While the Ariba LIVE Las Vegas mainstage spotlighted leaders using Spend Management to drive innovation, value, and growth for their organizations, many of the hallway conversations and private meetings turned to the issue of corporate responsibility and sustainable supply. A number of procurement and supply management executives attending the conference told me that their companies [more]

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A AMR Research recent article sheds some light on the real value of SaaS in the eyes of customers. As with any business decision, the assumption is typically that price is the most important factor. Luckily, as AMR’s research shows, that’s not the whole story in terms of buyers’ approach to SaaS.
Of course everyone is [more]

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You know oil prices are extremely high when Americans start to reconsider their annual summer road trip in the Wagonqueen Family Truckster. And while politicians piddle around on the margins - Congress shutting off the spigot filling the Strategic Petrolium Reserve and President Bush begging the Saudis to increase production - prices keep climbing.
But despite [more]

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As you’d probably expect of any discussion of Low-Cost Country Sourcing (LCCS), Tuesday’s breakout session on LCCS 2.0 revolved largely around China. Everyone always wants to know where China is headed? And what’s the next China? I wouldn’t say there were definitive answers to either of those questions from the panel, which included V.N. Bedekar, [more]

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In this morning’s Pharmaceutical/Healthcare Transformation breakout session, Reema Alzoubi, a Manager in Pfizer’s Worldwide Procurement group, discussed some interesting cultural challenges that they face internally and externally. Not too surprisingly, they found the solution on both fronts to be personal contact with their stakeholders.
Pfizer initially had a difficult time moving their European suppliers towards a [more]

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