New Research Gives Insight into the Procurement Practices of the Top 100 US Public Companies

TradingPartners Finds Most Successful Companies have Advanced Spend Management Tools but Few Make a Commitment at Executive and Board Levels

CHICAGO – October 27, 2011 – TradingPartners (www.tradingpartners.com), the leader in spend management and visibility technology and services, today released research showing the spend management and sustainable supply chain practices of Fortune 100 companies.  The study showed that while almost half of the top public companies cited spend management as a key strategic objective, only four have a Chief Procurement Officer.  The research results also illustrate that:

• Only 20% of companies have board members with procurement or supply chain backgrounds.
• The most successful companies have advanced sourcing tools.
• Companies that include suppliers in their corporate, social and environmental responsibility (CSER) programs, tend to have a higher net income margin than those who do not.
• Despite CSER being a success factor for many companies, only seven Fortune 100s have a Chief Sustainability Officer.
• 35% of CEOs see emerging markets as a key strategic objective, yet only 15% have executives from BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) countries on their senior management team.

The study “Procurement Practices: What Every Company Needs to Know About Spend Management Practices in Fortune 100 Companies” was officially released today in conjunction with TradingPartners’ first annual procurement forum in Chicago.  The event hosts C-level executives focusing on innovation in spend management and visibility, as well as sustainable supply chain best practices

“Our objective with this research was to determine the best practices in both spend and sustainable supply chain management among the top companies in the country,” said Mark Barnekow, Chief Executive Officer of TradingPartners.  “We were astonished to discover that many companies are not taking full advantage of the tools they have, nor are they making serious commitments at the board or executive level to focus on managing spend.”

A slideshow summary of the study can be found at http://slidesha.re/v1Orda, while the full version of the research is available on request from www.tradingpartners.com.

###

About TradingPartners

Based in Chicago, with European headquarters in London, and operations in Africa, Asia and Latin and South America, TradingPartners provides growing companies and global Fortune 500 firms with the most comprehensive and effective spend management and visibility technologies and services.  With a global vertical focus in foodservice, healthcare, manufacturing, public sector, retail and services industries, TradingPartners assists its customers to reduce the cost of their direct and indirect purchases with tangible results often in the 10-25% range.  TradingPartners’ unparalleled domain expertise, comprehensive supplier database, and robust spend management technology platform have helped hundreds of corporations and public sector entities achieve dramatic business process improvements and tangible cost savings.  For more information, visit www.tradingpartners.com.

Media Contact

Sharon Barclay

sharon@bluetrumpetgroup.com

+1 617-571-1233

TradingPartners Unveils New SpendScience™ Platform

New Software-as-a-Service Platform Enables Organizations to Monitor Spend and Performance Data from a Central Dashboard

CHICAGO – October 18, 2011 – TradingPartners (www.tradingpartners.com), the leader in spend management technology and services, today announced it has released a new SpendScience™ software platform. The cloud-based SpendScience platform allows customers to create a configurable dashboard providing visibility into complex data streams within disparate enterprise systems via any internet capable device. The new platform is being rolled out to existing customers as part of TradingPartners’ commitment to deliver innovative solutions to enhance the procurement experience.

TradingPartners’ SpendScience technology provides enterprises full transparency of key intelligence from across their business all in one central location. Executives and procurement professionals can view reports and graphs of key performance indicators on elements such as category spend, supplier performance, negotiation results, active contracts, and savings by logging into their account through a web browser.  Additionally, the software-as-a-service solution will allow for performance analysis by location, operating company, vendor/supplier relationships, categories, products and many other parameters.

The SpendScience platform is compatible with multiple categorization standards including UNSPSC and eCl@ss. Procurement professionals using the SpendScience platform will benefit from workflow that will allow them to assign tasks, schedule activity, monitor progress and track and report performance success.

“Our innovative SpendScience platform brings to light data from the dark recesses of the enterprise to identify opportunities to leverage spend, and manage vendor and category performance across many areas of their business,” said Mark Barnekow, Chief Executive Officer of TradingPartners.   “The ability to aggregate and view data from a single configurable dashboard will clearly help our clients achieve greater savings, vendor and product margin profitability, as well as improve the way they manage supplier relationships. The platform will especially prove invaluable to those companies that manage a de-centralized operating model or have operating units spanning the globe.”

“Procurement and senior executives, especially in large organizations, will benefit from the invaluable visibility that TradingPartners’ SpendScience platform provides, where users can track their spending in almost real time,” said Roger Hilborne, UK Procurement Manager of Vitacress Company. “There is a huge advantage for businesses to interface their existing data sources with the platform.  For instance, they can combine the basic spend data with supplier performance which enables them to make buying decisions based not simply on price but on the full range of vendor attributes.”

TradingPartners’ new SpendScience platform comes in response to intense market demand for a platform that delivers a scientific approach to enterprise spend and performance. The platform delivers visibility and transparency at a corporate and executive dashboard level.  It is particularly relevant as the corporate focus has shifted to automating, extracting and aggregating data from disparate enterprise systems in order to better monitor performance and supply chain risk in today’s challenging global business climate.

###

About TradingPartners

Based in Chicago, with European headquarters in London, and operations in Africa, Asia and Latin and South America, TradingPartners provides growing companies and global Fortune 500 firms with the most comprehensive and effective spend visibility technologies and managed services.  With a global vertical focus in foodservice, healthcare, manufacturing, public sector, retail and services industries, TradingPartners assists its customers to reduce the cost of their direct and indirect purchases with tangible results often in the 10-25% range.  TradingPartners’ unparalleled domain expertise, comprehensive supplier database, and robust spend management technology platform have helped hundreds of corporations and public sector entities achieve dramatic business process improvements and tangible cost savings.  For more information, visit www.tradingpartners.com.

Media Contact

Sharon Barclay

sharon@bluetrumpetgroup.com

+1 617-571-1233

TradingPartners to hold Procurement Innovation Forum in Chicago

Leading Industry Executives to Attend Roundtable Focused on Innovation in Spend Management and Visibility

CHICAGO – September 14, 2011 – TradingPartners (www.tradingpartners.com), the leader in spend management technology and services, today announced it will host its first annual procurement forum in Chicago on October 27, 2011.  The event will host C-level executives focusing on innovation in spend management and visibility, as well as sustainable supply chain best practices.

The event will provide a unique opportunity for chief procurement officers, and other C-level executives to meet, network and exchange ideas affecting their industry.  The day-long event will commence with an economic update from a professor of economics from the University of Chicago’s Department of Economics.  Additionally, TradingPartners will reveal the results of its extensive research in its recent survey of Fortune 100 companies’ best practices in spend management and sustainable supply chain.  The afternoon will be dedicated to a roundtable discussion centered on innovation in procurement, covering key topics at the forefront of current spend management strategic business practices. Attendees can expect much of the discussion to focus on leverage spend, emerging markets, and sustainable supply chains.

TradingPartners Chief Executive Officer, Mark Barnekow said, “We are looking forward to hosting this event focused on innovation.  In addition to sharing the results of our recent survey of Fortune 100 companies, we are anticipating a robust exchange of ideas from C-level leaders in spend management including leveraged spend, sustainability and sourcing for and in emerging markets.”

About TradingPartners

Based in Chicago, with European headquarters in London, and operations in Africa, Asia and Latin America, TradingPartners provides growing companies and global Fortune 500 firms with the most comprehensive and effective spend visibility technologies and managed services.  With a global vertical focus in foodservice, healthcare, manufacturing, public sector, retail and services industries, TradingPartners assists its customers to reduce the cost of their direct and indirect purchases with tangible results often in the 10-25% range.  TradingPartners’ unparalleled domain expertise, comprehensive supplier database, and robust spend management technology platform have helped hundreds of corporations and public sector entities achieve dramatic business process improvements and tangible cost savings.  For more information, visit www.tradingpartners.com.

Media Contact

Sharon Barclay

sharon@bluetrumpetgroup.com 

+1 617-571-1233

TradingPartners Chairs Spend Management Session at ProcureCon USA 2011 in Atlanta

CFO, Ginger Gorden, to Facilitate Round Table Focused on the Future of Procurement

ATLANTA – September 13 2011 – TradingPartners (www.tradingpartners.com), the leader in spend management services and technology, today announced that the company’s Chief Financial Officer, Ginger Gorden, will serve as chairperson of the Spend Management track at ProcureCon USA 2011 (www.wbresearch.com/procureconusa), which runs from September 12-14, 2011 in Atlanta, GA.  

Ms. Gorden, winner of this year’s Golden Bridge Finance Executive of the Year Award, will moderate a discussion on leveraging full spend visibility, a subject that currently represents one of TradingPartners’ key customer initiatives to help them gain full visibility of global spend in order to reduce purchasing costs.  Ms. Gorden will moderate other sessions including  Procurement Transformation: Supply Management Discipline & Strategic Vision at American Express, as well as a discussion on cash management, finance, treasury & procurement.

Ms. Gorden said: “We are delighted to have been given the opportunity to chair the Spend Management session at this year’s ProcureCon conference and meet with key professionals from the purchasing world.  In the current climate of rising commodity prices and concerns around supply chain risk, creating spend leverage and enhanced visibility plays a crucial role in optimizing procurement strategies.”

About TradingPartners

Based in Chicago, with European headquarters in London, and operations in Africa, Asia and Latin America, TradingPartners provides growing companies and global Fortune 500 firms with the most comprehensive and effective spend visibility technologies and managed services.  With a global vertical focus in foodservice, healthcare, manufacturing, public sector, retail and services industries, TradingPartners assists its customers to reduce the cost of their direct and indirect purchases with tangible results often in the 10-25% range.  TradingPartners’ unparalleled domain expertise, comprehensive supplier database, and robust spend management technology platform have helped hundreds of corporations and public sector entities achieve dramatic business process improvements and tangible cost savings.  For more information, visit www.tradingpartners.com.

Media Contact

Sharon Barclay

sharon@bluetrumpetgroup.com 

+1 617-571-1233

TradingPartners Signs Deal with Barratt Developments

One-Year Agreement of Spend Management Programs Helps Optimise Cost Structure

LONDON – July 26, 2011 – TradingPartners™ (www.tradingpartners.com) today announced that Barratt Developments, one of the United Kingdom’s largest residential property development companies, has signed a one-year agreement covering a range of spend management activities with TradingPartners.  The relationship augments Barratt’s purchasing team, and helps deliver additional savings across both direct and indirect procurement categories. 

Barratt Developments has agreed to a more strategic relationship with TradingPartners following several successful spend management projects, saving over £10 million since 2007.  The objective of the partnership is to identify and deliver a wider range of spend categories to facilitate further cost reductions. 

John Adams, Group Procurement Director of Barratt Developments said, “TradingPartners provides us with the people, the technology and best-practice processes through which we can identify the right suppliers to deliver the goods and services and negotiate best-value agreements.  This will allow us to optimise our cost structure and strengthen our trading relationships.  Initial spend management initiatives with TradingPartners have delivered strong double digit savings in the telecoms and glass reinforced plastic categories.”

Richard Adams, Managing Director of TradingPartners in Europe said “We’re thrilled to have a deeper relationship with Barratt Developments, especially as this builds on several projects over the past four years.  Our goal is to provide Barratt with inspired spend management solutions to help them negotiate more effectively and save money.”

About TradingPartners

Based in Chicago, with European headquarters in London, and operations in Asia and South America, TradingPartners provides the most comprehensive and effective spend management technology and managed services to retailers and other corporations to reduce the cost of their direct and indirect purchases with tangible results often in the 10-25% range.  TradingPartners’ unparalleled domain expertise, comprehensive supplier database, and robust technology platform has helped hundreds of manufacturers, retailers, and service firms achieve dramatic, tangible cost savings. For more information, visit www.tradingpartners.com.

About Barratt Developments

Based in Leicestershire,UK with 25 divisions nationwide, Barratt Developments is one of the UK’s leading residential property development companies.  It provides high quality, value-for-money homes for all market sectors, helping to meet housing demand in towns, cities, and rural areas, and is a leader in brownfield development and urban regeneration. For more information, visit www.barrattdevelopments.co.uk.

Media Contact

Sharon Barclay

sharon@bluetrumpetgroup.com 

617-571-1233

TradingPartners Works with Government to Reduce Costs by 22 Percent on Targeted Spend (US)

Savings Achieved Across Central and Local Government, Defense, Education, Health, Public Services, and Prisons

CHICAGO – July 19, 2011 – TradingPartners™ (www.tradingpartners.com) today announced it has saved its government sector customers an average of 22 percent of targeted spend, through its spend management technology and services.  TradingPartners has worked closely with many public sector customers since 2003 enabling them to reduce costs, streamline buying processes, and help negotiate more effectively and efficiently.

TradingPartners’ spend management activities have saved the government sector over $250 million across defense, education, healthcare, prisons, and services sectors.  The breadth of savings categories is highly diverse, and includes carbon credits, construction materials, utilities, food, furniture, IT hardware, mobile phones, office supplies, temporary labor, vehicles, travel services, and uniforms. 

Mark Barnekow, CEO of TradingPartners said, “At a time when governments are under pressure to balance budgets, more aggressive and transparent spend management programs are needed.  TradingPartners helps public sector customers develop strategies and best practices so they can identify the right suppliers, negotiate more effectively and save taxpayer money.”

Many of TradingPartners’ spend management activities with government customers transcend the typical spend negotiation activity. TradingPartners actively works with government and public sector customers to execute their initiatives and, where appropriate, helps to aggregate spend across multiple entities.  TradingPartners works with incumbent suppliers and identifies new suppliers who meet the specific regulatory requirements in areas such as diversity and sustainability.

The US government currently estimates a 2011 annual spend of $3.8 trillion[i], of which TradingPartners estimates approximately three percent ($114 billion) is negotiable.  Based on the company’s government savings statistics, TradingPartners estimates the government could save between 10-22% or $11.4 billion to $25 billion if strategic spend management and negotiation practices were to be applied.

About TradingPartners

Based in Chicago, with European headquarters in London, and operations in Asia and South America, TradingPartners provides the most comprehensive and effective spend management technology and managed services to governments, retailers and other corporations to reduce the cost of their direct and indirect purchases with tangible results often in the 10-25% range.  TradingPartners’ unparalleled domain expertise, comprehensive supplier database, and robust technology platform has helped hundreds of public sector entities, manufacturers, retailers, and service firms achieve dramatic, tangible cost savings. For more information, visit www.tradingpartners.com.

Media Contact

Sharon Barclay

sharon@bluetrumpetgroup.com 

+1 617-571-1233

TradingPartners Saves Retailers 11% in Spend Negotiation Activities

Retail Customers Cut Cost of Goods and Services in First Six Months of 2011

CHICAGO and LONDON, July 11, 2011 -- TradingPartners (www.tradingpartners.com) today announced it has saved its retail customers an average of 11 percent of total spend year to date with its spend management technology and services. TradingPartners works with many of the most trusted retail brands worldwide to deliver significant savings as part of their most strategic initiatives.

In the first half of 2011, TradingPartners managed retail spend negotiation activities across 50 categories including apparel, home decor, healthcare, home improvement, fresh and frozen meats, pet supplies, produce, shoes, and sporting goods, to name a few. These spend management activities have taken place in more than 10 countries globally.

Mark Barnekow, CEO of TradingPartners said, "We are extremely pleased with the work we have done with retailers in the first half of the year. Many of our retail customers are facing significant pressure from rising prices due to inflation and greater demand on raw material inputs driving prices higher. We hope to continue to exceed the savings expectations of our retail customers throughout the remainder of the year."

Many of TradingPartners' spend management activities with retail customers transcend the typical spend negotiation activity. The company actively works with its customers to execute strategic initiatives such as SKU rationalization and assortment initiatives, private label strategies, and supplier localization as part of their sustainability initiatives to name a few. In many cases, TradingPartners provides significant supplier augmentation services to assist retailers to find more cost efficient suppliers who can provide consistent quality supply of goods and services.

About TradingPartners

Based in Chicago, with European headquarters in London, and operations in Asiaand South America, TradingPartners provides the most comprehensive and effective spend management technology and managed services to retailers and other corporations to reduce the cost of their direct and indirect purchases with tangible results often in the 10-25% range. TradingPartners' unparalleled domain expertise, comprehensive supplier database, and robust technology platform has helped hundreds of manufacturers, retailers, and service firms achieve dramatic, tangible cost savings. For more information, visit www.tradingpartners.com.

Media Contact

Sharon Barclay

sharon@bluetrumpetgroup.com