SAN ANTONIO — Getting electricity and gas to your home takes a lot of man power and also a lot of equipment. In Energy Matters we find out how CPS Energy gets all of the equipment and services it needs to run on a daily basis.
Their supply chain department is responsible for procuring all of the goods and services they need to function on a day to day basis.
"That starts with when the need arises to procure something and ends when the material is delivered to our crews or the contractors or dispatched to support our internal teams," said Ryan Hoog, the Director of Procurement for CPS Energy.
Materials like the poles and wires you see all around town to transformers, generators, their trucks and heavy construction equipment, and anything that might be used in their office buildings too.
"One of the ways we've achieved our success is our Supplier Development Program which is in place to support economic development by encouraging all segments of the local business," Hoog added.
That's especially the case for small minority women and veteran owned businesses.
"We spent over $600 million on organizations categorized as small minority women and veteran owned over the last three years, and over half of that money was spent here locally in San Antonio," Hoog told us.
To make it easy for suppliers they have a new supplier management system.
"We know it'll make it much easier for suppliers to do business with us here at CPS Energy," Hoog said.
The tool is a one stop shop for viewing solicitations, reaching customer support 24/7, providing suppliers with a straightforward way for businesses to work with CPS Energy, which translates to a lot of success for local businesses.
"Simplifying things for suppliers which ultimately helps us get the best value for ourselves for local businesses and for our customers," Hoog said.