Episode 2: Navigating cross-border purchasing

Host:

[00:00:00] Hi there. Welcome to the Amazon Business Podcast, the podcast that helps you stay up to date with the latest trends, tools, and stories in smart business buying. I'm your host, Brit Moorer. And today I'm joined by Katherine Vaillancourt, Director of Indirect Procurement at Samuel, Son& Co., Limited. In today's episode, we'll explore innovation within the manufacturing and industrials industry, focusing on cross border procurement and how Samuel has expanded its purchasing landscape across North America.

[00:00:32] Katherine, it is great to have you here. To kick things off, could you start by sharing more about your role, your company's mission, and what does innovation and procurement mean to you?

Katherine:

[00:00:43] Thank you very much for having me here. So as you said, I am the Director of Indirect Procurement at Samuel. So our team manages all things that are not metal.

[00:00:52] We work with the entire business and manage national programs for our different business units to participate in.

[00:01:00] Our department runs a centralized function or shared service within a decentralized work environment where our business units really have the autonomy to select whatever vendors they choose, but we provide them with alternate supply solutions that will bring value add opportunities to their locations. That includes cost savings, opportunities and rebate incentives. Samuel itself is a leading industrial and metals product manufacturer, processor, and distributor. We work with our customers to understand their challenges and really develop the right solutions for their business needs.

[00:01:36] The organization is still family owned and started in 1855. Samuel's mission is to leverage our unmatched supply chain, processing, engineering, design, and manufacturing capabilities to develop market leading solutions to the customer. Innovation is really a key factor in the core and the growth of Samuel. Continuous improvement is one of our key objectives and innovation in it is a huge factor.

[00:02:00] With the advancement of technology and AI, we must be open to innovative ideas to really stay ahead of the curve in the manufacturing world and to maximize those growth opportunities with the new tools that are becoming available to us.

Host:

[00:02:12] Sounds like a huge theme within Samuel is innovation. Lots of that happening. So this is really amazing. And speaking of some of that growth that you mentioned, I'm curious to learn more about Samuel's expansion with Amazon Business across North America. What were some of the key drivers behind that expansion and overall move?

Katherine:

[00:02:30] Yes, it's really interesting because Amazon Business, we actually started Amazon Business relationship through our OMNIA partnership, which is a buying group, and because of our expansion. It has. We actually left that OMNIA partnership for the Amazon, component and went direct with Amazon now for our business. So we started about two years ago in the Canadian market. It was small. It was a slow start. We had pilot users to try it out to see if it was something that the business would want.

[00:03:00] Then we expanded to the U.S. market, approximately about a year later. And that's where it really boomed in because we had a lot of buy in from our business units to, to proceed with it. In March of 2024, we actually launched Amazon Business and Mexico, which is exciting because it's a new supply solution for our Mexico business units, which didn't have before.

[00:03:22] As of August of this year, Amazon Business is our primary office supply provider now for the company and we have a site user for every facility and the 80 plus facilities we have across the business.

Host:

[00:03:37] Wow, that's super impressive. You know, since you've expanded, kind of what types of products or product categories are you procuring from Amazon Business?

Katherine:

[00:03:45] So we actually started small with office supplies. Office supplies is kind of like the core, the things that you can get through Amazon, right? But as we've worked with our internal stakeholders, we have actually brought in IT peripherals now and cell phone accessories with working with our IT Procurement team to make sure that we have the buy in from the business, but also to be able to use that as a leverage on our product baskets. Next up are smaller non-MFP Printers that we want to expand on as part of our curated category.

Host:

[00:04:18] It's really great to see how you've not only expanded into new markets, but you've also evolved your product categories. Curious, how do you manage the unique needs and differences between Canada, the U S and now Mexico?

Katherine:

[00:04:30] So first of all, it's different product baskets or different curated catalogs per country. We have an account executive at each country. And those account executives really know the business. They get out on the training calls with the sites, so the site users know who they are. So it's really important from building your relationship standpoint. And we also have one strategic account manager server slash adoption manager that works within the three countries through Amazon, so that there is an understanding that the products are similar in case of nature, so that each of the curated catalogs may be different based on the country, but the same product types are available to each country.

[00:05:11] Because you don't want users, let's say, in an Ontario, Canada facility versus in a Marinette, Wisconsin facility to want the same thing, but they don't have it available to each of them. So you want to make sure that there's some sort of similarity in terms of product types. It might not be the exact same product, but at least it's the same options are available to them.

[00:05:33] So that's really how we found that the adoption has gone really well with Amazon business within Samuel is having not only your key account executives that work with you for each of those countries, but that one other person that kind of just ties it all in.

Host:

[00:05:45] And speaking of tying it all in, I'm sure technology plays a huge role in all of this. Can you just kind of walk us through what role technology plays in your overall procurement process?

Katherine:

[00:05:54] Data. It's all about data. Data is key. Good data is really important. If you have crappy data, then it's, it's, it's not going to be good for, for your trends analysis. It's not going to be good for understanding what people are buying, where people are buying.

[00:06:09] You really need to understand that because it enables us not only to negotiate the core pricing for those products, but because we have a manufacturer direct program that we have in place at Samuel, we can work with those manufacturers based on the data that we can see to go directly to our manufacturers to determine if there's an incentive buying program that's available for our users. So part of that would be, let's just use an example of 3M. So if we have a direct manufacturer relationship with 3M, that is a product basket within Amazon Business. If we purchase items with 3M through the Amazon business, we can then incentivize additional rebate opportunities for our sites to take advantage of that.

[00:06:54] So at the end of the year, we would calculate how many 3M products are bought, and then 3M would then issue a rebate to the organization, which would then be split out to the different business units. So we don't keep it at corporate, it goes out to the business units. So it's incentivizes the sites to use the program.

[00:07:12] So if you've put, if your site puts in 10 percent of the total spend, then they get 10 percent of that rebate. Same thing with the Amazon Business rebate program, exact same thing, how it works.

Host:

[00:07:22] Sounds like different levels of efficiencies wrapped up into the overall procurement process to make things run smoothly for you all over at Samuel. Before we wrap it all up, what's one lesson or nugget of advice you'd like to share with our listeners really looking to expand their procurement landscape globally?

Katherine:

[00:07:39] So I think good data and good relationships are kind of your key core. Without the combination of the two, you really can't leverage the opportunity for your own organization to develop those cost saving initiatives and to also have those adoptions from their, from your business.

[00:07:55] Having the ability to understand where people are buying from as well as why as of why they're buying from will really help you leverage your buying power and also build in opportunities from a cost saving perspective, which I think it's really important for any organization.

[00:08:11] Sometimes it's really about starting small with one category. But as you build those relationships with your stakeholders and your suppliers, the category opportunities will continue to grow, bringing in really more value add for your organization and for the partnership between yourself and Amazon Business.

Host:

[00:08:30] That's the perfect note to end on there. Really good data, good relationships. Thank you so much, Katherine, for, for joining me and sharing your insights and thoughts. Thank you all for tuning in to the Amazon Business Podcast.