Supply Excellence

RFPs for Magicians and Exploding Pirate Ships?

February 26th, 2010 · No Comments · best practices, contract management, costing, sourcing, spend analysis, supplier management, supply management, supply market dynamics, supply risk

When I say “casino”, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?
Probably for most of you, it’s money. Actually more like MONEY. Money being spent, won and lost at breakneck speed. And although you’ve possibly had trips to Vegas where you were up against The House (and ask a gambler, and they’ll always tell you [...]

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“Government Spend Management” used to be an oxymoron. Now, it needs to happen.

February 3rd, 2010 · 1 Comment · best practices, spend analysis, supply risk

While making fun of the way governments purchase has long been a good source of humor in spend management circles, the deficit news coming out now leads one to believe that it is now time to really make something happen.
What do you think? How would you make this happen? Is it a lost [...]

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January PMI: Signs of sustained recovery?

February 1st, 2010 · No Comments · supply market dynamics

The ISM’s PMI came in at 58.4 for January, which is significantly higher than I expected (I was thinking it would be around 55). This is the highest number in five years, and it is a clear indicator that the recovery we started seeing in the fourth quarter is showing signs of sustainability. [...]

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“New Normal” does not equal “No Growth”

January 27th, 2010 · 2 Comments · On Demand/SaaS, best practices, supply management, supply market dynamics, supply risk

Regardless of who might have authorship rights (Pimco? Ariba? Others?), the concept of “The New Normal” has definitely caught on in both the mainstream media and spend management circles .
However, it’s important to remember that “the New Normal” doesn’t translate directly to “permanent low GDP growth” as has been put forth by some investment advisors.
Instead, [...]

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Hackett’s Research on “Key Issues” in 2010

January 26th, 2010 · 1 Comment · best practices, supply management, supply market dynamics, supply risk

A lot of Supply Excellence readers are members of the Strategic Sourcing & Procurement Group on LinkedIn and may have seen the lively discussion in December on how the Group can become a more valuable resource in 2010. Out of that discussion, the idea to have regular conference calls to tap into the Group’s collective [...]

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