Supply Excellence

December ISM Index: What does it mean?

January 11th, 2010 · 1 Comment · Services Procurement, supply management, supply market dynamics, supply risk

This week, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) released their manufacturing and services numbers for December. The non-manufacturing (services) number came in at 50.1%, which was right around expectations. While it did move slightly into the “growth” region (above 50), it certainly did not blow away the street and indicate that all is on the [...]

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Now Hiring: Temp Hiring Surge Reveals “Wait and See” Approach

December 22nd, 2009 · No Comments · Services Procurement, outsourcing, supply management, supply market dynamics

The Sunday New York Times reported on a surge in temp labor hiring. Indeed, the November temporary labor hiring numbers were relatively strong. To quote the Times:
“Last month 52,000 temps were added, greater than the number of new workers in any other category. Not even health care and government, stalwarts through the long recession, did [...]

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Opportunities and Strategies for Contingent Labor

November 20th, 2009 · No Comments · Services Procurement, best practices

Earlier this week, Dan Ashton hosted a webinar (replay here) with speakers from Travelers Insurance and Kelly Services to discuss the current opportunity for driving value in contingent labor procurement. Here he shares some of the key take-aways.

Justin Fogarty is Managing Editor of Supply Excellence. For any questions or feedback on the blog or its [...]

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Don’t panic … yet: Analysis of October ISM Data (Video)

November 11th, 2009 · 1 Comment · sourcing, supplier management, supply management, supply market dynamics

Senior Category Manager and SupplyExcellence contributor Pat Furey shared his analysis of the October ISM data for manufacturing and services.

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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Health Insurance Costs to Double Again?

November 9th, 2009 · 1 Comment · Services Procurement, spend analysis, supplier management, supply market dynamics

Although there are many moving parts in the equation (especially around the health care reform package making its way through the US Congress currently), health insurance premiums, which doubled in the last decade, are on track to repeat that feat over the next ten years. From 1999 to 2008, premiums increased by a reported [...]

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