In times of uncertainty and rapid change, whether in sales, operations or spend management, fortune favors those who are positioned to confidently take decisive action and efficiently execute decisions.
For Spend Management organizations, spend data is the currency that allows us decide with confidence and move quickly to implement changes to our supply base. Time [...]

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News this week that Tesco is looking to double its payment terms with suppliers to 60 days should certain raise some eyebrows within (and beyond) cash-strapped food service and retail sectors. Yet, hopefully, it will not cultivate a cult of imitators.
While cash is certainly king in today’s economy, this is not the time to withhold [...]

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Last week, I posted on best practices for category assessment. While that advice should walk you through executing on categories where there are savings opportunities, I think it’s a good idea to take a step back and look at exactly how you should identify those categories. After all, it’s not as though the decision [...]

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Dropping commodity prices have buyers salivating at the prospect of saving some money, especially in the face of top line stagnation. But where do you start? What categories are ripe for the picking vs others that are either a lower priority or best left alone?
Ultimately the goal is build a prioritized sourcing pipeline that meets [...]

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Deloitte’s Ryan Flynn recently previewed the ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) webinar and their Wal-Mart case study. As you likely recall, Wal-Mart received a very public PR black-eye a few years ago when some of their subcontracted cleaning crews turned out to be comprised of undocumented workers. The media hung the company out to dry [...]

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