GML can develop and build store capabilities that allow them to build collaborative, mutually supportive vendor relationships that result in cost cutting and cost effective selling alliance relationships.

Establish a facilitation and result oriented program that:

• Performs Value Creation Analysis
• Identifies emerging warehouse technologies acquisition strategies
• Identifies strategies to leverage transportation cost savings
• Develops and implements Procurement Standards and Vendor Best Practices in the following arenas:

1. Buying
2. International/local Distribution Budget
3. International shipping
4. Letter of Credit
5. Logistics
6. Merchandising
7. Negotiation rates
8. Payout to vendor
9. Trade terms
10. Vendor Negotiation
11. Volume discount programs

• Enhances employee cost consciousness
• Establishes trust among key players and stakeholders
• Increases collaboration of procurement
• Reduces design to shipment cycle time
• Initial resistance and adversarial relationship perception may be shifted into supportive ones.
• Lack of trust and concerns around sharing secrets with the suppliers may lead to pocket vetoes, however the use of a consensus building approach should lead to collaborations on merchandise design to shipment to dramatic cycle time reductions.
• Vendors may react to customer/supplier alliance building as a cost cutting device. The focus on effective decision making should highlight our approach of using partnerships not as a money saver but as a sales strategy and the development of a selling alliance relationship.