Sourcing & Contracts
What do we source?
Tirlán’s sourcing strategy is to manage its common purchases by category. This is led by appointed Category Managers who combine purchases expertise and supplier engagement for optimum results.
Our Procurement teams are required to apply responsible sourcing criteria to our selection decisions and require all suppliers to be compliant with the laws and regulations and social customs of the countries they operate in and to comply fully with all Human Rights, Labour, Food Safety, Environmental and Health and Safety regulations.
Our key purchase categories
Our major ingredient purchases, after milk and milk-based products/powders include: Amino Acids, Vitamins, Minerals, Colours, Flavourings, Vegetable Oil, Cultures, Sugars, Vegetables, Cocoa, Gelatines, Herbals, Fruits, Salt, Starch and Process Acids
Virtually all our products are delivered in packaging that protects and preserves the food within – in particular we use plastic bottles, paper sacks, plastic bags, corrugated boxes, paper cartons, aluminium foil, printed labels and pallets.
Detergents, water treatments
Our manufacturing facilities use services such as: capital equipment, engineering spares, utility services, cleaning chemicals, health & safety equipment, laboratory equipment/consumables, external testing, laundry, pest control, waste management and security
While across the company we have requirements for, office supplies, training providers, printing, recruitment, travel/accommodation.
Services such as Legal, Insurance, Risk Management, Audit & Compliance, Financial, Consulting, Marketing, HR and Reward.
Software, computer equipment, telecoms, managed print services and network service.
Our products are distributed around a global customer base requiring: road haulage, short and deep-sea container shipping, less-than-truckload distribution, small parcel and courier services
In some of our production processes energy is a significant input and we forward purchase gas, electricity and some oil products such as diesel
Farm equipment, fertiliser, animal feed, fuel etc
Tirlán Sourcing
Tirlán uses SAP Ariba to facilitate our e-Sourcing requirements via an online portal. This offers suppliers an efficient tool for collaborating with Tirlán while improving transparency throughout the tender process. To many suppliers, the starting point for cooperating with Tirlán is to participate in an RFI/RFP or Auction.
An RFI (Request for Information) is used to gather non-competitive data on the capabilities of potential suppliers. The information is used to build a database of potential suppliers in the market.
An RFP (Request for Proposal) invites suppliers to provide specific information in relation to a current business need for products or services. We ask suppliers to respond online via Ariba in the format created by the Tirlán category mangers and submit a competitive proposal. This can be done as a single or multi-round event and is facilitated on a sealed bid basis. No pricing or ranking information is shared between suppliers and no live event will take part.
An Auction, Tirlán is increasingly using e-Auctions to boost fair competition between suppliers. E-Auctions are used for live bid events when we have received an initial pre-bid from suppliers. Suppliers are only ever invited to Auctions once verified and approved by Tirlán.
Tirlán Sourcing Lifecycle
- Prepare RFx. A Category manager will have a strategy to minimise risk, enhance performance and deliver savings targets to key business stakeholders. A Sourcing Event (RFI, RFP, Auction) will be created via a Sourcing Project in Ariba
- Publish RFx. Once the Sourcing Event is prepared, the Category Manager will review with key stakeholders and publish
- Process & Monitoring RFx. A Category Manager will answer supplier questions and regularly monitor the open RFX, responding to questions about the RFx through ‘event messages’, resolving open issues and ensuring that suppliers are completing their proposal within the scheduled timeframe.
- Analyse Responses. For each Sourcing Event (RFI, RFP, Auction), the Category Manager will analyse the supplier responses. This analysis can be made based on several factors and not just the final price.
- Award RFx. Scoring can be done manually or via Ariba.. Pricing can be analysed by the system based on historical pricing of products and services to determine savings. The Category Manager will then be able to Award the event to the successful supplier.
- Contract Creation. The follow on step in the sourcing lifecycle will be the creation of a Glanbia contract in line with our legal requirements.
Tirlán Contracts
After a supplier has successfully participated in a Sourcing event and has received an award notification, Tirlán will initiate a contract via Ariba to document the commercial arrangements.
This contract will ensure the delivery of goods or services will meet the agreed Terms & Conditions of Purchase as outlined by our legal team. Our T&Cs are available to view on our website.
This contract will be a signed agreement via DocuSign which establishes the terms of the relationship between Tirlán and you the supplier. Terms for example may include payment terms, termination, confidentiality etc.
The type of contract to be drafted will be based on select criteria, for example Contract Value, Duration, Risk and Potential Liabilities. Purchasing in conjunction with our legal team will decide which is the most appropriate.