People outside of the Sourcing field don't realize that in medium-sized and large-sized companies, the money spent and the volume of subscriptions (magazine, newspaper, and online access) that a company handles is a large annual sum and that the commodity is usually managed by the Purchasing Department.
Here are 7 things I learned about managing subscriptions:
1. Top executive's newspapers get lost more than anyone else's.
2. The renewal notice for a magazine subscription shows up before the first issue. Thanks for my friends at EBSCO (EBSCO on Google Finance) [one of the subscription management companies I worked with over the years] for that line.
3. Using online web-based systems saves countless hours of spreadsheets.
4. End users should be informed that the magazine or newspaper will continue to come for a few issues once the subscription has been canceled.
5. End users should be informed that the periodical may not start arriving for several periods after the subscription has been started.
6. Just because one has a print subscription, doesn't necessarily mean that the subscriber is automatically granted free access to the periodical's website.
7. When one tries to get a publisher to re-send missed issues, they almost never show up.
Have you managed subscriptions in your Procurement career? Send your Top 7 List to PurchaseRealm@ComprehensiveAdvice.com and I will share it with my readers.
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