The Professional Retail Store Maintenance Association (PRSM) recently surveyed the retail industry to better understand current sourcing practices and their impact on multi-site retail, store maintenance operations.
 
The PRSM Association Sourcing and Procurement Benchmarking Report collected information from 85 multi-site retail companies to analyze sourcing practices for retail facilities. The goal was to understand the sourcing practices retailers currently use, with the long-term goal of establishing industry sourcing standards.  Some key findings include:

 • More than 66 percent of retailers invite three to five suppliers to participate in request for proposals.
 • 43 percent of retailers have stand-alone sourcing divisions for each department and 36 percent use a single sourcing division for the entire organization.
 • Facilities departments are always involved in maintenance sourcing decisions and provides input on equipment repair, maintenance and replacement. Finance and Real Estate influence capital improvement projects.
 • Failure to meet service level agreements triggers most searches for new suppliers.
 • Two-thirds of retailers assess supplier company risk by checking financials and other factors.
 • National suppliers are preferred for waste and energy management, fire controls, safety and pest control.
 • Regional suppliers are most used for trades such as carpentry, plumbing, and handyman services.
 • 96 percent of retailers have termination rights and required levels of insurance in service level agreements.
 
“PRSM members spend millions each year on products and services. Understanding the key trends in sourcing and identifying ways to improve the process and develop standards are critical to help our members reduce costs and better manage facilities budgets. This report will enable PRSM members to compare their processes to the industry standard and make important adjustments as needed,” said Patricia Dameron, Executive Director, PRSM Association.
 
Joe Fairley, Co-Chair of PRSM’s Benchmarking Committee and Director, Client Services for DWM Facilities Maintenance, said, “This report represents an essential starting point.  The survey results are fundamental in our efforts to generate annual core metrics delineating the procurement practices of our retail membership.”