Cushioning Supplies Market Procurement Intelligence Report

The market for Office Furniture, Fixtures and Fittings and its sub-segments such as Cushioning Supplies are at an interesting intersection. The category has historically lagged in tech adoption due to inadequate skillsets of majority of workforce and the perennial requirement to reduce facilities related cost. Therefore, suppliers who have demonstrated technological prowess to achieve efficiencies are being preferred over traditional vendors.

With advancement in technology, service providers are employing diverse tools in their operations to identify opportunities for optimization and greater collaboration with the customers.

Buyers of Cushioning Supplies are insisting on hard evidence to support cost reduction. Suppliers are responding with elaborate matrix of KPIs that provide managers actionable data on supplier performance and cost savings achieved.

Trends like these and many others discussed in this report are necessitating a relook at the way Cushioning Supplies is procured and the procurement cost saving opportunities that exist.

Cushioning Supplies procurement best practices are moving towards a level of sophistication which is typically seen in traditional procurement categories. Category managers now have an attractive opportunity to adapt the best practices seen within this category as well as those being leveraged in other non-related categories. This report summarizes the best practices picked from across multiple categories that could work well for category managers involved with Cushioning Supplies procurement strategy.

For example, Buyers must ensure the participation and collaboration of all related cross-functional teams (procurement, electrical, engineering, and housekeeping) in category management and planning activities. This is crucial, as these teams will be the primary end-users of the services offered by suppliers, and this step will ensure consistency in services.

Buyers must clearly define clauses pertaining to the ownership of sub-contracting services that are not a part of their preferred suppliers' portfolios. This will ensure consistency in the services of sub-contracted firms as well as protection of confidential data.

Buyers require industry-specific services to effectively operate their production facilities. Thus, they should opt for service providers that can offer customization and bring in years of experience in serving the needs of that industry.

Cushioning Supplies procurement managers also need to proactively identify and mitigate potential risks that can arise in the supply chain or contracts for Cushioning Supplies procurement. Some examples include: