Next Level Purchasing officially unveiled their new SPSM2 purchasing certification today (after several weeks of Charles Dominick teasing twitter followers about an upcoming major announcement). Designed as a follow up to SPSM Certification, the new coursework focuses on “processes that are becoming more significant in the purchasing field - international procurement, advanced negotiation, and managerial skills.” In other words, NLP hopes to help procurement professionals keep up with an increasingly global, risky, complex supply chain at a time when they’re being asked to do more with less (headcount and/or budget).
It’s an interesting new offering at a time when many pros in the field are looking to beef up their resumes and skill sets to either get or keep a job. And as we’ve discussed many times here on SE, now is a hot time to be in procurement - an increasingly strategic department that can save the company money at a time of flat or dropping revenues. So, an online credential program that helps procurement professionals in the trenches keep up with the times is likely an attractive offering.
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As The Atlantic reported earlier this month, the latest import to nearly fall victim to a trade war was Roquefort cheese. In January, the Bush administration “imposed a 300 percent import tax on France’s famous Roquefort cheese, among other luxury food imports from Europe.” This move was a tit-for-tat retaliation for the EU’s ban on US beef containing hormones. Apparently in recent weeks, foodies around the nation were savoring their last servings of Roquefort (as the article describes in strenuous detail that’ll make any reader hungry).
I know this seems like a rather small example of retaliatory protectionist policies. But the script is largely the same whether you are talking about commodities or culinary delights. In fact, the WTO has reported a jump in protectionist policies in recent months, likely as a result of the recession and weak job market’s on politicians’ home soil, which has long been a launching pad for tariffs and trade wars.
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BusinessWeek’s cover story this week touts that Private Equity as the much-needed impetus to jumpstart the ailing economy. (Although, some might argue that these “barbarians at the gate” had a hand in getting the economy into its current funk.) Irony aside, the article says PE firms like KKR, Blackstone, Carlyle, Apollo and TPG have been sitting on the sidelines for the past 24 months, amassing a $1 trillion war chest. And they are now ready to scoop up troubled firms.
One private equity exec quoted in the article summed up the current environment this way: “I haven’t seen anything like this in 35 years. This is like a candy store for us.”
Yet, the article acknowledges that the down economy, tight credit, and uncertainty about potential government intervention will keep firms from quickly flipping acquired companies. Instead, private equity groups will need to gain operational expertise to reduce the cost structure and improve the productivity of the acquired firm. Top of the list of this operational expertise is improving spend management.
As noted here in Supply Excellence, PE firms are recognizing the value of spend management both in assessing new acquisition targets and in turning acquired firms into operationally excellent organizations: “Operating expertise is critical right now in order to get these companies through the current environment,” stated one Carlyle Group partner at a conference earlier this year.
Speaking at Ariba LIVE last year, Kohlberg & Company LLC Parnter and CFO Shant Mardirossian was more direct about the value of spend management in all aspects of the private equity lifecycle:
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I am at the Ariba LIVE World Tour event in New York City today and will be posting and Tweeting (#AribaLIVE) with highlights. First off this morning, we had a keynote from former Undersectary of State Nicholas Burns, a career diplomat serving under 5 Presidents and now teaching the nation’s next foreign service leaders at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
As with his presentation during the Ariba LIVE virtual event 2 weeks ago, Ambassador Burns framed his talk around what he would tell President Obama about the global economic, political and social landscape, with a focus on the risks and opportunities (a replay of his previous keynote is available here - registration required). His perspective on the challenges and way forward are well worth watching and I highly recommend it.
The Ambassador was kind enough to sit down with me to talk for a few minutes afterwards. Our conversation ranged from Boston’s sports teams to global risk management, and a few of the key take-aways were:
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As a follow up to yesterday’s post on the risk “political extremism” poses to supply chains, I thought it would be helpful to revisit the Ariba LIVE Virtual breakout session with Rob Handfield, Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain Management at North Carolina State. The professor is a strong advocate for compiling the right kind of information - political, supplier, financial, etc - concerning potential risks, analyzing the likely supply chain impacts, and then redesigning the supply chain to reduce those risks. The approach is very well suited for reducing the dangers of political extremism (or any other risks for that matter) and therefore can provide some useful guidance.
Professor Handfield’s session, titled Managing Supply Risk, walked attendees through a number of case studies, including some success stories of companies turning their supply chain risk attentiveness into competitive advantages (replay here - registration required). But it was his “lessons learned” that I think provided the most insight to companies looking to proactively get out in front of potential risks rather than react when those risks surprise them.
Among the key take-aways gleaned from his research:
Pick your battles. “It is impossible to know everything about your supply chain. So focus on the critical few, key areas that are most vulnerable and exposed.”
Focus on compiling actionable data. “Metrics should drive action. They’re only useful if they lead to direct attention to the problem. Look for subtle signs and indicators of potential issues.”
Relationships matter. “Risk can only be minimized through direct human intervention. Sit down to discuss likelihood, probability and think creatively of how to handle the risks.”
Tougher contracts alone won’t work. “Risk cannot be eliminated through stronger contractual language. This only hurts relationships and is more likely to cause harm than reduce risk.”
Anyone tasked with risk reductions - which these days is probably everyone who reads this blog - the Professor’s presentation is a good primer into his research (replay here - registration required). And for those looking for a little extra-credit, Professor Handfield has authored several books on supply chains that are likely worthy, informative reads.
Justin Fogarty is Managing Editor of Supply Excellence. For any questions or feedback on the blog or its contributors, Justin can be reached at jfogarty[at]ariba.com.
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