Value Driven Retailers Adopt a Sustainable Approach to E-Sourcing

PHOENIX, AZ--(Marketwire - Nov 3, 2011) - Record cotton costs from first quarter this year are forcing stores to increase prices this holiday season. According to The Wall Street Journal, cotton "surged to historic highs this spring." And, "Lower cotton prices won't show up in merchandise on store shelves until late spring of next year."

This, coupled with the fact that consumer caution is at an all-time high, raises concerns for inflation of commodities as well as shipping and labor costs. In response, some companies have adopted a sustainable approach to keeping a lid on prices.

Anna's Linens has implemented e-sourcing as a proven approach to gaining visibility into true market pricing, time after time. The Costa Mesa, Calif.-based specialty retailer of quality, value priced home fashions, partnered with Intesource in 2008 as its e-sourcing solution provider.

"When we partnered with Intesource, we recognized an immediate ROI," said Mike Harnetiaux, senior vice president corporate administration of Anna's Linens, Inc. "We have expanded the use of the tool throughout the company as a whole including merchandise such as bed in a bag, comforters, feather beds, fleece blankets, towels and more. E-sourcing has simply improved productivity for our buyers and helped us combat rising costs as much as possible so we can continue offering extreme value to our customers."

Other retailers that have partnered with Intesource include Harris Teeter, Meijer, Price Chopper, and Weis Markets, to name a few. Nash Finch Company, one of the largest distributors in the food retail industry, also uses the company's full-service sourcing solutions and services.

Intesource offers a full-service, all-inclusive approach to e-sourcing unlike any in the industry. Intesource's team of professionals is dedicated exclusively to the development of custom processes and support services for each partner based on their unique strategic sourcing and procurement initiatives. This approach allows users to become productive within weeks to achieve immediate bottom line results. The Intesource web-based e-sourcing suite allows for complete transparency and control through each step of the process. Intesource also offers contract management and vendor management tools and services designed specifically for the procurement professional.

About Intesource, Inc.
Intesource, Inc. is a provider of web-based e-sourcing solutions and services including reverse auctions, vendor management, and contract management. Serving market leaders in the retail industry, the company delivers superior technology backed by industry-leading, full-service support. Intesource's enterprise solutions integrate with existing processes to deliver high impact results -- a 30 percent improvement in sourcing efficiencies and 18 percent reduction in the cost of goods and operating expenses. For additional information, visit www.intesource.com and click here to watch a short 3 minute video about Intesource.