Bulk Buying for CYT Products

Hi,

One area that we are going to be implementing for CYT is a low-effort, but high-impact method to cut our costs. It involves the concept of buying in bulk, or arranging for purchasing agreement with vendors.

Many of the items we buy, can be bought from vendors where if they know we are going to be buying from them over a long period of time, we can arrange for good deals. It is also possible that we might be able to buy in large quantities in order to secure deals.

A key person to getting some of these deals setup will be Justin Riley. Justin served the Board for several months in 2009 as our President and will now be helping with purchasing arrangements for supplies, consumables, souvenirs, refreshments, etc..

I had an opportunity to discuss this with Justin recently. Here is what I learned.

Garen> Please explain the concept behind doing bulk purchasing.

Justin>>>Bulk purchasing is a practice that most large businesses use in order to cut/limit costs.  When you can identify products that are similar and group them, and determine the quantities you will need for any period of time – you can create a known quantity of business that you can provide vendors.  This guaranteed business is in many ways preferable to businesses than walk-in business because they can depend and plan in it.

Garen>What is the advantage of doing it this way?

Justin>>Businesses are typically willing to cut deals with buyers that are able and willing to deliver known quantities of business, which would lead into reductions of operational costs.

Garen>How much money could we end up saving a year by doing it this way?

Justin>>>As of now this is unclear, but we will continue to look into how much money we can save via these methods.

Garen>What sort of items can we buy in bulk that would benefit CYT?

Justin>>>Right now we’re looking into packaging our print items: programs, posters, show cards, etc.  After we begin the process for this, we can look at what else we are able to package and send out for bids.

Garen>You sound really knowledgeable. Do you have special skills that will assist us?

Justin>>>I work in the purchasing department of a large manufacturer, and it is part of my job to put quote packages together and source parts in specific commodities.

I think it will be great to hear how this unfolds over the next month or two. If you have ideas, please comment here, or send an e-mail to Justin or my e-mail to get in touch. 

See you at the show!