New York March 11, 2003 Procurement software provider Zeborg this week rolled out its RFx Sourcing Suite, a melding of software, consulting expertise and analytics intended to help companies drive sourcing cost savings.
Zeborg says that RFx suite can help purchasing executives secure the best contracts and enforce policies and prices. The three modules in the suite include RFx Designer, which automates the price discovery process; RFx Analytics, which helps company staff optimize sourcing decisions, customize contracts and ensure compliance; and RFx Operations, which gives companies operational support for a rapid installation.
According to the provider, RFx Sourcing can analyze tens to hundreds of thousands of pricing points essential to determining the best outcome for each sourcing event. The solution can help sourcing executives weigh multiple priorities for best business decisions, allowing them to go beyond a simple cost/quality tradeoff to consider such factors as flexibility, delivery and responsiveness.
Zeborg also provides a contract compliance application tailored to negotiated terms and intuitive to the purchasing category, whether it's office supplies or labor, the provider says.
"Enterprises desperately struggling to cut costs are now taking a different tack by reducing what they spend up-front," Jack Reich, CEO and president of Zeborg. "Our sourcing solution is the only one to combine both deep understanding of the procurement process and category-specific intelligence, with the tactical expertise needed to automate this complex process and ensure repeatable savings."
Pierre Mitchell, vice president at technology consultancy AMR Research, writing in an an AMR Research Alert on March 7, described the Sourcing Suite as "a strange stack of Microsoft Excel, Visual Basic, open source components and pseudo-optimization capabilities powered essentially by massively parallel spreadsheets."
According to Mitchell, "The Sourcing Suite terminology is a bit of a misnomer&because it's actually a low six-figure sourcing engagement for a particular spending category that uses specialized client/server software, which allows Zeborg consultants to help their clients negotiate a better deal&. Zeborg has about 20 or so pre-built RFx templates, and its real skill lies in helping companies sift out their indirect procurement spending, especially in services, and then deliver hard dollar savings in those specific categories."
Mitchell's only complaint about the Zeborg offerings was that "some type of a guaranteed savings program would help at this price point." Nevertheless, Mitchell offers that Zeborg "is the dominant sourcing software and services vendor in financial services, particularly in the area of spending analysis, where its ExpenseMap product really shines."
Zeborg says that RFx suite can help purchasing executives secure the best contracts and enforce policies and prices. The three modules in the suite include RFx Designer, which automates the price discovery process; RFx Analytics, which helps company staff optimize sourcing decisions, customize contracts and ensure compliance; and RFx Operations, which gives companies operational support for a rapid installation.
According to the provider, RFx Sourcing can analyze tens to hundreds of thousands of pricing points essential to determining the best outcome for each sourcing event. The solution can help sourcing executives weigh multiple priorities for best business decisions, allowing them to go beyond a simple cost/quality tradeoff to consider such factors as flexibility, delivery and responsiveness.
Zeborg also provides a contract compliance application tailored to negotiated terms and intuitive to the purchasing category, whether it's office supplies or labor, the provider says.
"Enterprises desperately struggling to cut costs are now taking a different tack by reducing what they spend up-front," Jack Reich, CEO and president of Zeborg. "Our sourcing solution is the only one to combine both deep understanding of the procurement process and category-specific intelligence, with the tactical expertise needed to automate this complex process and ensure repeatable savings."
Pierre Mitchell, vice president at technology consultancy AMR Research, writing in an an AMR Research Alert on March 7, described the Sourcing Suite as "a strange stack of Microsoft Excel, Visual Basic, open source components and pseudo-optimization capabilities powered essentially by massively parallel spreadsheets."
According to Mitchell, "The Sourcing Suite terminology is a bit of a misnomer&because it's actually a low six-figure sourcing engagement for a particular spending category that uses specialized client/server software, which allows Zeborg consultants to help their clients negotiate a better deal&. Zeborg has about 20 or so pre-built RFx templates, and its real skill lies in helping companies sift out their indirect procurement spending, especially in services, and then deliver hard dollar savings in those specific categories."
Mitchell's only complaint about the Zeborg offerings was that "some type of a guaranteed savings program would help at this price point." Nevertheless, Mitchell offers that Zeborg "is the dominant sourcing software and services vendor in financial services, particularly in the area of spending analysis, where its ExpenseMap product really shines."
