To be, or not to be (alone), that is the question

Posted 29 October 2019 | | 0 Comments

It's been a long time since I dipped into Shakespeare - the last time was when studying Romeo and Juliet 35 years ago. So I surprised myself last week by reading one his most famous works - Twelfth Night. I stumbled upon a quote which resonated, and from which triggered the theme for this article. It was a quote from Orsino, when he says "I myself am best when least in company."

Like Orsino, many companies remain "least in company" when it comes to how they approach their purchasing. Why is this? After all, it's not as if their entire business strategy is to be isolationist; companies are increasingly collaborating with third parties when it comes to the front end of business - R&D and business development. Third party collaboration often happens when tendering, or to innovate without the need to develop new skills in-house, or to beef up resources to ensure timely service delivery.

But yet on the supply-facing, purchasing side of business, too many companies stick to a strategy of 'splendid isolation.' They don't reach out to third parties to benchmark the value they're receiving from their suppliers and so can only assume that they've secured optimal value for money. They don't join forces with other organisations to boost their buying power and make themselves more attractive collectively to the supply base (i.e. to create economies of scale). So buyers are locked into a cycle of trying hard with their limited spend to negotiate lower prices, or at least to mitigate price increases. Unsurprisingly this approach makes it difficult to move the dial in terms of total cost savings.

It doesn't need to be this way. The most insightful purchasing managers understand that being open to third party collaboration will ultimately make their company more attractive as a client. This includes encouraging external, independent supply value benchmarking to optimise value for money. How best to do this? We built BSA Buying Group for this very purpose, to provide purchasing managers with the ability to independently benchmark prices and service levels. They take advantage of our buying power to deliver on average 10-35% cost savings. It also frees up their time to focus on more challenging core supply chains where the risks and value is greater.

So break out of splendid isolation in your purchasing approach and great things will happen! Open your mind to collaboration and reflect on the words of Hamlet: "We know what we are but know not what we may be!"

by M Roper | 29 October 2019

You’re not on your own with BSA…

Posted 4 October 2019 | | 0 Comments

The UK economy is going through uncertain times and for many, times are tough. That’s why we like to remind UK companies that BSA Buying Group is here to protect your company finances. We offer a convenient way of validating whether your company is getting true value for money across its running costs.

Most companies never compare their deals with other companies, so how do they know they’ve got great value? So many buyers are convinced they’ve secured a competitive deal, but then we benchmark it and find that there is still 20-30% cost savings available. That’s not because the buyers are poor negotiators – no-one goes out of their way to get a poor deal - it’s just that the majority lack the buying power to enjoy the most competitive deals out there.

That’s why over the last 15 years BSA Buying Group has been so popular; we offer your buyers the chance to break through the economies of scale barrier, to provide an independent benchmark of the value being enjoyed across a range of overheads, plus it frees up the buyers to focus on more business critical supplier activities.

BSA Buying Group – the vehicle to protect your cash flow

Let’s consider one important sub-group within BSA Buying Group – company vehicles. We’ve got this covered as we offer several elements relating to the cost of your vehicle fleet: highly competitive car and van leasing (from an award winning broker), fuel cards which outgun most other fuel cards, vehicle insurances which are tailored to your business needs, vehicle tracking. We can even reduce your fuel consumption by 5-15% thanks to our innovative fuel magnetic conditioners – just strap one to the fuel line in each of your vehicles and that’s job done. No need for ongoing maintenance, just fit and forget.

BSASmartCash – now we can protect your staff (& the planet)

We’ve spent the last 15 years saving money for companies. Now we want to do the same for your hard-working employees too. We call this new service “BSA SmartCash” and we’d love you to offer this to your staff as a thank you for their efforts.

Just as BSA Buying Group can save your company money, it also has options for those company buyers who want to turn their companies into more ethical, sustainable organisations. Likewise BSA SmartCash has the same approach; of course it’s main focus is on helping your staff reduce their household costs. But it also has elements within it where individuals can do their bit to protect the environment.

We can use our buying power to help protect your staff in the following 3 ways:

Protecting cash

• Discounts off hundreds of retailers, cinemas, restaurants, hotels and entertainment venues across the UK
• A discount club on household services - gas, electricity, landlines, mobiles, broadband and LED lighting with 5-star service and 'double the difference' price promise - as well as cashback discounts off online and offline shopping;
• Highly competitive personal car lease deals for your Directors and staff; Click here to get a personal vehicle leasing quote.

Protecting the family

• Tailored financial health check, including pensions and retirement planning. They can also review your individual staff's private life and medical cover (assuming that you as the employer don't wish to offer this a company-wide benefit scheme; if you do wish to set up a company-wide scheme, BSA Buying Group can also help).

Protecting the planet

• Cut household and vehicle fuel bills by an average of 5-15% through greater fuel efficiency with our fuel conditioners; and reduce limescale build up with our water conditioners and thereby also save household bills through improved fuel economy and extending the life of heating appliances. Click here to buy these conditioners online.
• We can switch your staff to 100% renewable electricity and frack-free gas, greenest energy company in the UK. Click here for a free quote.
• Ethical insurance: we believe that the ‘comparethemarket’ type online auto quotes lack the personal touch and risk giving households cheap insurance deals with inadequate protection. Our ethical insurer takes the time to understand the individual’s insurance needs and donates up to 25% of their earnings back to the Wildlife Trusts.

So don't be alone. Call BSA today 0800 254 0344 to protect your company cash flow, your staff and their families, and the planet.

by Matt Roper | 4 October 2019