The following sections list questions frequently asked by purchasers and suppliers about doing business over Marketboomer.

Inventory systems are great for controlling inventory and for basic purchasing.  Marketboomer specialises in Supply Chain management and has systems which enable purchasers to be far more proactive about purchasing than they can be on a traditional inventory system.

One of the fundamental differences between Marketboomer and most other systems is our approach to managing a product catalogue (we manage a central catalogue) and our ‘Best Buy’ capability. Through Marketboomer purchasers can report on all their spend and have the system select the best price for what is purchased on any given day.

By using Marketboomer:

- Purchasers can see consolidated reports on what they are buying at a property and group level (item by item) and can use this information to negotiate better deals and leverage their buying power.

- suppliers can see what their Marketboomer customers are buying at a property and group level and can see what their market share is of this business. They can then adjust their prices (where appropriate) to win greater market share.

Key questions to ask about the benefit of using Marketboomer (in relation to any existing systems a purchaser may be using):

1) Do you know how much you spend one every product you purchase across your business and group?  Do you know which product you spend the most money on for each month of the year?

2) Do you know how much other properties in your group are paying for the same product; is your price better than theirs?

3) Do you know what the next best price is for every product you purchase or for high quality items; do you know the cost to your operation of choosing one supplier over another?

4) For products that are purchased from only one supplier, do you know the cost of these selection decisions (i.e. what price could be paid if the next best or best priced supplier were used)?

If the answer to any of these questions is ‘no’, then there is probably a lot of money that is being ‘left on the table’ for your suppliers that you could be adding to our bottom line.

Marketboomer does a number of things differently;

1) We provide a solution (which includes online purchasing, Invoicing, Inventory and Recipes) at no ongoing direct cost to purchasers.  We only make money by charging a supplier a small merchant fee if their purchasers place orders on the system.  That is, if the system doesn't get used, we don't earn anything from it.  As such, we are highly motivated to ensure our customers (purchasers and suppliers) get a benefit from the system because that's the only way we can generate revenue.

2) Our approach to managing our catalogue (list of products) is unique, we have a centrally managed catalogue which enables purchasers to report on their spend across multiple properties.   With this kind of spend analysis capability, purchasers can start to see the price differences being paid for the same products (sometimes from the same suppliers) by different properties in the same group.  If each property in a group could just purchase at the lowest price any one of their properties has been able to negotiate, the savings would be massive, this is what Marketboomer makes possible.

3) We provide ongoing support and assistance to purchasers and their suppliers. Our system provides suppliers with a tool that helps them win more business in a fair, competitive way.  This creates a win/win for purchasers (through reduced costs) and their suppliers who can take advantage of eCommerce to grow their business.

Marketboomer is not meant to be free.  We typically earn our revenue by charging suppliers a Best Buy Merchant fee every time they receive a competitive order over the system.  In some cases, Purchasers elect to pay a Sole Supplier access fee where they do not want to pass the cost of the system to their suppliers.  However, in most cases, it is the supplier who pays Marketboomer, not the purchaser.  However, this does not mean the system is free for purchasers. What it means is that Purchasers can access the system because it is funded by suppliers.  In most cases, where competition exists, price reductions achieved through Marketboomer's Best Buy functionality produce net savings for purchasers.

However, in some cases, where there is a monopoly situation in place, the supplier may choose to pass the Marketboomer Merchant fee back to purchasers through their prices.  Given that Marketboomer can provide purchasers with a complete solution (Purchasing, Invoicing & Receiving, Recipes, Inventory, Reports, etc) any costs passed back are usually minimal and are more than outweighed by the savings achieved in other categories of spend and the process improvements offered by the system.

Marketboomer has been operating for over 10 years and have compelling examples of savings generated for clients all over the world. Typically our clients will generate savings of between 7% and 11% on historical prices prior to using the system.  We prove this by recording the prices paid before the system is used against those prices that are offered by suppliers once the system is up and running.

There is always a risk suppliers may co-operate with each other to fix prices.

1) If your suppliers are that organised, shouldn't you be?  By using Marketboomer an individual business and particularly a group (e.g. a group of hotels) will have much better tools with which to combat suppliers who may be working together to fix prices.  Through Marketboomer a purchaser can create a much more transparent and competitive environment within which their suppliers have to compete for their business.

2) Where suppliers are more organised than their customers, the customer is likely to be paying more than they should.  Marketboomer has tools, techniques and most importantly experience which purchasers can use to break cartels and take back control over which suppliers get their business. The moment a purchaser takes control of the decision 'who gets our business' they are in a better position than they would otherwise be in.

The purchasing function is now able to take advantage of the Internet in the same way other areas of the business have. Marketboomer helps to free up time purchasers currently spend on manual processes so that they can spend more time on important tasks.  Your competitors are using ePurchasing and to remain competitive it is wise to take advantage of any technology that can generate savings. 

No, the Marketboomer solution has been specifically designed for people who may have little or no computer experience.  It is easy to use and training will be provided (basic training can take as little as 30 minutes).  Marketboomer takes care of training suppliers to use the system and provides them with ongoing support in their use of the system.

Marketboomer saves purchasers lots of time, in most cases; you’ll have multiple orders completed and sent in the time it used to take you to send just one!  Best of all, Marketboomer knows all your suppliers’ product codes and details so you don’t have to remember these or look them up every time you send an order.

Marketboomer will look for the best price when it’s told to, but in doing so, it always compares exactly the same product from multiple suppliers (that the purchaser specifies).  This means that you can be assured of getting the best price for the specific products you need to purchase. If you specify a high quality item then Marketboomer will order that item but at the best price from the range of suppliers you are happy to deal with.

In many cases, price will not be a factor.  If you have a negotiated deal in place or wish to use one high quality supplier for quality reasons, Marketboomer will simply place the order with the supplier you have specified.

No, if anything, Marketboomer will free up your suppliers and their representatives to spend more quality time with you. Marketboomer simply makes the process of ‘placing an order’ more efficient, you can and should still call your suppliers to discuss product specifications, quality, service, specials and other ongoing issues as you have in the past.

Marketboomer already works with hundreds of suppliers that service other hotel groups.  It’s easy for a supplier to get set up in Marketboomer if they are not already in the system.  The Purchase Orders that get sent through Marketboomer are always presented in an easy to read format and your suppliers’ product codes are automatically listed (which saves you time and reduces errors for them).  There is only a small set up fee for a supplier nominated by you to join which covers setup, training and loading of prices.

Suppliers can receive their orders by fax, email or online and only pay a small Merchant fee if they receive an order.