Driving strategic sourcing savings to the bottom line Driving strategic sourcing savings to the bottom line – we discuss how procurement leaders secure powerful savings and drive them to their bottom line by approaching sourcing strategically to deliver and capture cost savings for their organizations. What’s in it for you? Increased earnings and business efficiency Reading Time: 5 minutes Introduction: … Read More
Chinanomics:
Under international pressure to revalue its currency, China has been accused of exporting unemployment to the world. However, China showed spectacular timing by announcing a week before the G20 meeting in Toronto that it will abandon the two-year-old peg that has kept the RMB tied to the dollar and allow the exchange rate to float within a very narrow band … Read More
Procurement Must Be Strategic or Die
Procurement Must Be Strategic or Die Procurement Must Be Strategic or Die – In a post, over on SM Steve Bagshaw asks us to contemplate what we call ourselves – a question which refuses to die. On the Purchasing Practice Linkedin group this same question is still receiving comments more than 12 months after posting. The answer really depends upon … Read More
What does procurement actually do?
In a previous posting on how to win executive support a reader comment highlighted the fact that many procurement professionals still struggle for support and greater recognition, which can – in his terms – damage your “procurement mojo”. So for those readers who still need to convince a sceptical organisation, here are some tips to help market procurement’s benefits to … Read More
Procurement: Win the support of senior management
All procurement professionals will have experienced the consequences of not having senior management support at some point in their career. The consequences can wreck promising careers and destroy confidence when things go wrong and you find yourself “on your own”. It is vital therefore buyers have strong organisational awareness and recognise the presence or absence of support for their function … Read More
Should UK government abandon the OJEU?
Catching up with a well-respected colleague who is trying to sell his services to the public sector, he bemoaned their insistence upon public sector and OJEU experience. Why would you insist on this experience – bring in more of the same – to bring about change? We both agreed this is the last thing you need if you want to … Read More
The five procurement hats:
When I was asked to write about procurement to attract graduates into the profession, I came up with the concept of the 5 hats of success: Hat 1: Entrepreneur Able to spot opportunities and manage risk to support the organisation’s growth plans. Hat 2: Change manager Able to define future state requirements and develop realistic plans on how to achieve … Read More
Procurement 2.0 – and other labels?
Procurement 2.0 – and other labels? Procurement 2.0 – and other labels? With the continued introduction of new procurement labels and attention seeking headlines we argue that procurement leaders must retain focus on building capability: Over on the Procurement Leaders blog Neil Deverill uses the term Procurement 2.0: “Where basic procurement typically exists in siloed organisations with poor internal communication … Read More
Taming the iP Dragon
Taming the iP Dragon Taming the iP Dragon – Increasingly, international manufacturers are motivated to be in China due to the growing domestic demand of the Chinese marketplace. It is easy to see why when you consider that last year, Chinese consumers bought more auto-mobiles than Americans for the first time in history. Tim Lee, General Motors Shanghai-based president of … Read More
Avatar comes to procurement?
Avatar comes to procurement? One topic grabbed my attention recently while I was engaged in a discussion over on the Purchasing Practice LinkedIn group covering the future of procurement: the issue of holding supplier meetings in virtual game/life simulation Second Life. A quick Google search highlighted impressive organisations such as Intel, IBM and Schneider Electric using Second Life for workplace … Read More