Advice for SMEs looking for savings!

The situation is difficult: however, everything is not fixed, and especially not supplier relationships. “There is a market price and that's it” or even “I am a small company and will not get anything more from my suppliers”: that time is over. Today, you should not buy anything without consulting several suppliers. Another vision must emerge: to consider the supplier as a provider of solutions for better productivity or for the optimization of a process.

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Control your purchases to preserve your margin

In an increasingly competitive environment, sales prices are falling and the margin is automatically affected. To preserve or restore the margin, a purchasing approach is essential. Reducing operating costs by 10% has a direct impact on profitability even in the event of stagnant turnover: Buy Made Easy demonstrates through its missions with its SME customers that 3% savings on purchases is as profitable as a 10% increase in turnover, without degrading the service.

Define your purchasing strategies by type of expense and by supplier

Each purchasing strategy will depend on several factors: the size of the expense, the number of suppliers present or even the market power of the buyer compared to the supplier.

• First principle: choose your suppliers according to your needs: the productivity of a specialized supplier with expertise close to your expectations will save you more time and money than a supplier that is too general.
• Second principle: choose the just-in-time method in order to avoid waste, and only buy what you need even if there is a promotion for ten more: you risk paying dearly for a temporary lack of cash.

Streamline purchased products or services

It is a question of grouping your purchases on three suppliers, instead of six for example, by concentrating and standardizing the product or service. An example of good practice for computer consumables or office supplies consists in joining a purchasing group with two or three suppliers referenced by type of need. Another possibility: visit trade shows regularly to find out about “active” suppliers who are looking to gain market share by offering competitive rates. This is the ideal opportunity to better negotiate prices directly.

Negotiate when the company's financial situation is good

Negotiations should be made when the company is doing well and not in times of difficulty. In fact, suppliers check the financial health of the buying company and apply higher prices to cover themselves. Even take advantage of this situation to impose their rate and, in the worst case, refuse to provide the service.

For your part, remember to monitor the financial health of your suppliers. Buy Made Easy offers a VigiLegal e-purchasing solution that makes it possible to control all the risks of its suppliers, including financial ones.

Stop self-financing your equipment

For equipment acquisitions, it is necessary to take advantage of the current very low financing rates so as not to suffer the weight of the investment all at once. By doing so, cash flow is preserved. A typical example is that of the car fleet under LLD or leasing: Buy Made Easy has thus reduced the financial expenses of its customers by 60% thanks to its relationships of trust with financial partners.

Stimulate innovation among your suppliers

The objective is to push its suppliers to improve in terms of productivity. For contracts of a certain amount, Buy Made Easy intervenes to organize quarterly or semi-annual performance reviews in order to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the company's supplier relationship, as well as the evolution of the competitive offer. One last tip: if you sell in the European Union, preferably buy products made in France or in the European Union. You thus maintain a proximity that allows you to better control the relationship in terms of product quality, dependence and supply risks. Contrary to popular belief, it is very possible that your total cost of acquisition does not exceed a complete cost involving suppliers from distant countries.