Purchasing

Mary Walker

Using Technology the Right Way
November 6, 2007

In the last paragraph of a recent article in Purchasing, John Mansfield, vice president of corporate accounts at Graybar in St Louis states Graybar tracks performance with its suppliers. Its goal: 90% of orders going EDI. Mansfield states, “When we send orders to our suppliers, we want the same benefits as our customers: fewer errors, lower cost, speed and reliability.”

As a buyer it still amazes me how many suppliers still do not have access to the Internet. Our purchasing organization offers a website where a supplier can provide and receive complete shipping instructions. When the supplier follows the directions, there is no dispute over freight issues. It flows through the system with no problems.

Every buyer would like to eliminate expediting from their job description. Another technology at Graybar that provides ready information is signature capture. Drivers take photos of a package delivery and the signature on the packing slip using a cell phone. The photo is automatically uploaded to Graybar’s system so the customer can find out when the package was delivered and who signed for it.

When expediting, many suppliers cannot give you tracking information. Some have a days’ waiting lag. Some have to go to the shipping department to retrieve information. Then some seem like you are asking for a miracle to get a tracking number. When you are expediting 20 to 40 suppliers a week, sending them tracers for purchase orders, and they do not reply, you have to make a phone call. We are spending hours on expediting that should be an easy task, like Graybar’s system. Out of 200 or some suppliers I deal with, I know the ones that will respond and the ones that I am wasting time sending tracers to.

It does not take you long to know the suppliers that offer the type of support you need to service your salespeople and customers. One of my larger suppliers states, “I don’t have time to send back tracers, if you want information, you need to call. This means two people tied up looking us information.”

We need to get that team spirit working, you help me and I help you. We have problems on both ends, on entering an order, on expediting an order, on cost and quantity and price discrepancies. We need to support each others needs and make this process flow. Graybar’s technology on package delivery hopefully will be a tool that many suppliers will use in the future.

Posted by Mary Walker on November 6, 2007 | Comments (0)