Strategy . Influence . Innovation . Process

Introduction Supply Management is increasingly seen as a core ‘must get right’ competency, in leading organisations around the world and is beginning to take a role in product innovation and brand management. Organisations such as P&G, Deutsche Post DHL and HP realise that a large part of their relationship with their end customers is in [...]

The Australian Purchasing Professional magazine recently published an interesting insight into procurement life down- under, in a paper published by Guy Callender, CIPSA Foundation Professor and Professor and chair of Leadership in Strategic Procurement at Curtin University of  Technology. The paper touches on many issues for the wider professional development worldwide, to which I add [...]

Reading an interesting article by Professor William A. Fischer at the IMD Institute on creating virtuoso teams, brought my mind back to innovation in corporations, something I wrote about last month ( here) Professor Fischers article raised a question I have pondered many times – “are corporate HR practices stifling innovation?” Modern recruitment practices put [...]

Procurement -online published an interesting article which gave a good insight into the development of procurement in Asia, but also sends a relevant message to those procurement functions around the world that have not yet secured a strong mandate from the board. The article describes scenarios still recognisable by many in Europe or North America [...]

3Forward published an interesting article discussing how you can determine if an RFP is rigged or wired. This sales organisation perspective may provide an interesting insight for many purchasers which could be useful when constructing an RFP document. Here are the points they raise: 1. Emphasis on evaluation criteria that only an incumbent will be [...]

Procurement must learn to adapt to the rapidly changing environment modern businesses operate in or risk becoming irrelevant. It is not just about new tools, but about mind-sets and behaviours. Its also about monitoring developments in its external environment that impact their organisations ability to compete and therefore procurements ability to contribute strategically. These changes [...]

CPO’s understand the importance of talent in their quest to drive increased capability from procurement. We call this “talent powered procurement”; procurement capable of driving high performance and adding value to their organisations through a distinctive talent capability. With increasing numbers of businesses seeking to increase the capability of their procurement functions to control cost, [...]

The Interim CPO has become a vital external resource to drive internal change and manage M&A integration: In the drive to reduce cost many organisations have become so lean that they have lost key talent and now choose to buy in the expertise only when it is needed. This Lean Talent Resourcing Strategy is becoming [...]

After winding down for the summer, the silly season is over and its time to start planning your resources for the challenges 2010 will bring. Like most companies, the economic downturn may have forced you to cut back your procurement staff, and you very likely may have lost some star performers. The first few weeks [...]

As procurements profile has soared, companies expectations of what they can deliver has become even more challenging. The CPO is now being asked to be accomplished in a growing list of skills and responsibilities: Financial, commercial, supply chain, legal Reduce cost, Increase revenue, Improve working capital, reduce tax Stimulate supplier innovation Enhance the brand Decrease [...]