In The News

True Cost in Selecting the Wrong Vendor

What is the TRUE cost when the wrong vendor is selected? It can be costly when you have searched for the right vendor, put out an RFP and performed your due diligence only to find that the wrong vendor was selected. Below is an outline of the costs that are involved when this happens and what to do about it.

  1. Cost of correcting errors made by couriers
  2. Reduced quality of patient care
  3. Preparation costs to craft, release and project lead another RFP
  4. Training costs for getting new vendor up to speed
  5. Re-training of staff
  6. Unproductive costs--stress of changes leads to unproductive time = loss of $$
And the biggest COST of all:
  1. TRUST Cost - the cost no hospital or medical organization can afford. This affects all stake holders-patients, medical professionals, departments, executive personnel, hospital reputation and co-workers. All of whom count on the medical organization to perform accurately & on time. Your organization can't afford for these stake holders to lose confidence due to poor performance that negatively affects patient care.

Here is how to keep this from happening to your organization. Determine what the errors are truly costing you right now vs. just the invoice. Take into consideration re-work, errors, stress and reputation. Evaluate your choices based on quality first then negotiate price. In your evaluation, make the time to perform an on site visit of the quality candidates. This is imperative because anything can be represented on paper but one short visit to the prospective vendor's facility can tell the true story. You will see first hand the caliber of individuals that will be serving your organization and you can validate if what they put on paper is reality and whether or not they walk their talk.

As far as negotiating price, two things are most important to the vendor and when satisfied will ensure the best possible rate. One is commitment from the client and the second is prompt payment. Quality vendors are looking for an opportunity to create customers for life. This means they want a promise to serve you now and in the future if the quality remains in tact. A way to seal in commitment is with a fair and balanced contract that remains in force as long as the vendor is performing to your organizations standards. If the client is willing to pay by credit card within 10 days or through ACH then the vendor will be most negotiable on price due to the promise of quick, smooth cash flow.

When the search for the right vendor is viewed as an opportunity to develop a win win relationship then the right decision is made from the beginning and there is no need to repeat the process.

Lena Flores CitySprint 1.800.Deliver Chief Executive Officer Should you have additional question or would like more information on CitySprint 1.800.Deliver, please contact Lena Flores - lflores@citysprint.com

Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce - Business Focus

CitySprint 1.800.DELIVER®

Three simple principles - be on time, be courteous, be neat and clean. This is the foundation on which Tammy Patterson and Lena Flores built their courier business. Each worked for a bank in the early 1980's doing delivery work. Customers along the route often commented, "I wish you were my courier." Their common complaint was their existing courier was unfriendly, did not look or smell good and often ran late.

So, they researched the courier industry and formulated a plan to start their own service. In 1984, Striders Couriers, Inc. began with a $1,000 investment and a 110 square foot office. In May of 2000, they changed the name to CitySprint 1.800.DELIVER®. They were in the right place at the right time and grateful to loyal, supportive clients who started and stayed with them.

Today, CitySprint 1.800.DELIVER® performs over 140,000 deliveries annually and has over 757 active accounts, 49 drivers and 13 staff members. CitySprint serves the entire metroplex and beyond. Their delivery capacity is "from an envelope to a truckload" specializing in same day service with an emphasis on "getting it there fast." Other services include rent-a-courier, scheduled runs and errand service.