Intesource Renews Sourcing Partnerships With Anna's Linens and Raley's Family of Fine Stores

PHOENIX, AZ--(Marketwired - May 13, 2014) - Building on years of double-digit percentage savings on sourced goods and services, Anna's Linens and Raley's Family of Fine Stores renew their partnerships with Intesource, the go-to e-sourcing provider for retail and grocery chains. 

Creating a competitive marketplace and the ability to reach new potential sources of supply consistently delivers savings that go straight to the bottom line. By providing strategic sourcing and category expertise, and partnering with customers to run unlimited, turn-key sourcing events, Intesource helps retailers and grocers bring more categories to bid -- from private label goods to office supplies to landscape services.

Since forging its partnership with Intesource in 2008, Anna's Linens -- the home goods retailer with more than 250 locations in 19 states -- has transformed and optimized its procurement program. With Intesource's e-sourcing platform, industry expertise, and team of sourcing experts, Anna's Linens now enjoys empowered buyers, greatly expanded sourcing operations, new ability to quickly execute and manage more events, and huge savings across the organization.

Anna's Linens' sourcing success spans direct and indirect categories, including:

• 68 percent savings on employee aprons, lanyards, and badges
• 33 percent savings on closed circuit TV
• 23 percent savings on private label comforters

"In the retail industry, a strong, effective procurement program is essential to grow our business and sustain an advantage over our competition," said Mike Harnetiaux, Chief Administrative Officer at Anna's Linens. "A clear and consistent sourcing process helps us find and secure new opportunities to cut costs and drive savings -- and Intesource's e-sourcing solution gives us the tools we need to expand and optimize our sourcing efforts."

E-Sourcing Enables Procurement Evolution

During its three-year history with Intesource, Raley's Family of Fine Stores -- which operates 128 stores in Northern California and Northern Nevada -- has continually refined its custom strategic sourcing process, evolving its purchasing program into a critical competitive differentiator. By tearing down silos and ensuring that procurement is a top focus across the organization, Raley's drives savings and efficiencies that benefit the entire company.

"Procurement is no longer just about purchase orders and supply management -- it's a key component to our business's growth," said Ken Mueller, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Raley's. "Our entire organization -- from top to bottom -- knows that procurement is a critical part of our company's future, and Intesource has been indispensable in helping us achieve our sourcing goals."

With the help of Intesource's technology, consulting services, and vendor intelligence, Raley's has achieved massive savings, including:

• Annualized savings of more than $10 million
• More than $1 million is process efficiency savings
• Average of 14 percent savings per event

"With margins as tight as they are in the retail and grocery industries, financial growth and competitive differentiation depends on the savings and efficiencies that e-sourcing provides," said Len Kaplan, VP of Sales at Intesource. "When businesses like Anna's and Raley's make sourcing an enterprise-wide priority, the whole organization -- and their customers -- share the benefits."

To find out more about how Intesource can enhance the value your procurement team drives, visit www.intesource.com.

About Intesource

Companies are caught between two opposing goals: drive cost savings or invest in innovation. Both require people, technology, and expertise in a time when resources -- and the skills and time required to source effectively -- are scarce.

Intesource eliminates operational headaches from the sourcing equation by offering the industry's only enterprise-wide, unlimited, full-service e-sourcing package. Intesource's turnkey approach to e-sourcing consistently drives double-digit savings without requiring additional staff or process overhauls -- an approach that saves valuable time and frees up staff to focus on strategic initiatives.

With a history of success in the most challenging sourcing climates, and expertise in both direct and indirect categories, Intesource ensures that buyers are getting the best value every single time. Learn more at www.Intesource.com.