A wise man in procurement once told me, “if we could predict what currency was going to do, none of us would be in this business.” Although it won’t stop some people from attempting to break into the growing trend of currency ‘day-trading’, it should remind everyone in sourcing and procurement of 2 things. First, [more]

[Read more →]

With revised government figures and economists suggesting that we may already be in a recession and inflation running at 4.2%, many spend management professionals may feel the can do little to drive cost reductions. MetLife CPO Roy Anderson disagrees.
“There are many ways to drive cost savings and better value in the face of a tight [more]

[Read more →]

You did your Prework before going onsite and then had an enlightening, informative supplier site visit. Now what? Clearly you gained some insights into cost drivers, potential process efficiencies and even personalities. But a lack of follow through at this stage in the game could make all that hard work for naught.
The “Post Analysis” phase [more]

[Read more →]

Last week, we looked at some of the benefits of supplier site visits and the Prework steps you should take before going onsite. Whether you are truly looking for greater collaborative effort or evaluating the relationship from a cost/value standpoint, there’s nothing as effective as seeing the operation in person, meeting key people face to [more]

[Read more →]

No matter how good your relationship may be with your suppliers, there’s always room for improvement. That improvement may be in the form of greater process efficiency, product development collaboration, minimizing supply risks, or a host of other areas. But at the end of the day, what you’re really looking to do is reduce costs [more]

[Read more →]