor and materials costs so they include a buffer.

2. Provide clear communication before, during and after award. As the purchasing point person or maybe there is a project manager appointed to the job it is your responsibility to ensure all communication is delivered to the bidder.

3. After the award complete an evaluation for your files. It might be a simple one page evaluation on a contractor or it might involve a more detailed vendor performance report. Usually the dollar amount will determine how much effort you place on this task. Purchasing is a very busy and challenging occupation. You need to be constantly changing gears and thoughts during each business day. If you enjoy multi-tasking then a career in purchasing might be well suited. From time to time we all need support and assistance to complete a project and having colleagues or access to resource material to accomplish this task will help you expedite the process.

www.RFQPro.com for edit friendly professional RFQ templates and software and for Negotiation tips and strategies and RFP forms we like www.RFPTemplates.org

Request for Quote

Preparing a Request for Quotation if you are a purchasing person is how you justify your existence. Your job is to ensure you procure the best goods with the quality, delivery and price under the specifications or requirements of the end user in your company. A RFQ can be for everyday essentials and it can be for a very unique or one of item. Something you might buy once every few years. So RFQ's do vary so where should you focus? It is important to remember the 80/20 rule if you are responsible for purchasing for an organization. 20% of the items will account for 80% of your companies spend and as a Buyer do you spend all of your time on the low cost, low impact items or do you spend your efforts on the areas which will have the biggest impact. The latter I hope. To do this you need to complete an analysis on your spend and soliciting the assistance of your accounting department is always a good idea. Ask them to pass over details of your top vendors or the suppliers which you spend the most with every month. This is a good indicator. If you have a system which will allow you to mine data then you can identify items or commodities which have the largest impact on your operation and by identifying these items it will allow you to generate a RFQ to ensure you are getting the best goods for a competitive price. Generating a contract from a RFQ might be your next step as locking in costs for a year or tying it to a related index is a good way to ensure you stay on top of this critical spend. Publishing a request for quote does not have to be overwhelming or time consuming. Finding a sample RFQ on-line will help you expedite the process and even give you ideas on what to include. Let RFQPro.com help as we have free RFQ templates which you can download and we have free Request for Quote Software you can trial.

RFP Janitorial Services

It is likely preparing a RFP for janitorial services is not a top priority for many organizations. Unless your business is in lease or building maintenance the purchasing department is likely  buying goods and services to ensure the business remains profitable.

These types of RFP can be very time consuming and the services rendered very detailed. Explaining what and when to perform maintenance and putting it into a  contract form will be a long a arduous task.

How do you bid these services? How clear is your request for quote or request for proposal documentation in regards to how often the contractor cleans, vacuums, dusts, mops certain areas of buildings? How will they be compensated and under which conditions or standards is the contractor going to have to perform these duties under?

Many of these details and requirement need to be outlined in your request for proposal or any documentation you use to tender these services. You should have an invitation letter which will identify you organization, followed by the second part which is the Janitorial Services RFP (request for proposal) and what areas and duties the contractor will be required to perform and how often.
The third part is the rejection letters you will issue to vendors you have ruled out and then the  award letter which goes to the vendor which you have decided to grant your business to. With the award letter you will supply a cleaning contract which will include the terms and conditions, compensation and other important details under which the contractor is to complete the services.

Now that you have an idea on the process lets discuss the RFP and cleaning contract in further details. The RFP is the most important part of the bid for janitorial services. The RFP will be the document the bidder uses to provide their quotation to perform the work. The scope of work or duties to be performed must be detailed and they will form part of the agreement or contract.
For example, it can include cleaning schedule, supplies to be used, frequency of cleaning by area. Carpeted areas to be vacuumed daily, elevators wiped down weekly, windows, floors, hallways, restrooms, waxing. The list can be extensive and how do you know what to include in the tender?  Spending your efforts on the scope of work in the RFP is the best use of your time. Your second option would be to find a template which covers the bases and allows you to tick off the frequency of service and what areas the service provider is to clean.  There will be no question as to the scope of work which will help eliminate unknowns and misunderstandings. RFQPro.com has a custom template for Janitorial Services.

Our building maintenance template pack includes all the necessary documentation to help you bid your janitorial services. To preview this template pack which includes an Invitation letter, Award and Rejection letters, detailed RFP and cleaning contract templates visit https://rfqpro.com/special-offers/custom-templates

Supply Contracts

Usually, supply contracts are part of the process of purchasing products in heavy industry, manufacturing and retail business.   Supply contracts are a type of agreement which establishes the terms of a buy and sell relationship between a vendor and a customer.   A supply contract is often necessary in order to firm up pricing or lock in discounted costs and other benefits that the supplier is willing to provide to the client for a specific period of time.   The details of a supply agreement often define how products are delivered, payment terms, and any other details of the relationship that the two parties have determined to be documented.

Other benefits include:

• Providing mechanisms so that suppliers (manufacturers) and buyer share risks and costs.  More specifically ensure that suppliers don’t assume the entire risk of buffering raw materials and finished goods to meet the final demand for goods.   Provide incentives for suppliers (manufacturers) to build enough capacity.  The main issue in designing supply contracts is to ensure supplies and goods at the right quantity, quality, time, and cost.
• Ensure that buyers are able to meet their customers’ uncertain and changing demand.   

Whatever your reason for entering into a supply contract it must be beneficial for both parties and taking the time to document the terms and conditions of your agreement will help ensure a longer, healthier and more beneficial arrangement for all involved.

Visit RFQPro.com for resources to help you manage the procurement process.