A procurement model which ensures print quality, best market prices, sustainable resource management and includes suppliers being paid within 5 days?

Sounds too good to be true. Doesn’t it?

There’s no word of a lie, and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing Supply (CIPS) must think it’s good too having accredited our 5-Step model for the last 4 years.

We know procurement is key to our Print Management success, and we’re therefore only as good as our suppliers. So, we decided to take the bull by the horns and control how this works.

We created our 5-Step Model with our customers in mind, but knowing it had to be sustainable to work as a valid proposition. It’s not about beating suppliers into submission, but working with them, helping them adopt to our systems and training them so they can understand where they can benefit and fill capacity.

It works as the engine room behind our procurement tool, Communisis IQ – which is in effect the user interface to realising the benefits of our supply chain.

• Step 1. Ensuring Quality
  At Pre-Qualification stage, we assess each supplier to ensure they meet our high standards. This would include such things as their processes and procedures, print standard, ISO accreditations and Environmental standards.

• Step 2. Best Market Price
  Using a reverse auction hosted by Ariba, we establish and maintain a steady price for products. Doing this removes rock-bottom price offers which are unsustainable, and also ensures sky-high increases aren’t on the cards either.

• Step 3. Easy Payment
  Cash flow is critical for all suppliers – but even more so for smaller printers. Holding them to ransom for 60 days for payment isn’t in our nature. After all, they’re there to do the ‘last minute urgent’ jobs so it’s in our interest to maintain a strong relationship. That’s why we pay them in 5 days.

• Step 4. Supplier Knowledge
  We invest a lot of time into ensuring each supplier fully understands all the elements of our procurement system. Not only does it mean they are able to respond to your requirement more efficiently, but it also means they can use the MI from our systems to see how their prices compare to other suppliers. This allows them to adjust accordingly.

• Step 5. Good Relationships
  Supplier relationships are key, and we regularly assess a supplier’s commitment and ability to deliver quality and service – just as we have to deliver to our customers too. It also works in reverse – we regularly invite feedback from suppliers to ensure our systems are performing well for them too.