Jeremy Ferrer
Webinar :
Matinale Achats de Lyon
Vendredi 14 Février de 9h à 12h30
During my professional career, dedicated to purchasing, I observed that the non-production purchasing lever was rather underused, and that's a mistake! ”, notes Olivier Audino. The latter is the founder and director of Buy Made Easy Consulting, a company specialized in consulting in purchasing expertise. “Indeed, in industrial companies, purchases represent 50% of turnover, including 20% for purchases excluding production or general expenses. That's almost twice as much as labour costs. If the company reduces its purchases by 5%, it gains twice as many margin points as by reducing its payroll by 5%. It can therefore quickly increase its margin without looking for additional turnover and especially without laying off employees”, he adds.
The search for new ways to optimize costs requires the prior conduct of an audit, making it possible to clearly identify the current situation of the company. Because each procurement strategy will be defined by type of expenditure and by supplier.
Factors to consider include the size of the expense. It's about the number of suppliers or even the power of the buyer versus the supplier. “The first principle is to choose your suppliers according to your specific needs. This is due to the productivity of a specialized supplier. Indeed, a specialty supplier will have expertise close to your expectations and will save time. Subsequently, it will also allow more money to be saved than an overly generalist supplier. The second principle is to choose the just-in-time method in order to avoid waste. You should only buy what you need. Even in the case of promotions, this avoids the risk of paying dearly for a temporary lack of cash flow”, argues Olivier Audino.
Focusing on a limited number of suppliers is a good solution. For computer consumables or office supplies, it is interesting to join a purchasing group aimed at two or three suppliers referenced by type of products or services. Another solution is to visit trade shows regularly in order to get to know competitive suppliers seeking to gain market shares. This also makes it possible to negotiate prices directly.
In the same way, it may be preferable to buy products made in France or in the European Union, especially if you sell yourself on the European market. “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 remote countries,” observes the director of Buy Made Easy Consulting.
Negotiations should be made when the business is doing well, not in times of difficulty. Suppliers check the financial health of the buying company. In addition, they charge higher prices to cover themselves in case of risk.
In order to preserve your cash flow, it is best, for equipment acquisitions, to take advantage of the currently very low financing rates.
So as not to suffer the weight of the investment all at once. A typical example is that of the car fleet under LLD or leasing, adds Olivier Audino. Buy Made Easy has thus reduced the financial expenses of its customers by 60%, thanks to its relationships of trust with financial partners.
The solution of calling on a procurement strategy consultant aims, above all, to reduce direct or indirect costs. After an expenditure audit, specifications are put in place to launch a call for tenders to obtain the best price. While integrating the company's purchasing policy and ensuring supplier performance. The auditor does more than advise. Nevertheless, he goes all the way to the end of the process by implementing the strategy he recommended.
The concept of advice is then directly linked to the results obtained, in particular through remuneration for the savings generated.
In addition, there are also opportunities to guide businesses towards specific tools. It can also be “Muti-Devis.com”, which allows all our customers to benefit from an e-purchasing tool. Subsequently, this will bring price and quality advantages. This is explained by the quality of services such as major accounts. It is a constant quality and greater responsiveness, with a toll-free number and a person dedicated to the account. Thanks to a single tool that retrieves all orders, negotiations with suppliers are optimized to, in the end, obtain a much greater discount,” explains Olivier Audino.
The pooling of purchases by this tool automates negotiations with suppliers. It is done through the use of a reverse auction system, at full cost. Its principle is as follows: suppliers, participating in the reverse auction call, bid downwards one after the other over a limited period of time. It should be noted that the Quality-Cost-Delay indicators enrich exchanges, by being conducive to the development of supplier skills. The benefits are numerous. The implementation of personalized order forms for each purchase family makes it possible in particular to eliminate any possibility of error, or oversight. This is allowed as all fields must be completed before moving on to the next step. The gain in billing time is also quantifiable.
Thus, a single Internet portal also makes it possible to delegate the act of purchase to the employee, which does not prevent the establishment of a hierarchical validation system. Take the example of the car fleet: the employee will be able to check this and that option or vehicle model included by the company in its purchasing policy. Then automatically send the formalized request to its Management. On the other hand, concentrating orders makes it possible to obtain very significant manufacturer discounts.
Finally, preventing supplier risks is also a lever for optimizing purchases. To monitor and feed the indicators related to this problem, web solutions exist. These measure the performance and financial health of its suppliers. A tool such as Vigilegal.com will at the same time check the level of economic dependence of this or that supplier. It is in fact also important for the company to monitor its level of economic dependence on its suppliers (NRE law). Representing too much turnover can force a company to wait up to three years before withdrawing from a supplier. It is appropriate to opt for a dynamic solution for the prevention of societal supplier risk. It also makes it possible to go further than legal obligations, such as the fight against hidden work.
By Nadine CHAMPENOIS
Source: www.gpomag.fr
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