Out-of-the-box energy savings challenge via e-Marketplaces

Energy costs comprise a sizable chunk of operating charges when businessmen operate in the Philippines. With crude futures prices trending higher in global markets, hedging in terms of energy-related purchases is gaining importance, especially for companies whose operations are directly tied to consumers’ spending patterns. Competitors that have mustered economies of scale can step up for any price hike that any related venture may implement, and limitations also exist as far as cost-cutting measures are concerned.

This is the main reason why prudent planning is essential for direct investors to meet their expected returns on investment. The surest way to do this is by carefully ensuring all data run throughout the procurement process are adequately consolidated to arrive at the correct implementation of defensive policies.

e-Marketplaces help aggregate all necessary details on purchases where benchmarking to specific indices is made possible. Realistically, several enterprises would rely on data that need to be re-encoded in their systems, realizing that greater cost stems from time lags when extracting information. Buyers typically go through a heap of filed purchase orders to get the data needed for those that maintain the old process, and purchasers remain locked within these clerical exercises. The end-result: disparity is produced when it comes to analyzing data and purchasers’ negotiation experience; very little flexibility is made when one variable needs to be simulated against the other (i.e., supplier performance, volume-pricing variance); and there is little time left to engage key suppliers in the planning process.

There are several ways by which enterprises save on electricity charges, or even support back-up procedures in case power shortages occur. In fact, many have learned valuable lessons following the debilitating effects of the prior year’s brownouts that ran for a long period, by ensuring that support mechanisms are present to ensure continuity of operations. This may include purchasing appropriate gensets that could last longer than what is typically provided, to creating more complex and customized energy-savings plan that help reduce costs. In fact, e-Marketplaces assist in improving buyers’ learning curve as they can readily touch-base with experts within specific industries. Depending on the extent of the requirements, these local and overseas experts aid in defining and fine-tuning realistic parameters that would fit well to meet an organization’s objective.

The next question: Can buyers scout for consultancy arrangements through e-Marketplaces? The answer is undoubtedly yes. Within SourcePilipinas’ e-Marketplace, purchasers can look forward to securing consultancy arrangements, more particularly on schemes that would help them save energy costs in the course of their main operations. One should only adopt an "out-of-the-box" concept when it comes to looking into prospects of joining an exchange since not all requirements should necessary go through the competitive open auction route. In fact, SourcePilipinas helps shorten procedures when it comes to technical partner searches, as members utilize the exchange’s available pool for faster and easier supplier selection.

Within SourcePilipinas’ e-Marketplace, the procurement division of any enterprise is aided via smoother integration of plans with engineering, operations and even finance. More than tapping a wider pool of choices, technical aspects are better outlined and communicated during the accreditation route. Also, financing options need not be cumbersome, as available sources is readily secured within an exchange’s network. Appropriate exchange of ideas and other technical parameters is better facilitated, as advices that will benefit an enterprise’s operations are prudently enumerated.

In summary, more heads are better than one. Joining e-Marketplaces allows enterprises to act swifter by securing long-term methods than relying on temporary solutions.

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Elyn del Carmen is a senior business development associate of SourcePilipinas.com. E-mail her at [email protected].