Built for Buyers, Essential for Executives

The President / CEO perspective

Ask a buyer if they have what it takes to do their job and most will say, “Yes, I have it covered.” What do you expect them to say, boss?

The real question is, “Is your system transferable to the next person/generation?” After all, your buyer’s “system” is your company’s proprietary advantage. When that system (the buyer) walks out the door due to a retirement or another reason, how much of the buying process transfers to the next generation?

Yesler Groundwork is designed for buyers. It gives them back valuable time and maximizes profit. But its origin stems from one emphatic statement by a lumberyard president:

“Never again will we have all of our critical commodity purchasing information in one guy’s head, spreadsheets, and notebooks.”  – President, multi-location regional independent lumberyard

Buying better, systematically, starts with visibility to know what, how much, and when to buy. For most operations, it’s a time-consuming process and costly when you get it wrong. Done right, it becomes a transferable, data driven, profit maximizing system. Company data, smart visualizations, and market data at your fingertips make it fast and easy in Yesler Groundwork.‍

Commodity buyers have unique needs

Most ERPs provide the same basic tools for all purchasing (duct tape, lumber, gloves). It’s a one-size-fits-all approach. That’s because the primary customer of the ERP is the CFO for accounting, followed by sales, then management. Buyer’s aren’t near the top of the list.

Commodity buyers have different needs than accounting and sales. Not all products require the same level of analysis. Lumber and panels are unique because they:

– Occupy significant operations real-estate.

– Tie-up operating cash.

– Carry significant price risk.

You have data in your ERP, so this is simple. Right?

Figuring out what, how much, and when to buy shouldn’t be hard because you have data buried somewhere in your ERP – buried is the problem. There are complicating factors driving individual buyers to their own system of paper and spreadsheets. Factors like:

– Different SKU descriptions or units of measure (bf vs pcs) by location and user entry error.

– Multiple data sources or ERPs from past acquisitions or independent operations.

– Multiple screens or reports are required to see all necessary data.

Instead of a buyer’s time, knowledge and skill being deployed on relationships, negotiation, and decision making, they are occupied by time consuming administrative and data gathering tasks in the ERP. With Yesler Groundwork, the data is all gathered, organized, and visualized in ways that improve the buying process, saving time and driving improved buying performance.

How does Yesler Groundwork work?  CLICK HERE for Part 2 of this blog.