Agentrics' new sourcing service

Agentrics, the supply chain solutions provider part-owned by many of the world's leading retailers, is opening its doors with a new sourcing and procurement service which until now has only been available to its retail client base. The move follows six years developing its Discovery Services offer, which has helped retailers like Kingfisher and Migros cut costs by up to thirty percent on regular orders on everything from stationery to new checkout machines. After identifying and referring 60,000 pre-qualified suppliers in over 2,000 different product categories and integrating its online bidding platform to have them all compete for the best terms and conditions, Agentrics will roll-out the service to other industries, including manufacturing and service industries.

"The majority of companies tend to rely solely on a chosen few suppliers and rarely have the time, inclination or even language capabilities to open up to a whole global subset of others," says Jim Conroy, head of sales in Europe, Agentrics. "We can open their eyes to new, often stronger supplier possibilities, all easily approachable through a secure, online negotiation platform. What's more, with increased competition, comes lower prices." Discovery Services helps companies identify new sources of supply, give complementary information and significantly improve search criteria. Integration to its online bidding platform, ezMarket, also paves the way for an easier and more effective tender process. Benefits include increased supplier competition, lower purchasing costs, less administration and faster procurement lead times.

The Agentrics team of independent experts working 'round the clock in multiple languages can root out the best suppliers up to the task as opposed to most companies traditionally relying on agents tied to fixed suppliers and all intermediaries taking a commission along the way. With more and more supplier negotiations now happening over the internet on a global scale, time-consuming, manual processes are being replaced by specialist software systems and services. Research by Gartner reveals that over eighty percent of sourcing is now globally outsourced, with suites delivered via software-as-a-service dominating the strategic sourcing application market. Agentrics has seen a fifty percent rise in indirect (products not for resale) sourcing requirements in the last year, compared to previously companies mostly sourcing raw materials and finished goods and services. This includes growing interest in apparel - for instance for uniforms for staff - and telecommunications suppliers. There's also been increased demand for Eastern European and South American companies, particularly in the DIY sector.

"Most companies make purchases often enough - everything from paper to translations - so we're making our technology and tried and tested services available to a broader audience," adds Conroy.