Sourcing Projects Update

The Corporate United sourcing roadmap, always of interest to members looking to harness more of the leveraged savings that our contracts provide, was one of the key topics discussed during the August 19th meeting of the Corporate United Member Advisory Board Comprised of active member representatives eager to help make the most of the relationships among Corporate United, its members and suppliers, the board will play a major role in determining upcoming categories for the roadmap. For more information on the meeting, see the Member Advisory Board Meeting Notes in the Member Feedback section.

Electrical Supplies
Corporate United and Source One Management continue to evaluate the electrical supplies sourcing project. The initial bidding is complete, and to address the unique nature of the category, the sourcing team is working with both the distributor and manufacturers in order to negotiate the most aggressive price base and the most complete program for our members. The project will come to a conclusion in the next month, and a rollout will follow soon thereafter.

Forklifts
Since the kickoff meeting mentioned in the Q2 CU Quarterly, the forklift sourcing project has made good progress. Corporate United has collected and aggregated requirements data from the members of the sourcing committee, allowing us to consider a range of options from equipment purchases to leasing to maintaining and managing forklift fleets. The team has begun discussions with forklift manufacturers, distributors, and fleet managers to identify candidate suppliers. The Corporate United team is constructing a business case based on the knowledge gathered. An RFP will be distributed in September, and the project will be awarded in mid-Q4.

Vendor-Managed Staffing Solution
After completing the grueling process of meeting with finalists, viewing demonstrations of the technical platforms, reviewing the proposals and further examining the functionality of each platform, Corporate United, along with Brightfield Strategies, is finalizing contract negotiations with the selected supplier. Look for an announcement of the awarded supplier in the Sourcing Operations Update of the Q4 newsletter.