5/4/2010

Question: Hi Rich, Is there a list available of the top 10 Limo services in Boston, NYC and Washington DC ? Thank you. Joe 617-856-2964

Taxi! I have a feeling that any list is a pay for placment so I'd probably not give them much credence. My suggestion is to work with a national or regional company that can effectively service all of your locations. Best negotiation leverage as well. I did find limos.com to be a reasonable site where you can get started.

3/15/2010

Question: I currently work for a Bio/Life Sciences company with really no purchasing policy to build on. I have been challenged to put a policy in place but without some kind of foundation to build off of I am looking for some resources or even samples to help me with this task. Any thoughts or resources out there that I could tap into? Regards, Joe Firmani Purchasing Manager Metabolix Inc.

Many colleges and public agencies post their purchasing policies online. While these may not be totally applicable to the life sciences business segment, they are a good place to start. College procurement is tough to manage so many of these policies are pretty comprehensive. Just Google purchasing policies and a lot of them turn up. You might also want to check the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council. There may be a member forum of some sort that will allow you to query other members.

3/15/2010

Question: Hi Rich, Is there a preferred philosophy on whether to provide suppliers with gross forecast vs. net forecast? What are the arguments for one (each) over the other? Thank you.

Generally suppliers are just happy to get a forecast! I dont think the gross or net is important, but some level of accuracy is. I think that a gross forecast is more of a planning tool (capacity) and a net forecast allows suppliers to fine tune their operations (production). A gross forecast with a long horizon and a short forecast with a shorter horizon may work. Keep in mind that over time a supplier will analyze forecasts versus actual shipments and will adjust your numbers accordingly.

3/3/2010

Question: What are best practices for timing of Legal contract approval in the requisition process? Obtain Legal approval on 'final' contract version prior to requisition submission? Or Is it to obtain Legal approval on 'draft' version and submit with the requisition? (i.e. run parallel work streams: Legal finalizes the legal T&C's. Once the requisition is approved, Procurement coordinates the submission of the 'final'contract version). Is there any best practice documentation available?

A Three Bears scenario: too early, too soon, or just right. I am not aware of best practices but I can speak from experience. If you get legal involved too early nothing will be accomplished and the deal may never materialize. If you get them in too late the deal may be significantly damaged by too much work after the fact. My experience tells me to bring them in at the framework stage. They can help with contract development especially during the offer / acceptance stage. Getting them involved at the SOW level may help as well if there are any specific issues that need to be addressed. Of course, this also depends on your relationship with legal and remember that outside counsel will bill accordingly.

9/23/2009

Question: I am in need of the definition of a supplier contract to include in a policy I am writing. Can you point me to the right place?