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This week’s webinar notes are from a February 18^th event presented by Scanmarket. The event is available on demand (click here).

It has been a long time since I attended an event that even mentioned auctions. Trends in procurement today are so focused on collaboration and value creation that talking about straight leveraged price reductions seems somewhat gauche by comparison. But the fact remains that auctions are a valid negotiation method for a number of spend categories and competitive markets.

It is often challenging, sometimes nearly impossible, to gain access to real time market intelligence that can provide you with insight into your industry or supplier relationships. Without access to this information or knowledge of best practices, it can be difficult to ensure your company has a competitive advantage. When delving into benchmarks it is important to understand the components of benchmarking, its benefits, and how the involvement of the spend owner is critical for the benchmark to provide the most value.

This week’s Wiki-Wednesday topic is benchmarking, and we are covering it at the suggestion of BMP member Victor Halchin. A discussion has been going on in the Strategic Sourcing & Procurement group on LinkedIn in response to the following question: "If you are "locked " into a supplier , would you be prepared to try another for benchmarking even if it was just to "bash " down the supplier on price - would you change suppliers if you were offered the same service at reduced costs on your purchasing requirements?”