June 2016 Volume 6, Issue 6

Fleet Basics

Certification & Training Spotlight

Millennials in Procurement The New NLPA Whitepaper 3

Webinar Spotlight: The Promise of Great Strategic Sourcing

Managing the Cloud

The Aerospace Supply Chain Revolution

How Supply Chain Can Woo Marketing

Reasons Realized Savings Falls Short, Part II

Price and Commodity Indices

9-10

Lame Excuses For A Buyer To Lack A Certification, Part III

11

NLPAs Legendary Procurement Models

13

Mosaic Taps SMART By GEP

14

Contact Us:
www.NextLevelPurchasing.com
Email: info@nextlevelpurchasing.com
Phone: 1-412-294-1990
Fax : 1-412-294-1992
Mail your correspondence to Next Level Purchasing, P.O. Box 1360,
Moon Township, PA 15108, USA
Leading-Edge Supply Management is published monthly by Next Level Purchasing Association as a free
benefit to association members. If you've received a copy of this magazine from someone rather than
downloading it directly from the Next Level Purchasing Association, you can sign up for a free association
membership to have access to this and other free benefits.
Just visit http://www.NextLevelPurchasing.com/nlpamag and submit your name and email address to join
the Next Level Purchasing Association. Reproduction of this magazine in whole or in part without written
permission by Next Level Purchasing is strictly prohibited.

From The Purchasing Certification Blog

Fleet Basics
Special thanks to Source One Management Services for this guest post by Jonathan Groda
With volatile cost components like fuel and regionally variable maintenance labor rates, fleet operations can be an
intimidating area to source and identify savings while maintaining program consistency. Where does one even start? After
conducting multiple fleet sourcing initiatives with clients of varied size and nature, I have learned a few lessons. If one thing is
certain, it is that no two fleet operations are the same. Each requires custom management and unique approaches to cost
savings. Here are a few key considerations for reviewing and assessing cost saving opportunities within your fleet operations.
Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)
What types of vehicles makeup your fleet?
Are they fairly similar?
Can you stratify your fleet into distinct categories
based on their daily use?

Leasing
Who is your primary leasing provider?
Are you leasing from multiple companies?
How are your dealer incentives structured?

Fuel
Do you have a fuel card program?
Do your locations have tanks onsite?
Does your fleet utilize wet hosing services?

If your replacement volume is large enough, you may want to consider

contacting an OEM to get contract pricing for your most often
purchased/leased vehicles (by large enough, I mean you are purchasing
at least 5 vehicles a year). This will standardize your fleet and allow you
to push some cost control on to your dealers, as well as allow your team
to better prepare for future vehicle acquisitions. Standardizing your fleet
can help lower maintenance costs by limiting the variety of parts you
will need to up-fit, repair, and maintain your fleet. According to
Automotive Fleet, some companies have seen savings of $500 per
vehicle on average.

Some dealers offer a fixed discount on all vehicles leased through their
program. While this will give a consistent dollar value discount, you
could be saving more by negotiating a percent off, rather than a fixed
price. Also take into consideration your leasing habits. Are you entering
into closed or open ended leases? What are you doing with the vehicles
once the lease term is up? Keeping a consistent replacement schedule
will increase vehicle resale profits and incentivize refreshing your fleet
with the newest, most fuel efficient models on the road.

These are three common ways of fueling a fleet. A fuel card allows
drivers the flexibility to fill up when needed and can simplify invoicing.
The downside, it can be difficult to ensure drivers only use the fuel
cards on the company vehicles. Some cards offer protection by tying
the card to the vehicle, rather than the driver. While convenient, fuel
cards also mean youre paying retail fuel rates. For heavy-vehicles
fleets, if your fleet is large enough, you should be able to leverage your
fuel volume and utilize bulk fueling via wet hosing services (direct to
vehicle) or onsite tank (if available). To clarify, wet hosing services are
when a fuel truck comes to your site and fills the vehicles up for you.
Wet hose services come at a premium, compared to tank fueling, but
they have several benefits. Your fleet is fueled and ready to go when
your drivers arrive at work, cutting down the time they would otherwise
use fueling the vehicle. You do not have to worry about the capital
investment to install and maintain an on-site fuel tank, either.

On-site fuel tanks can offer cost savings as you pay less than retail and
less then wet hose rates. However, tanks come with capital investment
and maintenance costs. Depending on your fleet goals, these three
options should be explored.
(Continued on page 12)
Page 2 Volume 6, Issue 6

Certification and
Training Spotlight
May 2016 Recipients of the SPSM Certification
Anoop D., Purchasing Manager, Bel Air Riviere Seche, Mauritus

Karen L., Purchasing Administrator, Pennsylvania, United States

Nancy F., Software Licensing Coordinator and Procurement

Kathryn L., Exec Asst to Pres & CEO, New Mexico, United States

Associate, Pennsylvania, United States

Vidya M., Assistant Procurement Mgr, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Satish G., Reactor Operator and training for Purchasing

Ivica M., Information Infrastructure Architect, Zagreb, Croatia

Department, California, United States

Shauna N., Training and Support Assistant, California, United States

Mohammed K., Senior Assistant/ Administration with Government

Emmanuel R., Programme Finance Officer, Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Relations, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Sally S., Buyer, North Carolina, United States

Ginny K., Financial Analyst-Procurement, Tennesee, United States

Kristi T., Supply Chain/Office Mgr, New Hampshire, United States

Kyle K., Materials Manager, Ohio, United States

Ivan U., Managing Director, Bratislava, Slovak Republic

Deepak K., Process Developer, Haryana, India

Nancy W., Purchasing Manager, Illinois, United States

From The Purchasing Certification Blog

Millennials in Procurement
The New NLPA Whitepaper Is Here!
by Charles Dominick, SPSM, SPSM2, SPSM3
If there is something on the mind of every hiring
manager and team leader in procurement today, it
is this: how do we handle all of these millennials
entering the workforce? Specifically, millennials in
procurement?
Actually, the business world is talking about
millennials as if they are some kind of aliens that
just landed on Earth. Are millennials truly that
much of a concern for those that actually have
them on their teams?
Do they pose real
problems?
Well, thats a matter of conjecture. But one thing
is for certain: millennials are different. They have
unique characteristics. And though procurement
leaders like you should gain an intimate knowledge of those characteristics, you dont need to fear them. More importantly,
you need to learn how to harness the incredible strengths of millennials in order to achieve maximum performance.

The Next Level Purchasing Association can help you do just that. Download our newest procurement whitepaper, Millennials
in Procurement: Hiring for Potential, Training for Results to demystify this unique generation of businessmen and women who
may just be the most successful procurement professionals ever!
Download this whitepaper at http://www.nextlevelpurchasing.com/news/procurement-whitepapers/millennials-procurement-whitepaper
June 2016 Page 3

Keeping Procurement Out of the

Doghouse: How To Fulfill The Promise
of Great Strategic Sourcing
The cost savings and business efficiencies brought about by strategic
sourcing earn a procurement department much respect. But once the
right supplier has been identified, the real work starts.
Thats because a sourcing project that took three months culminates in
a supplier relationship that may need to be managed for three
years. Maybe more. And if that supplier relationship falters, all of
those strategic sourcing gains will be lost, not to mention all of that
respect.
So how do you keep procurement out of the doghouse?
Through the excellent agreement implementation and supplier relationship management practices that youll learn in this
webinar. Youll get insight into topics ranging from identifying ongoing cost reduction opportunities, leveraging suppliers as
a source of ideas, renegotiating obsolete deals, and more!

This webinar is FREE for all members

of the Next Level Purchasing Association.

Register Now

To register, login to the association and navigate to the Webinars tab. There youll find a registration
link, be sure to enter a valid email address as attendance details will be sent to you by email.
Registrations may be limited.
Slides of this presentation will be made available to all members who have an All-Access Plan, and those enrolled in an SPSM
Certification Program or currently certified as an SPSM at least 30 minutes prior to the webinar. Basic members can learn more about
our enrollment plans online: http://www.nextlevelpurchasing.com/plans-pricing.
Page 4 Volume 6, Issue 6

From The Purchasing Certification Blog

Managing The Cloud

Special thanks to Source One Management Services for this guest post by Maria Liesen.

Everywhere you look in the IT space, the focus is

all about the cloud. Most businesses are
considering moving services to the cloud or have
already moved multiple services to the cloud to
reap the benefits. Infrastructure as a Service
(IaaS) offerings are particularly hot right now a
form of cloud computing that provides
virtualized computing resources over the
Internet. IaaS is one of three main categories of
cloud computing services, alongside Software as
a Service (SaaS) and Platform as a Service
(PaaS) with companies like Amazon bringing in
almost 8 billion in revenue by the end of 2015
through their Amazon Web Services Offering
(AWS).
With everyone running to the cloud attempting
to reap the many benefits such as significant
cost savings, agility, innovation, and security
the monotony of the operational state of these
services is usually the last on everyones list. Because of this, AWS costs can skyrocket out of control and bills come in much
higher than the business cases used to sell the move to AWS.
To tackle the operational management of costs within AWS, it important to establish governance early on. As I noted earlier,
the exciting new capabilities that AWS brings forward will likely take precedence initially as opposed to determining how the
products will run operationally within your organization. Highly distributed teams will now have more autonomy over
provisioning resources without the red tape and extensive time delay of traditional IT environments.

Here are a few quick ways you can add aspects of governance into your daily operational state:

Add some red tape

It is very important to put some red tape processes into place early on to control over provisioning resources. For example,
putting an end of week check for a dev environment to quickly review and turn off unneeded resources can stop unnecessary
charges over the weekend.

Review your products and look for opportunities to optimize frequently

Set up time review sessions on a monthly or quarterly frequency to review products you have deployed and look for any
opportunities to optimize. Because Amazon is constantly delivering new products and services, you will find there are often
many opportunities make changes. For example, AWS consistently releases new instance models which offer innovative
benefits such as the ability to build up CPU Credits during lower-usage periods.

Set bill alerts

AWS spend can quickly get out of control if teams spin up incorrect or higher resources than needed. By setting bill alerts, you
can map out how your spend should look and receive automated alerts when unplanned resources come into the mix. By
getting this alert, you are able to take control of the situation early on as opposed to when the bill comes in 30 days later.
Tracking AWS costs can be complex and it is important to constantly evaluate your cost-effectiveness in order to reap the
maximum savings benefits the cloud has to offer.
June 2016 Page 5

The Aerospace Supply Chain Revolution How market trends affect aircraft OEM and Tier suppliers
Editors Note: This article was written by Matt Chabanon with our partners at Source One Management Services on the Strategic Sourceror
Blog. It is being reprinted here with permission.

It is well recognized now that the commercial aerospace

sector is a growing market, setting up a very optimistic future
for numerous companies around the world. As discussed in
previous blogs, airlines are expecting the number of
passengers to grow 4.1% annually \, reaching a total of 7.3
billion potential customers by 2034. As a result, Aircraft OEM
order books are filling-up for current models available on the
market, and requests for new planes equipped with more
efficient and more demanding technology to better serve
future customers needs are on the rise as well. Youve
probably recently read about multiple aircraft projects, such
as NASA working on a quiet supersonic passenger jet for
faster long-range flight, or Russias UAC closely working with
Chinas COMAC on a wide-body-short-range aircraft, to
respond to an increasing demand for short domestic flights. In
other words, competition is increasing along with market
growth, forcing aircraft manufacturers to become more innovative, on the look for emerging markets, while
improving production capabilities to keep up with demand.
Supply Chain is directly impacted by such challenges. Indeed, both Airbus and Boeing, the current market leaders,
are already rethinking their supply chain management. Both companies have been significantly consolidating their
supply base with highly qualified suppliers, outsourcing the development of complex systems previously handled
internally, and refocusing their activity to assembling planes in their assembly line. Before talking about specific
examples relating to this trend, lets take a look how the aerospace supply chain is organized:

On top of the pyramid, obviously, is the engine manufacturers (such as Rolls Royce, Snecma, etc.) and aircraft
manufacturers (Boeing, Airbus, Embraer, Bombardier, etc.). These are the one usually showing off their most
recent products capabilities at airshows, for both the interested public and potential buyers.
Tier 1 suppliers are system integrator companies specialized in developing navigation system (such as Thales,
B/E Aerospace, etc.) or manufacturing engine modules and aircraft aerostructure (Kawasaki for the wings,
Latecoere for the passenger doors, etc.)
Tier 2 suppliers are manufacturers providing Tier 1 suppliers with various type of sub-assembly. Tier 2 suppliers
use Tier 3 suppliers to source all necessary sub-components needed for their products.

So, the question here is how each supplier category is impacted by the aircraft and engine manufacturers new
supply chain strategy? Now is time to take a look at some numbers. In 2007, Airbus was using 200 tier 1 suppliers
for the production of its famous double-deck, wide-body A380. In 2012, this number was reduced to 90 Tier one
suppliers for its A350 model, representing less than half of the suppliers used in 2007. This doesnt mean less
systems or parts are needed to build a plane. This means Tier 1 suppliers are being requested to develop more
capabilities to produce more complex and complete modules and systems.

Tier 1 suppliers have no other choice but to expand outside of their current core competencies, and become
quickly recognized as a cost efficient, reliable supplier in multiple domains untouched until now. Tier 2 and Tier 3
suppliers are then impacted from the snow ball effect, as Tier 1 suppliers want to optimize their new supply chain
model as well. As a result, Tier suppliers have to rethink their supply chain strategy in order to survive in this
growing competitive market.
Page 6 Volume 6, Issue 6

A r e Yo u r S u p p ly Ch a i n a nd M ar keti n g D ep a r tm e n t s C o ll a b o r a t i ng ?

When they succeed, marketing departments typically get a lot of respect from senior management. By collaborating and
aligning with Marketing, a supply chain department can raise its own profile in the organization. Here are three ways that
Supply Chain can woo Marketing into a collaborative relationship:

Demonstrate how Supply Chain supports the competitive advantage that Marketing promotes. A good marketing
department will communicate to consumers the organization's competitive advantage - the reason to choose the
organization over its competitors. If the desired competitive advantage is quality, Supply Chain can influence quality by
doing business with the highest quality suppliers. If the competitive advantage is low cost, Supply Chain can use sourcing,
negotiation, value analysis and other cost reduction practices to help reduce what the organization can charge to its
customers.

Show how Supply Chain helps Marketing deliver on its promises. Marketing creates expectations in customers. But, if
there are supply chain problems, the goods won't be delivered or the services won't be performed when customers expect
them to be. Supply Chain contributes to satisfying customer expectations and keeps performance dependable.

Provide Supply Chain fuel for one of the hottest Marketing angles: CSR. From Starbucks putting "ethically sourced" on its
coffee bags to Apple's highly-publicized annual Supplier Responsibility Progress Reports, organizations look to appeal to
consumers and enhance their brands by promoting their corporate social responsibility (CSR). You can't have CSR without
supply chain social responsibility. By ensuring that purchased goods and services are free from slave or child labor,
environmental hazards, conflict minerals, unsafe working conditions, and other law and ethical violations, Supply Chain
assures an organization's customers that they are doing business with a socially responsible partner. That's especially
critical when your customers have CSR obligations to their customers.
How Supply Chain Can Woo Marketing by Charles Dominick, SPSM, SPSM2, SPSM3 was originally published in Edition 351 of PurchTips.

June 2016 Page 7

How Can You Ensure Negotiated Savings Is Captured?

In the May Issue of LeadingEdge Supply Management, we

explored two reasons why
"Realized Savings" is less than
"Negotiated Savings" as defined
in our Procurement Funnel
model. Those reasons were:
"Prices
varied
from
assumptions" and "End user
compliance was less than
100%." Today, we'll cover one
more reason.

Reason #3: Quantities purchased were less than forecasted. In calculating cost savings, typically you
multiply the savings per unit by the quantity purchased. So, the more you buy, the more you "save." If the
organization buys a lower quantity than forecasted, Realized Savings will be less than Negotiated
Savings. If the overestimated quantities used in calculating Negotiated Savings were not forecast by the
procurement department, then the procurement department shouldn't be blamed for not hitting "Realized
Savings."
Actually, no one should be looking to place blame when quantities purchased were less than forecasted.
The goal for many organizations, as we teach in "Finance For Strategic Procurement, Part I," is to achieve
expense reduction as recorded on the profit and loss statement. Whether an expense reduction is
achieved due to a procurement department-negotiated discount or the decision not to buy something, it
is still a "win" for the organization. To challenge procurement performance when the organization is
"winning" is counterproductive.
Now, here are three things you can do to help "Realized Savings" match "Negotiated Savings":

Acknowledge the potential of supplier billed prices exceeding contract prices, make sure you know
your organization's requirements and the market inside and out, and manage the supplier and the
contract
Involve end users in the sourcing process so that they buy in to the supplier selection, adequately
communicate that there's a new supplier on-board, monitor usage, and squash any rogue buying as
soon as it surfaces
Help end users forecast accurately after all, you work with many people involved in forecasting, they
don't
Reasons Realized Savings Falls Short, Part II by Charles Dominick, SPSM, SPSM2, SPSM3 was originally published in Editions 350 of PurchTips.
Page 8 Volume 6, Issue 6

Price and Commodity Indices

Producers Price Index
The Producers Price Index (PPI) measures the change in the
wholesale selling prices that producers charge for goods and
services. It is typical for producers to offset rising prices by
passing on the higher costs to consumers in the form of
higher retail prices, therefore the PPI is often an early
indicator of inflation. Inflation is a decline in the purchasing
power of a currency, for example the USD, where each dollar
buys fewer goods and services than it could previously.
Interpreting the PPI: When the PPI rises, this signals an
increase in inflationary pressures. When the PPI falls, this
signals a decline of prices and may suggest an economic
slowdown.

Consumer Price Index

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is used as a measure of
inflation. To calculate the CPI, first a fixed basket of goods
is determined and a baseline of prices is calculated. Then
changes in price are calculated for each item, averaged and
weighted according to the importance of the item.
Interpreting the CPI: A higher CPI indicates that the total price
of the basket has increased and it now costs more to buy
that same basket of goods (inflation). A lower CPI indicates
that the total price has declined and now it costs less to buy
that same basket of goods (deflation).

Each month well include an updated graph of the PPI and

CPI as well as the PPI graph of an individual commodity. This
month we had a request to include Iron and Steel.
Send your request for which commodities you would like to
see featured in this section in upcoming issues to:
commodityppi@nextlevelpurchasing.com.
To learn more about these and other indices, we recommend
reviewing the Inflation & Prices section of the Bureau of
Labor Statistics (US) website at: www.bls.gov or by
researching indices calculated in your specific country.

June 2016 Page 9

Price and Commodity Indices

(Continued from page 9)

In addition to reporting on the indices published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, Leading-Edge Supply Management is proud
to report on an independent index - the MMI metals price index. The MMI is a set of 10 indices, created by Metal Miner, that track price
changes in global metal markets. This month, well feature the May 2016 Construction MMI.
What makes the MMI different than other indices that are already out there? A few things. For one, the MMI takes into account global price
fluctuations, not just domestic ones. For another, the MMI has a few industry-specific indices as Metal Miner sees differences in how prices
fluctuation between industries. For a third, the MMI is accompanied by analysis direct from the source Metal Miner.
So, without further ado, here are the results for the May 2016 Construction MMI as well as Metal Miners analysis.

Construction MMI Soars as Spending Increases

U.S. construction spending increased in March to its
highest level in more than eight years and our
Construction MMI shot up 15.9% along with it. Gains
in home building and nonresidential construction
offset a drop in government projects.
Construction spending rose 0.3% in March after a 1%
gain in February, the Commerce Department recently
said. The back-to-back increases raised total
spending to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of
$1.14 trillion, the highest level since October 2007.
Residential construction grew at a 14.8% annual
pace in the first three months of the year. It was one
of the few sources of strength in a quarter in which
the economy grew at an annual rate of just 0.5%
the slowest pace in two years.
Aluminum, steel scrap and copper all saw gains on the index, moves that are in line with the broad metals mix used in nonresidential and
residential construction here in the U.S. In China, numbers are similarly positive.
Chinese housing data for March showed another increase in home sales, putting a dent in Chinas housing oversupply and helping the
construction reset there. As lower rates and yields work with a lag, sales growth could stay strong in China this year. A red uction in the
requirement for a down payment by the central government is also underpinning increasing sales.
While Chinas manufacturing purchasing managers index from Caixin Media and Markit Economics fell to 49.4, missing economists
estimates for 49.8 and down from 49.7 in March, the construction numbers in the Peoples Republic remain strong and could, th eoretically,
pick up the slack this year if manufacturing there remains depressed.
The Construction MMI collects and weights 9 metal price points used in the construction industry to provide a unique view into
construction industry price trends over 30-days.

NOTE: Next Level Purchasing is exploring the possibility of making actual metals price points available as an inexpensive service. If you might be interested
in such a service, please contact Kara Uhrlen, Business Development Manager, at kuhrlen@nextlevelpurchasing.com or +1-412-294-1990 to help us
determine the level of interest and how rapidly we should pursue this option.

Page 10 Volume 6, Issue 6

From The Purchasing Certification Blog

by Charles Dominick, SPSM, SPSM2, SPSM3

Welcome to the third and final installment in our series that unapologetically lambastes buyers for making lame excuses for
not having a procurement certification. In Part I, I discussed how claims of not having time dont hold up under scrutiny. In
Part II, I shared how to overcome the I dont have the money excuse. Today, Ill tear a new earhole into the excuse I hate
most: I dont do well on tests.
Some people are legitimately scared of exams. Ive even known a friend who was a PhD who didnt want to become certified
because there was an exam. I advocate for procurement all the time. Ive dedicated my career to raising the stature of
procurement as a profession. To get procurement recognized and respected in the C-suite. So, when I hear procurement
people act reluctantly about becoming certified because of one stinkin exam, I cant help but wish they would get out of
procurement and become baggers at the local grocery store.
We are tested in procurement daily. Tested to get goods and services delivered on time to support our organizations
challenging schedules. Tested to prove to financial executives that weve saved the amount of money weve claimed to save.
Tested to keep demanding internal customers happy. So, anyone who is too scared to sit in front of a computer screen and
answer questions for 90 minutes probably isnt cut out for the challenges of procurement. Procurement is not a place for
sissies.
And, lets think about the worst thing that can happen: if you failed the exam, youd have to pay a mere $75 to retake the
SPSM Exam. You can retake it immediately or take your time to do more studying. Theres no shame if you do fail your first
attempt or attempts. Its not publicized. And people fail all the time and come back and pass. Its OK to take the exam more
than once. It doesnt diminish your stature once you do pass and become certified.
This discussion reminds me of one of my favorite inspirational phrases: The only real failure is the failure to try. Plus, think
about the opposite result. What if you pass on your first attempt? Youre done! Even if you choose to recertify as an SPSM for
your entire career, it will be the only test youll have to take. And you passed it! Isnt that glorious?
But I dont believe that anyone that has made it through this entire series is an excuse maker. Youre still here because you
have ambition. Youre still here because youre investing your time in making a difference: for yourself and for your employer.
Youre still here because you are ready to take your next step. So, let me direct you to your next step signing up for the
SPSM Certification Program. Do that here -> http://www.nextlevelpurchasing.com/registration-certification.php

June 2016 Page 11

Fleet Basics (Continued from page 2)

Administration, Management, and Technology

Who is monitoring your fleet for Department of
Transportation (DOT) compliance?
Who is tracking your vehicle inventory and managing
replacement schedules and remarketing activities?

Your firm is likely utilizing one or more third-party providers to maintain

your fleet from an administrative perspective. Consider contracting with
a supplier that offers a full suite of management options to cut down on
internal cost to manage separate invoicing and payment terms. Many
fleet providers offer telematics technologies (the integration of
telecommunications and on-board information systems).
These
technologies can deliver real-time information on vehicle driving
patterns and location data, which can be leveraged to monitor
efficiency and policy compliance.
While a data-driven smart fleet seems fantastic, we must not forget the
effects big brother can have on drivers. I might not like to be tracked
at all times, would you? One suggestion is to implement a superior
driver rewards and recognition program (several fleet management
companies offer a rewards program with their telematics technology).
This incentivizes good driving behavior and will go a long way toward
keeping positive driver morale.

Maintenance
Does your fleet have full service maintenance
leasing contracts?
Are you utilizing in-house mechanics to maintain
your fleet?
Do you have your vehicles regularly serviced?
Or, do you only have work done on an as-needed
basis?

Depending on your fleet size, vehicle use patterns, and replacement

cycle you could be overpaying or under maintaining your fleet.
Seemingly straight forward, having best practices with regard to
planned/scheduled maintenance can go a long way to maintaining
safe, efficient vehicles and ensuring high resale values. Reparative
maintenance, while necessary, is an unplanned cost usually having to
do with an accident or poor scheduled-maintenance adherence. Fullservice leases take care of a portion of maintenance-related activities
by charging a maintenance-per-mile fee.
An alternative to consider is to separate leasing and maintenance
services. Your fleet management provider likely has a relationship with
a qualified maintenance network. You can leverage the size of your
fleet to receive discounted maintenance pricing and service level
guarantees. Other maintenance-related items to consider are your
replacements parts, disposables, and washing & cleaning services.
Replacement parts can be generic or branded in nature. I recommend
you work with a tire OEM to leverage your fleet volumes and maintain
optimal vehicle fuel efficiency. Disposables are your oils, lubricants,
filters, etc., typically included in the scheduled-maintenance. Finally,
you have cleaning and washing services, keeping your units clean and
in good repair speak volumes of your organization and can help ensure
high resale values.
While this blog post is not all-encompassing, it does provide a starting
point for your fleet review. Taking a holistic approach to evaluating your
fleet operations is critical to saving time & money while increasing the
efficiency of your fleet. Source One Management Services has the inhouse capabilities to review your fleet and suggest cost-effective
alternatives to fit your unique fleet needs.

Page 12 Volume 6, Issue 6

From The Purchasing Certification Blog

The NLPAs Legendary Procurement Models

Are Now In One Place!

by Charles Dominick, SPSM, SPSM2, SPSM3

Since the Next Level Purchasing Association was founded, we have published various procurement models.
accompanied by great self-produced hype. Some more quietly.

Some

We recently redesigned our website (we hope you noticed!). And, as part of that redesign, we now have a single page
showcasing all of our procurement models, ready to be adapted by your organization for success.
Our procurement models include:

The Dominick Formula (2006)

The Procurement Funnel (2012)
The Dominick Matrix (2013)
The Strategic Procurement & Supply Management Body of
Knowledge Mastery Model (2014)
The Continuous Strategic Supplier Evaluation Cycle (2015)
Dominicks Sourcing See-Saw (2016)

See all of these procurement models, get an overview of them,

and link to more detailed information about each on our new
Procurement Models page. And stay tuned for new, innovative
procurement models from the NLPA in the months and years ahead!

October 24-25
June 2016 Page 13

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Leading Sales And Marketing Agency Mosaic Taps SMART By GEP

Procurement Software To Improve Supplier Management Capabilities
- Mosaic Sales Solutions, an Acosta company and one of the fastest growing sales and marketing
agencies in North America, selects GEP's cloud-native procurement software platform to streamline
and improve complete range of supplier management processes
- SaaS-based SMART by GEP is native to cloud, touch and mobile technologies
CLARK, N.J., May 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- GEP, a leading provider of procurement software and procurement services to
Fortune 500 and Global 2000 enterprises worldwide, announced today that Mosaic, an Acosta company and one of the fastgrowing sales & marketing agencies in North America, has selected SMART by GEP procurement software, the industry's
leading cloud-native sourcing and procurement software platform, to boost its supplier management capabilities.
Mosaic is deploying SMART by GEP's robust supplier management functionality to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of
its supplier information, relationship and performance management activities across the enterprise.
SMART by GEP's unified source-to-pay software platform, is a complete procurement platform which is native to cloud, touch
and mobile technologies. Offered as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), SMART by GEP leverages cloud economics to deliver a
solution that easily handles the heaviest processing requirements of GEP's Fortune 500 and Global 2000 clients, while
eliminating burdensome infrastructure and support costs.

SMART by GEP is easy to set up, deploy and use, with no extensive training required. All GEP products are platform-agnostic
(they work with SAP, Oracle or any other major ERP or F&A system). And with superb support and service, GEP is an industry
leader in customer satisfaction.
SMART by GEP provides complete source-to-pay functionality in one user-friendly, cloud-native platform, inclusive of spend
analysis, sourcing, contract management, supplier management, procure-to-pay, savings project management and savings
tracking, invoicing and other related functionalities. The award-winning, SaaS-based S2P platform is native to touch and mobile
technologies, enabling users to work anywhere, any time on any device.
About Mosaic

Mosaic designs dynamic, shareable experiences at the intersection of the physical and digital worlds that are rooted in emotion
and delivered through human interaction, giving our audience a story to tell and a feeling to cherish. Mosaic connect brands
with consumers through People as Media our one-to-one approach to delivering deeper engagement along the path to
advocacy. From events to retail connection to social platforms, we use the power of dialogue to change minds, drive purchase
and create belief, inspiring people to become the authentic voice of the brands they love.
About GEP
GEP is a diverse, creative team of people passionate about procurement. We invest ourselves entirely in our client's success,
creating strong collaborative relationships that deliver extraordinary value year after year. We deliver practical, effective
procurement services and procurement technology that enable procurement leaders to maximize their impact on business
operations, strategy and financial performance.
Honored as Best Supplier at the 2015 EPIC Procurement Excellence Awards, GEP regularly wins accolades as both a provider
of innovative procurement technology and a broad range of procurement services. Among its recent distinctions, GEP has been
named Leader and Star Performer in Everest Group's Peak Matrix of Procurement Services Providers, Leader in NelsonHall's
NEAT Matrix of Global Procurement BPO Service Providers, Winner in the HfS Blueprint Report on Procurement Outsourcing
Providers, as well as one of Spend Matters 50 Companies to Know and to the Supply & Demand Chain Executive 100.
Clark, NJ-based GEP has 12 offices and operations centers in Europe, Asia and the Americas.
For more about SMART by GEP, our cloud-native sourcing and procurement software platform, please visit
www.smartbygep.com.To learn more about our comprehensive range of consulting and outsourcing services, please visit
www.gep.com.

Page 14 Volume 6, Issue 6