Purchasing An Expanding Role

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Purchasing An Expanding Role?

• In the World of PAs, Secretaries Management
  Assistants
• Burlington Hotel Wed Feb 4th 2004

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Introducing the Panel

• Edel Quinn Purchasing Manager,
  Bank of Ireland
• Jane O Keeffe Purchasing Consultant
• Sarah Dallaghan Sales Manager, HiSales
• Jim Nix Head of Group Purchasing, Bank of
  Ireland

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The World of PAs

• Some Things I knew
• Priority Tasks included -
• Correspondance and Communications
• Diary Meeting Event Management
• Travel Plans Project Coordination
• Taking Minutes

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PAs view of Life Skills required

• Discretion
• Diplomacy
• Flexibility
• Initiative
• Verbal Communication
• Personal Image
• 
  
• (Source MCE survey)

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But Heard about Changing Role

• Changes due to -
• Technology advances smart office software
• Corporate restructuring in 1990s
• Information revolution internet websites
• Video and Audio conferencing
• A new kind of office professional that has
• in essence replaced middle management

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PA Role in key spend areas

• Choice of Restaurants 72
• Choice of Hotels used nationally 69
• Conference Venues 59
• Office Supplies 56
• Choosing International Hotels 51
• Authority Books Periodicals 45

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So I checked these findings

• DNM Technologies - Catherine Coghlan
• 18 Staff and growing
• Premises / Facilities management
• Events / Promotions / Print / Design
• Recent Win at Buying
• 50 off AGM Catering

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More Findings

• Peace-broker and harmoniser
• Drafting important correspondence
• Eyes and Ears and providing feedback
• Acting as a buffer for attempted meetings
• Team link person co-ordinating activities
• Qualities above describe features of Leadership

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Proof if required

• Todays management assistant is more
• of a Project Manager
• Greater Importance placed on -
• Managerial and negotiating roles
• Purchasing and contract negotiation

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PA view of link to Buying

• Job Skills importance into the future
• Top 20 skills outlined
• 3 directly linked to Buying
• Information Management
• Negotiating Influencing Skills
• Purchase and Contract Management
• Bright Future for PAs /
• Buying Future Uncertain
• Question - Does PA stand for Power Absolute

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Edel Quinn Commodity Purchasing Manager Bank of
Ireland Group Burlington Hotel 4th February 2004
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Travel Management in a large Organisation
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• Background
• 1994
• Unquantified Spend
• Fragmented approach to buying travel (10 Agents)
• No group deals in place (Airlines, hotels)
• No Management Information
• 50 Management Secretaries / PAs arranging
  travel requirements on behalf on their Business
  Units

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Result.. Unstructured approach to arranging
Travel Business divided Group leverage not
maximised through effective deals
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So what happened next ? Formalised the approach
through Worked with PAs and Management
Secretaries to understand requirements Tendered
the BOI Group Travel Business Appointed one
Agent to take on requirements Negotiated deals
with Airlines, hotels etc.
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Main benefits at that time PAs became
influencers of Travel in the Organisation Move
from limited Role to very successful
Role Communicating ideas and problems so
action could be taken
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• Fast Forward..2004
• 10 Years on, new Decade, new Tender
• Demands of traveller far greater now
• Sharper Service required from Agent
• Cheaper flights, creative ticketing
• On line booking for Airfares and Hotel
  accommodation
• Skills more in house to the Organisation with
  the onset of online booking tools

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• For this Tender process
• Process is heavily influenced by PAs and
  Management Secretaries
• Real participation in Tender process
• Part of the selection committee
• Shared ownership around the benefits
  realisation of organised Travel within their
  own Business Units

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Major Developments PAs have moved
from- Submitting requirements Selection
process User of Service Participant in the
process Support and implementation Performance
Management Policy Compliance Owners of the
Service
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Finally DO NOT underestimate the influence that
You have within Your Organisation to ensure the
success and realisation of Purchasing Initiatives
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Thank You Edel Quinn
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PAs, Secretaries Management Assistants
Expand your role for more effective
purchasingJane OKeeffePurchasing Consultant
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Introduction

• In your organisation, staff are either generating
  revenue or spending the cash
• In the case of most support functions, its
  usually the latter
• This can be either as part of a team or as an
  individual
• This presents a major opportunity to influence
  costs

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Buying Role

• A Buyer is anyone involved in sourcing or
  procuring an item or a service for your
  organisation (consider yourself a buyer!).
• Spending money is not restricted to
  Professional Buyer or those in Purchasing Dept.
  (As we all know)

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Key Role - PA

• PA as company ambassador -
• Supplier representatives and sales folk
  seek contract information
• Target PAs as source of latest company
  knowledge
• Very often you are first point of contact to
  external community

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Information Management

• Be conscious of all information you impart to
  would-be suppliers
• Sales Marketing are focused and trained to seek
  customer information prices, volumes, decision
  makers! competitors!
• Limit critical knowledge to suppliers as this
  actually weakens your organisations strength in
  terms of negotiation power

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Effective Cost Reduction

• What is Cost Reduction ?
• or
• Purchasing Saving ?
• Economic benefit generated by buying action

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Reducing the Costs - PA Involvement

• 1. Cost Reduction
• Improved sourcing - introduce alternative
  suppliers to increase competition
• 2. Cost Avoidance
• Negotiated price reductions without reducing
  quality - through discussion

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• 3. Indirect Cost Savings
• Negotiated improvement to other terms
• - delivery
• - quality
• - increasing warranty period
• 4. Systems Improvement
• Improve and increase efficiency in operations
  and procedures
• Improve quality and management of information

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Understanding Total Cost of Ownership

• TCO is the initial cost or purchase price of a
  good or service
• plus
• All direct indirect costs needed to support the
  good or service during its lifetime in the
  organisation

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PA Role Summary

• Expanding Your Role
• Buying
• Information Management
• Effective Cost Control

Be Aware of your powerful position
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Training to Expand your Role

• If you enjoy negotiating cutting deals
  
• sharpen your skills with Professional
  Procurement training at IIPMM Institute.
• 
  IIPMM Tel [phone]
• 
  Web www.iipmm.ie
• 
  Email iipmm_at_iipmm.ie

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Introduction

• Sarah Dallaghan
• Selling can be like trying to lift mercury with a
  fork!
• 1000s of sales meetings
• Millions of tele-sales calls

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ObjectiveTo help you as a PA understand how
professional sales techniques can lead to a
win-win situation for both you (as the buyer) and
the sales personFor you to understand that good
salespeople are good negotiators but so are good
buyers

• Has anyone been involved in sales?
• I believe everybody is involved in sales

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Overview

• Stereotypes of sales people
• The techniques that professional sales people
  adopt
• Tips for better buying
• Benefits of understanding sales techniques to you
• Summary
• Questions to the panel afterwards

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Do you know who your dealing with?
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Stereotypes of sales people

• Gift of the gab
• Foot in the door
• The 40 page the sales spiel
• Flogging to death
• The machine gun approach
• Assume
• Viewed as
• Aggressive / Pushy
• Annoying / Boring

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Techniques used byProfessional Sales people

• Opening the sale
• Understanding customer needs requirements
• Questioning
• Features / benefits Cont

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• Listening
• Everybody is lying, but it doesnt matter
  because nobody is listening
• Lieberman
• Summarising
• Presenting
• Objection handling
• Closing

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Tips for better buying

• The 4 Ps
• Preparation Prevents Poor Performance
• Failing to prepare is preparing to fail
• Benjamin Franklin
• Know who youre dealing with!
• Ask questions
• Identify the sincere from the insincere
• Eliminate the timewasters!
• Recognise the techniques been used
• Analyse the benefits being offered
• Answer a difficult question
• with a question!
• Listen

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Analogies with Sport
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Benefits of understanding professional sales
techniques to you!

• Saves time gets straight to the point
• Make your role more interesting
• Better relationships at work
• Better career progression
• Enabling the company to make better decisions
• Filter out timewasters
• Reduce stress for everyone

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Summary

• If you know who are you dealing with
• understand the techniques
• do your preparation
• Win-Win for both companies!