Cost Reduction Services
SSA focuses on producing tangible savings that are fully implemented to produce immediate and long-term cost reductions and business efficiencies. SSA's cost reduction services include the following:Strategic Sourcing Consulting Services
Sourcing Opportunity Assessments
- Defines supply base & realm of supply agreements
- Details all purchasing categories & associated expenditures
- Provides benchmarking on pricing and agreement structures
- Identifies and prioritizes cost reduction opportunities
- Produces results oriented, detailed project plans
Specific Category Initiatives
- Targets specific sourcing categories
- SSA develops and implements strategies to capture significant cost reductions.These potentially include: 1) purchasing process improvements,2) expenditure leveraging, 3) consumption controls, 4)requirement re-specifications, 5) consolidation of suppliers,6) direct negotiations, etc.
Outsourcing of Purchasing
- SSA actively manages and executes purchasing activities directly ina client's organization
- SSA executes both tactical and strategic spend management activitiesand focuses on driving maximum value
- SSA produces significant continual improvement and cost reduction resultswith very high ROI
Negotiation of High Value Contracts and Agreements
- SSA applies extensive negotiation expertise to establish best-in-classagreements and to produce substantial results
- SSA's process is intensive and can be conducted in a short timeframe
- SSA employs a fact and information based approach to greatly increasea client's negotiation position (benchmarking, cost structurere-modeling, etc.)
eProcurement Assessments, Strategy Development & Implementation
- SSA has extensive experience at assessing the potential to apply eProcurementtools and applications
- SSA can provide expert support to implement a wide variety of eProcurementtools including web supply portals, on-line catalogues,reverse auctions, forward auctions, online bids, etc.
- SSA identifies business requirements for streamlining purchasing relatedactivities through supply partner/ERP integration
General Expense Reduction Consulting Services
Systematic Mapping of all Expense Items
- Collect and analyze all expense components, details, and backupand categorize expenses by business group
- Conduct interviews with key stakeholders and perform sensitivity analyses
- Require business owners to develop and support rationale for expenses/ budgets
- Conduct rigorous analysis of expense categories and identify specificareas of opportunity. Detailed analysis will be conductedincluding 1) benchmarking, 2) process flow charting, 3)ROI analysis, 4) cost structure re-modeling, 5) purchasingopportunity assessment, etc.
Develop and Implement Expense Control Strategies
- Implement infrastructure strategies including: 1) HeadcountReduction Opportunities, 2) Work Flow Re-engineering, 3)Elimination of Low-ROI / Non-Essential Programs and Expenses
- Work with business owners to fully implement all selectedand approved expense reduction strategies and interfacewith Finance to ensure reductions are properly reflectedin appropriate budgetary processes
- Conduct on-going implementation of secondary expense reduction opportunitiesprimarily focused on continuous spending for procurement/sourcingrequirements
Capital Expenditures - Expense Reduction and Control Project Efforts
- Collect details on, and analyze, all processes associated with capitalappropriations, planning, approval, project execution andspend management
- Analyze frequency of change requests and and associated costs
- Categorize entire realm of capital expenditures/projects
- Develop and implement proactive purchasing strategies to better manageongoing spending associated with capital projects. Strategiesthat may be implemented include: 1) bidding of requirements,2) active negotiation of requirements, 3) leveraging ofspending between various capital efforts, 4) establishmentof preferred supply partners, 5) use of electronic sourcingtools, 6) use of alternate suppliers / new supply chainalternatives, etc.
- Develop and implement capital expenditure processes to dramatically impact costs, which may include: 1) more stringent approvaland review processes, 2) improved change request controls,3) active purchasing involvement in daily spending activities,etc.Sales Enhancement Services
SSA focuses on producing significant increases in sales and dramatically improving sales effectiveness through intensive, hands-on work that impacts key sales levers.
Sales Effectiveness Assessment
- Initiate assessment launch
- Analyze and document findings related to benchmarking and analysis of key sales effectiveness areas, including: sales training, sales and sales management skills/strategies, business planning/territory management, product messaging, customer targeting and resource recruiting
- Conduct live field-work with personnel to view procedures, strategies, questioning/probing, closing techniques, etc.
- Identify and prioritize opportunities for revenue growth
- Define detailed action plans to address the opportunity areas identified
Sales Process Methodology
- Institutionalize customized selling processes
- Ingrain new sales strategies through intensive in-field coaching
- Develop customized support materials
- Implement and manage organizational change
- Conduct ongoing follow-up to achieve improved results
Sales Training
- Develop customized sales training strategies
- Define detailed action plans for implementation of new sales strategies and processes
- Implement a standardized sales training curriculum
- Reinforce training initiatives through creation of sales tools (laminated cards, audio tools, CD-ROMs, etc.)
- Support training through one-on-one coaching directly in the field
- Conduct ongoing initiatives to improve sales training
Recruiting/Compensation
- Assess hiring process and compensation strategies
- Implement a comprehensive recruiting and compensation plan
- Institutionalize ongoing hiring and compensation procedures