As many of you know, the Category Managers who contribute to Supply Excellence also create a quarterly report called SupplyWatch. The Q1 issue is up and includes detailed category breakdowns for…

Metals
Plastics, Rubber & Raw Materials
Transportation
Electronics, Electrical & IT Hardware
Paper & Packaging
Services & Capital Goods, Construction & Engineering

In addition, there is a feature article on Cutting [...]

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Today, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) announced an August PMI of 52.9, a full 4 points higher than July and the highest we’ve seen since June 2007. Although many news sources and even President Obama himself were quick to declare the improved number as a sort of economic victory, ISM chairman Norbert J. Ore [...]

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Ariba LIVE starts in a few short hours (10:50am Eastern) and once again, I’ll be covering many of the sessions here on supplyexcellence. But in addition to posts on the blog, the shift to an online “virtual” format and the growth of Twitter should provide another place for attendees to share and discuss the content [...]

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Like many industries, plastics have been hit hard by the recession. Dropping demand and lack of credit have buyers cutting back on orders and running through existing inventory. And to compensate, plastics suppliers have drastically reduced their output so they don’t flood the market and depress prices even further. Same story, different commodity, right?
But some [...]

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We all watched the price of oil plummet last quarter as global demand dropped and the USD’s value rose (which is the currency world markets use for oil trading). Not only did this cause massive price drops at the gas pump, it also created sourcing opportunities for plastics, rubber and raw materials. The glut of [...]

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