September 2016 Volume 6, Issue 9

Procurement Negotiation Training Session Added

Certification & Training Spotlight

The Ethics of Buying From An Employee

Webinar Spotlight: Talent Acquisition Trends

Procurement Capability Improvement

President Donald Trump: The Negotiator?

The Vendor Onboarding Process, Simplified

Contract Termination Letters: Write em Right

Price and Commodity Indices

9-10

First International Standard for Procurement

11

Pokmon Go Lessons for Procurement Seriously!

13

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.

13

From The Purchasing Certification Blog

Procurement Negotiation Training Session Added

To 2016 NLPA Conference!
by Charles Dominick, SPSM, SPSM2, SPSM3
The 2016 NLPA Conference was already jam-packed with great educational sessions designed to help you Make Your Mark
on Procurement History. But now, its gotten even better!
I am delighted to announce that we have added a procurement negotiation training session entitled War & Peace: Effective
Negotiations Must Consider Both. Here is a description of this fantastic seminar, led by long-time sourcing executive and
internationally-respected thought leader, Ernest Gabbard, JD:

One of the most significant and visible measures of a Procurement Professionals success is the results which
they get from supplier negotiations. This presentation will provide an overview of the primary causes of
negotiation failures, as well as the key elements of successful negotiation. The presenter has participated in and
analyzed hundreds of negotiations to develop this substantive summary of both failures and successes, for every
size and nature of negotiation. This will be a fast-paced, yet comprehensive review of one of the most critical
skills needed in the contemporary procurement environment.

This session joins an agenda that already includes these awesome sessions:

Make Procurement Great Again: How To Win The Campaign For C-Level Support
Replacing The Gold Standard: Measuring Procurement Value Beyond Cost Savings
Washington, Lincoln & You: How To Become A Procurement Legend of Tomorrow
Like Pushing The Limit on Historic Route 66: Driving Procurement Success Through Performance Metrics
Darwins Evolution of Procurement: HarbisonWalker Internationals Story
Rewriting Procurement Learning History: Modern Techniques To Develop Talent
The Procurement World Is Not Flat: Discovering World-Class Procurement At Erste Group
No Taxation Without Representation: Procurements Crucial Seat At The Table
One Giant Leap For Procurement-Kind: Future Breakthroughs In Procurement Technology
Keynotes from famous forensic scientist Cyril Wecht and extraordinist/entertainer Craig Karges
And more!
The 2016 NLPA Conference is something you definitely do not want to miss!
The 2016 NLPA Conference is being held on October 24-25, 2016 at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
USA. Theres one caveat, though. The conference is close to selling out! Only about 35 seats remain!
So, if you dont want to miss out on a one-of-a-kind procurement education and networking experience, learn how to secure
your spot at http://www.nextlevelpurchasing.com/procurement-conference.

Page 2 Volume 6, Issue 9

Certification and
Training Spotlight
August 2016 Recipients of the SPSM Certification
Eric A., Procurement Professional, Ontario, Canada

Preethi. G., Management Trainee, Hyderabad, India

Lynn B., Customer Service Coordinator, Pennsylvania, United States Bohuslav G., Sourcer, Bratislava, Slovakia
Joris B., Senior Procurement Manager, Vilnius, Lithuania

Terri J., Exec. Sales, Sourcing, Marketing Specialist, Minnesota, United States

Andrea B., Tactical Sourcer, Bratislava, Slovakia

Steven M., Procurement Professional, Pennsylvania, United States

Carrol B., Purchasing Buyer, Pennsylvania, United States

William M., Sr. C&P Manager, Texas, United States

Grant B., Buyer, Ontario, Canada

Anthony M., Senior Advisor Contracts, Pretotia, South Africa

Belinda B., Senior Manager, Pennsylvania, United States

Nicole M., Executive Assistant, New York, United States

Stacey C., Buyer, Oklahoma, United States

Vicki R., Buyer, Pennsylvania, United States

Sherri D., Buyer/Purchaser, Massachusetts, United States

David R., Industrial Products Purchasing Mgr., Pennsylvania, United States

Vimala D., Process Developer, Hyderabad, India

Krystin S., Purchasing Agent, Vermont, United States

Donna F., Buyer, Texas, United States

Rena W., Maintenance Assistant, Texas, United States

Deborah F., Purchasing Agent, Vermont, United States

Joanne Y., Procurement Professional, Pennsylvania, United States

From The Purchasing Certification Blog

The Ethics of Buying From An Employee

by Charles Dominick, SPSM, SPSM2, SPSM3
A common question is:
Is it OK to be a supplier to the company I work for?
It can be ethical to be a supplier of your own organization if:
a. Someone else makes the purchase decision
b. The decision is made objectively, giving no favorable
treatment to your organization
c. You do not access or try to access confidential
information about other suppliers that arent available to
all competitors
That said, it probably isnt the best idea to be a supplier to your own organization or your organizations competitors. Totally
ethical practices are those where there is no real or perceived conflict of interest. While you may avoid a real conflict of
interest, it is likely that others will perceive that something unethical is happening. And that is an unhealthy situation for an
organization, its employees, and its management.
September 2016 Page 3

Talent Acquisition Trends

in Procurement
Hiring trends have changed a lot

over the past few years. What are

the latest trends in attracting the
top talent to your procurement
organization? And, are you as a
professional

keeping

up

with

these changes? This webinar,

conducted by a guest presenter
from GEP, explores these topics
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 9

From The Purchasing Certification Blog

Procurement Capability Improvement:

10 Posts That Will Help You Make Magic Happen
by Charles Dominick, SPSM, SPSM2, SPSM3

Over the past month, I have been thrilled to work

with some of the top procurement blogs in
sharing

some

insights

about

procurement

capability improvement. In this post, I will bring

all 10 of my guest posts into a step-by-step

model for you to deliver procurement capability
improvement in your organization.
Here are links to these guest posts with a
synopsis of each
Improving Procurement Capability, Part I: Separating Requirements From Preferences In Procurement Job Descriptions A
procurement job description can determine the degree of success the organization will or will not achieve through its
procurement people. This post on Procurement Insights will help you write procurement job descriptions in a way that
strikes the perfect balance between not discouraging very qualified candidates while still preventing unqualified candidates
from wasting your time.
Improving Procurement Capability, Part II: Deciding On The Education Procurement Candidates Should Have Is the university
education that procurement professionals have really changing over time? Some hiring companies job ads may lead you to
believe that the true pace of change is faster than it actually is. This post on My Purchasing Center helps you ground your
procurement departments educational requirements in reality without compromising the quality of candidates you are
seeking.
Improving Procurement Capability, Part III: Deciding On The Experience Procurement Candidates Should Have Industry
experience? Procurement experience? Category experience? Which of these should be important when filling open
procurement positions? This post on My Purchasing Center teaches you the circumstances where each type of experience is
most important.
Improving Procurement Capability, Part IV: Finding Evidence That Shows Candidates Seriousness About Procurement Do
want to hire a procurement professional who is interested in procurement? Or a procurement professional that lives and
breathes procurement? Naturally, youd prefer the latter. This post on Procurement Insights shares the fine details on how to
distinguish the difference between those two types of candidates.
Improving Procurement Capability, Part V: Matching Procurement Salaries To Procurement Qualifications An average
procurement salary isnt the best starting point for determining the pay assigned to a procurement position. The
qualifications you want the successful candidate to have will drive how much you will have to pay. This post on The Strategic
Sourceror will help you gauge how to arrive at the right salary for the right qualifications or vice versa.
Improving Procurement Capability, Part VI: Sourcing Procurement Talent Using general job sites to advertise your open

Continued on Page 12
September 2016 Page 5

From The Purchasing Certification Blog

President Donald Trump: The Negotiator?

by Vengat Narayanasamy
Special thanks to GEP for this guest post.

In his campaign, Donald Trump has repeatedly touted his business acumen and negotiation skills as qualities that make him
uniquely suited to be the next president. On top of this, Trump has claimed that Right now, we have the wrong group of
negotiators who have led us to being totally out-negotiated.
There is no doubt that the next president of the United States will need to be an extremely effective negotiator. Armed conflict,
political deadlock, and diplomatic crises abound. The president will be called upon to resolve the war in Syria; manage
complex relationships with Russia and Iran; handle hot spots such as North Korea, Libya, and Ukraine; navigate competitive
tensions with China; and manage differences within Congress.

Over the last year, Trump has mentioned his positions and negotiation approach in certain key complex issues around the
world:
On Iran, Trump said that he would conclude the deal in a week. His strategy: Trump would make his positions known and walk
away from the deal if his counterpart did not comply. If that approach failed, he would double up on sanctions until the
Iranians returned and submitted to his demands.
On the Famous Wall, Trump would somehow compel the Mexican government to finance a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border.
Regarding Israel-Palestine, Trump said to Rubio, that he would hammer out a deal that would bring an end the IsraeliPalestinian conflict.
Observing his positions and interests, Trumps
tactics are aligned towards power, toughness,
and dominance. In the world of NegotiationConflict models and typical behavior, we would
classify Trump as part of the Competing
quadrant, and one who follows the I Win-You
Lose philosophy. The other philosophies
include Collaborating: I Win-You Win,
Accommodating: You Win-I Lose, Avoiding: I
Lose-You Lose and Compromising: I Win Some
You Win Some or I Lose Some You Lose Some.
Research in the conflict resolution field shows
that a solely competitive approach to
negotiation (Trumps preferred style) often leads
to stalemates, less than optimal or satisfying
solutions, damaged relationships, low levels of
trust, feelings of resentment, desire for
vengeance, and sometimes even violence.
Something to note, over a long period of time, Trump has a successful track record of making favorable deals for himself and
his businesses. To his credit, Trump has written a book titled Art of the Deal that explains the intricacies of making a
successful deal for the commoners. According to Trump, Deal is a Deal irrespective of the subject, real estate or political.
However, a lot of negotiation experts and pundits say that there is a world of difference between negotiating a business deal
and negotiating with a rebellious outfit or defiant partner in a war zone or in the midst of a hostile environment. This difference
between buying real estate, for example, and ending wars, building coalitions, structuring global agreements, and balancing
military and diplomatic leverage has potentially serious implications that depend on the kind of negotiator a president will be.
Continued on Page 12
Page 6 Volume 6, Issue 9

Are You Asking Your New

Vendors For Too Much?

Organizations often need certain documentation to onboard a vendor. Sometimes risk, technical complexity, or other factors
may require you to obtain extensive amounts of documentation from some vendors. Where organizations run into trouble is
when they require all the various types of documentation from every vendor. They often do this because they feel its too hard
to decide what documents are required for each vendor and its easier to ask every vendor for everything.
However, these lazy organizations dont realize the consequences of that approach. The consequences include:

Having a weak supply base: Unwieldy amounts of paperwork scares away all but the most desperate vendors. Today,
vendors dont want to do a ton of work for the mere chance of earning enough business to eventually justify the effort.
Some may simply opt out of putting that much effort into earning potential business, leaving only the most desperate
vendors to respond. And a high-performing organization wants the best vendors, not the most desperate.

Paying high prices: Right away, the organization seems like a high-maintenance customer. Vendors factor into their
pricing how much work goes into serving a customer. High-maintenance customers rarely get top discounts.

First delivery delays: If loads of unnecessary paperwork have to be completed by every vendor then reviewed by your
organization, every vendor onboarding effort may take weeks to complete. This can unnecessarily delay the delivery of
simple goods and performance of simple services that should be quick and easy to complete.

Now, obviously, you dont want to have a different onboarding process for every new vendor. And you dont want to
structure your vendor onboarding process to require so much analysis to figure out what documentation is needed every
single time you need to add a vendor. So, it is best to strike a balance by identifying a limited number of categories of
vendors, each with their own documentation requirements. Three to 6 categories is manageable.

Learn about a six-step process for determining your categories and how you can get a sample vendor documentation
requirement matrix at http://www.nextlevelpurchasing.com/blog/2016/07/supplier-onboarding-process.html.

The Vendor Onboarding Process, Simplified by Charles Dominick, SPSM, SPSM2, SPSM3 was originally published in Edition 356 of PurchTips.
September 2016 Page 7

Contract Termination Letters:

Want to know how to terminate a

contract? Then, look at the contract
itself! Contracts often specify exactly
how they can be terminated.
In most cases, youll want to terminate a
contract using a contract termination
letter. Here are some tips for writing
contract termination letters:

If there is any particular risk associated with terminating the contract, involve your organizations legal counsel to ensure
compliance with all applicable laws. Legal counsel may prefer to draft the contract termination letter.

Be sure that you are allowed to terminate the contract for the reason you wish to. Some contracts allow you to terminate a
contract for any reason. Others require a failure by the supplier, a notification from you to the supplier that it had failed,
and an opportunity for the supplier to correct the failure before you can terminate the contract.

Determine termination date that complies with any notice period within the contract. For example, some contracts say
This contract may be terminated by either party for any reason on thirty (30) days notice to the other party.

The message itself doesnt have to be complicated. The key sentence can simply be: I am writing to you today to let you
know that [your company name] is terminating our services with your company, effective [termination date].

If the contract requires a reason for termination, cite that reason in your contract termination letter.

If the supplier has in its possession any materials or other property belonging to your organization, include in your contract
termination letter a mention of what you want back, where those things are to be returned, how the supplier is to transport
those things to you, and a date by which they should be in your organizations possession.

Contract Termination Letters: Write em Right by Charles Dominick, SPSM, SPSM2, SPSM3 was originally published in Editions 357 of PurchTips.
Page 8 Volume 6, Issue 9

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 Industrial Commodities.
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.

September 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 August 2016 Stainless 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 August 2016 Stainless MMI as well as Metal Miners analysis.

Stainless Jumps 9% After Philippine Crackdown

Nickel, the main price driver of stainless steel,
scored gains of 11% during the month of July
causing our stainless MMI to surge by 9%.
Industrial metals entered bull market territory
earlier this year and that puts the wind behind
nickels back. Apart from the more bullish
macro environment, we are witnessing two key
developments within nickels industry that are
undoubtedly adding fuel to this rally.

Tighter Environmental Rules

The country has so far suspended the
operations of seven domestic nickel mines for
failure to comply with environmental
regulations. Moreover, the new mining minister,
Regina Lopez a committed environmentalist recently vowed to close more nickel mines causing environmental
destruction.
The Philippines is the biggest supplier of nickel ore to top consumer China since Indonesia banned shipments of unprocessed
mineral ores back in 2014. The recent suspension of mines and the risk of more closures lifted nickel prices over the past few
weeks.

Surge in Nickel Imports

Although the metal has benefited for the most part from a bull narrative of supply shortfall this year. The bulls are finding more
reasons to bet on nickel amid growth in Chinese demand, which is being reflected in the surge in Chinese imports this year.
Refined nickel imports in China have surged by 189% to a record 226,100 metric tons in the first half of the year.
The Stainless MMI collects and weights 14 global stainless steel and raw material price points to provide a unique view into
stainless steel price trends over a 30-day period.

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 9

ISO to release first international

standard for procurement
Editors Note: This article was written by our partners at Source One Management Services on the Strategic Sourceror Blog. It
is being reprinted here with permission.

All across the globe, organizations are facing increased pressure to enhance the sustainability of their processes and
practices. However, traditionally, there has been little governance and clarification in regard to what the standards companies
should be aiming for actually are. In turn, it has made achieving optimized levels of sustainability not only more complicated
for individual businesses, but also a bit nuanced, disorganized and unbalanced across industries as a whole.
But it seems this may soon change. The International Organization for Standardization, better known as ISO, has announced
that is will be setting a new standard, ISO 20400, titled "Sustainable Procurement," which will give companies guidance for
how to best incorporate sustainability into procurement processes. This will be the first international standard of its kind.
According to the agency, the framework is currently in its second phase of drafting and ISO will be open to receiving feedback
on how to improve it before it releases the final version next year.
The underlying driver and benefit of this
initiative is to establish a more sustainable
way for organizations to conduct
purchasing-related activity. The news report
noted that the specific committee that will
be responsible for developing this guidance
is ISO/PC 277.
"For many organizations, sustainable
procurement is already featured in their
sustainability reports, yet there is a distinct
lack of clear guidelines on how to
implement and measure sustainable
procurement practices," ISO/PC 277 Chair
Jacques Schramm stated. "Using ISO 20400
will therefore help organizations achieve
their sustainability objectives, improve
management of supplier relations, improve
the sustainability efforts of their supply
chain and give them a competitive edge."
Environmental Leader recently reported that Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council, a nonprofit group, will be creating a
Sustainable Purchasing Benchmarking System that will be developed in a complementary, consistent and parallel way to ISO
20400. The source also added that the goal of this system is to also make it easier and more efficient for companies to
identify opportunities for adopting sustainable procurement practices.

September 2016 Page 11

Procurement Capability Improvement (Continued from Page 5)

procurement positions will result in you sifting through an avalanche of unqualified candidates. But you dont have to relegate
yourself to hiring only people you know to avoid that nightmare. This post on Buyers Meeting Point shares some secrets from
finding those few gems of procurement candidates without being inundated with applications youd never consider responding
to.
Improving Procurement Capability, Part VII: Vetting Procurement Talent Behavioral interviewing has long been considered a
powerful way of identifying great candidates, where only the strong survive an interview. This post on Buyers Meeting Point
complete with actual procurement interview questions will show you how to use behavioral interviewing in a procurement
interview.
Improving Procurement Capability, Part VIII: Assessing A Procurement Teams Skills Is your procurement team great,
average, or poor? Would an outsider agree with you? This post on Sourcing Innovation covers all of your options for
subjectively and objectively assessing your procurement teams skills.
Improving Procurement Capability, Part IX: Training A Procurement Team Whether it be online training, on-site training,
conferences, in-house training, or purchasing certification programs, a procurement leader has no shortage of options for
improving the capabilities of his or her team. Even though any choice is a better choice than doing nothing, some procurement
leaders get caught up in over-analyzing their choices. This post on Sourcing Innovation clearly explains the advantages and
disadvantages of each so you can home in on the option that best fits your needs and constraints.
Improving Procurement Capability, Part X: Measuring the Value of Procurement Capability Improvement Once youve
improved procurement capabilities, how do you know exactly how successful your efforts were? This post on Strategic
Sourceror provides methodologies for measuring your success.

President Donald Trump (Continued from Page 6)

Going back to history, during the 1950s, the U.S. was trying to gain access to Mexicos oil and natural gas reserves. Realizing
that their counterpart desperately needed their technology, industrial know-how and investment capital, the U.S. opened the
negotiation with a very low offer. That offer was considered so insulting that the Mexican government started to burn off its oil
and natural gas rather than provide the U.S. access to its fields.

Come 2017, if a President Trump negotiates with Iran by putting forth his ultimatums and following his hardball tactics will it
help? Trumps precondition for participating in a January Republican presidential debate on Fox News demanding that
moderator Megyn Kelly be removed had a number of consequences, none of which helped his cause. The executives at Fox
dug in their heels, Trump was forced to miss the debate, he lost to Ted Cruz in the Iowa caucuses three days later, and he had
to admit that skipping the debate may have cost him the victory. Moreover, he showed up at the next Fox News debate, where
Megyn Kelly was a moderator. Certainly it wouldnt be that easy to invite Iran for a fresh discussion.
Next, imagine the scenario of a President Trump negotiating with Mexico to build a wall on the border and demanding the
Mexican government pay for it. When he announced this plan during his campaign, there was a huge outcry in Mexico and
unanimously they came out and made it clear that Mexico was never going to pay for such a wall. Trumps response? The wall
just got 10 feet higher. Even your most generous proposals may be rejected if accepting them will make the other side lose
face. If a party loses badly and publicly, there is a sense of shame or embarrassment that will not bode well for the future. The
next interaction will be even more challenging because it will not only be about the subject being negotiated, but also about
personal revenge and retaliation.
Hardball tactics and providing ultimatums can work in achieving short-term interests, but they lack regard for the other party or
any inclination to build a long-term relationship. We need to understand that effective negotiation requires not only strength
and toughness, but also humility, empathy, and patience to find solutions, build and sustain coalitions, de-escalate conflict,
and achieve your objectives.
For more interesting thinking on procurement, visit the GEP Knowledge Bank.

Page 12 Volume 6, Issue 9

From The Purchasing Certification Blog

Pokmon Go Lessons for Procurement Seriously!

by Megan Nicol, SPSM, SPSM2

You simply cant escape it Pokmon Go is a giant phenomenon!

First, let me be upfront with you. I have not played the game and I
really dont know much about Pokmon other than Pikachu. That
being said I, like most of you, have been surrounded by those playing
it just about everywhere I go.
And, it got me thinking as we do here at the NLPA is there
anything that Procurement can glean from Pokmon Go?
So I did a little reading up on the game and the answer is (maybe
surprisingly) Yes!

Gotta Catch Em All

So while playing, trainers (players) visit Pokestops to pick up items that can then be used to help lure wild Pokmon so they
can catch them. (The goal being to Catch Em All!)
In Procurement, the Request for Proposal (RFP) can be used to lure as many potential suppliers for a given need as possible.
During a recent NLPA webinar: Tips For Writing Better RFPs, Charles Dominick, SPSM3 discussed how poorly written,
confusing, and/or overwhelming RFPs can lead many suppliers to not even bother responding. Without adequate response
theres little competition. And that means your chances of securing the best supplier at the best pricing are pretty slim. Pretty
bad lure, huh?

So, now is the time to make a Procurement Stop and review your RFP templates. They are a great tool if you write them
well and use them appropriately. You need to ensure that they are attracting as many qualified respondents as possible,
otherwise why bother?
Not sure what you should be including in your RFP template? Charles shared the 10 critical ingredients of good RFPs in the
webinar. Both the replay and a sample RFP template are available in the NLPA Library.

Developing the Right Skills for Success

According to Wikipedia, when trying to capture Pokmon: Factors in the success rate of capture include the right force, the
right time and the type of Pok Ball used.
One particular area that comes right to mind for me is procurement negotiation. Isnt the success rate affected by the amount
of force you use, the timing of your negotiation, and which tactics you use? Sure, previous experience will help you to learn
which tactics result in success, just like in the game.
However, if you dont have experience to draw on what can you do? In the game youll miss out on catching a Pokmon, no big
deal. (Okay, its probably a big deal to most players.) In a procurement negotiation, however, you could be missing out
on negotiating the best deals possible. So, thats where training comes in to play. In the NLPAs course Powerful Negotiation
for Successful Buying youll learn when and how much pressure to exert in negotiations (force), how to prepare for
negotiations (timing), and exactly what to say in 18 common negotiation situations (tactics). That training will set you up to
catch the best deals possible from your suppliers.

Continued on Page 14
September 2016 Page 13

Pokmon Go Lessons for Procurement (Continued from Page 13)

Get Out!

A trainer cant play Pokmon Go by sitting inside in the same place. To catch Pokmon they have to get out and walk around.
The Pokmon wont come to them, rather they have to go to the Pokemon. (This explains why I saw people wandering aimlessly
through the park with their heads buried in their phones)
So, let me ask you when was the last time you visited some of your most important suppliers? Sure, phone and email have
provided means of keeping in closer and more frequent contact with your suppliers. But, theres no substitution for having
your boots on the ground to strengthen your supplier relationships and catch any possible issues. Its a good practice to
visit your most critical suppliers on a consistent basis. So, get out of the office already and go visit your suppliers in the realworld!
If youre having trouble finding time to visit your suppliers, heres a tip. Many of the attendees of previous NLPA Conferences
had visited suppliers near the conference city either before or after the event. It was an easy way to get some face time with
vendors without making an additional trip. So if youre already making a trip to a certain city, see which suppliers may be
nearby.
So, there you go three quick procurement lessons I gleaned from Pokmon Go- and I didnt even play it! At the NLPA we always
encourage our members to think outside the box, so start looking at the world around you and think, How can I apply this to
procurement? I bet youll find some interesting and useful lessons!

Page 14 Volume 6, Issue 9