Supply Excellence

Entries from October 2008

PurchSearch: Scouring the Internet for Procurement Gold

October 31st, 2008 · 5 Comments · best practices, sourcing, supply management

I recently laid out my thoughts how Web 3.0 will change sourcing and procurement by increasing the volume of information about buyers and suppliers. B the time that evolution occurs, the internet itself will be massive. Actually…what am I saying…it already is massive and that’s why everyone relies so heavily on Google to index everything.
But [...]

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Is Renegotiating During a Recession Ethical?

October 30th, 2008 · 1 Comment · automotive sector, best practices, contract management, supplier management, supply management, supply risk

A member of the Buyer & Supplier Contracts Group on LinkedIn recently posted a very interesting question to the community:
In this Volatile market scenario is it ethical to renegotiate the existing contracts? Is this the only way to survive in the business?
In the current economic and credit climate, I’m sure a lot of companies are [...]

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Tesco: What Not to Do in a Down Economy

October 29th, 2008 · 5 Comments · best practices, financial value chain, sourcing, supplier management, supply market dynamics, supply risk

News this week that Tesco is looking to double its payment terms with suppliers to 60 days should certain raise some eyebrows within (and beyond) cash-strapped food service and retail sectors. Yet, hopefully, it will not cultivate a cult of imitators.
While cash is certainly king in today’s economy, this is not the time to withhold [...]

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Managing Exceptions Instead of Pushing Paper

October 28th, 2008 · 1 Comment · best practices, contract management, supplier management

One last topic from Spend Management Day in Seattle has been in my queue for a while, and that’s the common theme from several presenters towards processes that empower their employees to work on exceptions to the rule rather than repetitive tasks.
A great example is Expedia, whose contracts department handles a staggering 45,000 active contracts [...]

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The Four Core Aspects of Category Assessment

October 27th, 2008 · No Comments · best practices, design and development, sourcing, supply management

Last week, I posted on best practices for category assessment. While that advice should walk you through executing on categories where there are savings opportunities, I think it’s a good idea to take a step back and look at exactly how you should identify those categories. After all, it’s not as though the decision [...]

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