Sorry to interrupt our regularly scheduled programming. But every once in a while you come across advice that transcends disciplines and reminds us of the most sage principles for sustained success in both business and life.
On his self-named blog, new-age marketing guru (and former Yahoo! exec) Seth Godin takes on the Gordon Gekko-era adage, “It’s [...]

[Read more →]

Supplier performance management has been the elusive brass ring of the supply management discipline. Long recognized as vital to supply management success, a consistent and efficient method to measure and manage supplier performance can help companies focus resources, identify performance glitches, develop strategies for supply chain improvements, and determine the total cost of ownership (TCO) [...]

[Read more →]

I once wrote that “strategic sourcing provides the greatest and most direct lever for controlling costs and managing performance across the supply chain.” While not profound, this statement was somewhat controversial when I made it. At the time, the world’s largest enterprises were rushing to automate their requisitioning proceses in the hopes of driving down [...]

[Read more →]

The first phase of supply management improvements focused on developing new processes and deploying Web-based tools to automate existing processes and to identify cost savings. The next phase of supply management – in which we currently live – is all about compliance.
That’s why imposing policy, process, and system changes to ensure compliance is the second [...]

[Read more →]

By now, what I once coined “Corporate America’s dirty little secret” is a secret no more. Poor visibility is as pervasive as Janet Jackson; and it’s wreaking havoc on supply management performance everywhere from L.A. to Tokyo.
Lack of visibility into timely, detailed, and accurate spend data limit spend leverage, hinder compliance, and cause supply managers [...]

[Read more →]