Last 5 posts from each of the top Purchasing blogs
Get an instant overview on what's new across all purchasing blogs. Move your mouse over a headline and an abstract of the article will be displayed. Headlines will change in color once you have visited an article.
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I Want To Find a Twit-Free Location ... Is There a ...
5 hours ago
by the doctor
Twitter recently turned on the ability to add location information with your tweets, as described on the How To Tweet With Your Location page and rolled out the feature to its users. With the new feature, if a user clicks on location information in a location-aware tweet, a small Google map will be displayed showing the location of origin. As of now, as per this LA Times Blog Post, there is no easy way to find all followers within a specific distance around a user's current point. Which ...
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Twitter Has Made Twits Out of Too Many!
6 hours ago
by the doctor
Having recently asked if Twitter has already turned too many into twits, I was disgusted and appalled to find out that Twitter twitted it's 10 Billionth Tweet this week. I guess I have my answer. And it scares me. ...
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Help! I'm Out of Content! What Do I Do Now? (Part ...
16 hours ago
by the doctor
Last year, not being able to imagine what it would be like to be out of content, I culled a top 15 list of ideas of what to do from my fellow bloggers and then followed it with a top 10 list of ideas that you could use if you were truly out of content and just wanted to entertain your audience. Since the post is still showing it's popularity to this day, indicating that more and more of you are running out of content everyday, I decided I'd post a follow-up to help you out. ...
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Was it Nearshoring? Or Bullwhip Effect?
1 day ago
by the doctor
Editor's Note: Today's post is from Dick Locke, Sourcing Innovation's resident expert on International Sourcing and Procurement. (His previous guest posts are still archived.) China's exports in February were up 45% from last February. (LA Times) My opinion: the rapid decline and unsustainable increase in Chinese exports were from the bullwhip effect of a long supply chain. A small change in final demand can cause huge swings in upstream supply. This mainly applies to those u ...
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Seven Warning Signs Your ERP System Is Extinct
1 day ago
by the doctor
I enjoyed this white paper from PLEX Systems on Seven Warning Signs Your ERP System Is Extinct because there are so many ERP systems out there today that are literally technology dinosaurs and so many companies who are unaware, thanks in part to continuous efforts on the part of their providers (charging 22%+ maintenance) to keep them in the dark. It's nice to know that someone besides myself and Vinnie is willing to speak a little truth on the issue now and then. The white-paper doesn't beat a ...
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The mystery of 'Make-or-Buy'
1 day ago
by David Rae
Or should that be make-versus-spend? An interesting call with a CPO of a European vehicle manufacturer this week brought the question to the fore and led to an even larger one. So just why aren’t procurement and manufacturing best friends for life if there are savings to be made?
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How will CPOs make use of the new wave of talent?
2 days ago
by Steve Hall
Michael Prest, in this morning’s Independent newspaper, gets quite excited about the rising profile of supply chain management and logistics. “The status of logistics has risen,” he writes. “The academic standing of the subject has grown commensurately.”
It begs the question of whether those charged with logistics spend and SCM are equally optimistic.
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A raw deal for steel producers
3 days ago
by Steve Hall
In some ways it was inevitable. If commodity prices are rising, and, according to current market data, they are on many fronts, then perhaps many are seeing the final days of being able to squeeze recessionary prices out of suppliers.
For them at least, the balance is already shifting.
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Cloud computing: A major opportunity for IT outsou ...
3 days ago
by David Rae
The ongoing evolution of cloud computing and software as a service is perhaps the single biggest development in the technology industry. It is, in effect, turning traditional ways of doing things on their head.
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Procurement transformed at ITV
5 days ago
by Steve Hall
As success stories go, there are those in procurement that have had a highly effective supply chain management system in place (wasn’t that long ago Toyota might have been the example!), and there are those who have fundamentally improved what they’ve been given. Which brings us to ITV.
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Cisco’s Packaging Diet Estimated to Save $24 Mil ...
1 day ago
by Tim Albinson
Cisco is in the process of developing a comprehensive sustainable value chain strategy that includes a broad-based green packaging initiative. And, early results from this “packaging diet” are “sensational, to say the least,” reports Claudia Girrbach at Greener Computing earlier this week.
For example:
The pilot program alone could lead to $24 million in annual savings for [...]
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WRAP Studies Waste in UK’s Retail Supply Chain f ...
2 days ago
by Tim Albinson
What is the environmental impact of pre-packaged sandwiches and baked goods? Are there ways businesses can work towards their sustainability goals –and cut costs –by changing the way these items are prepared, packaged and stored?
Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), an organization that works in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to help businesses reduce [...]
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Jewelers Need to Know Sourcing Details Before Maki ...
3 days ago
by Tim Albinson
Consumers are increasingly concerned about the environmental impact and fair trade credentials of the jewelry they buy. But, how are jewelers responding to these concerns? Are they stepping up their sustainability efforts and renewing their commitment to responsible, ethical sourcing? Or, are they simply “suggesting” that they’re doing so in their ad campaigns?
According to an [...]
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Innovative Website Helps Suppliers Respond to New ...
4 days ago
by Tim Albinson
Top retailers like Walmart, Tesco and Marks & Spencer are asking their suppliers to report on sustainability programs and provide customers with “greener” products, and now consumer goods companies are scrambling for ways to respond to these rapidly evolving lists of requirements.
Yesterday, Five Winds International, one of North America’s largest and most experienced consulting firms [...]
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The Home Depot Sets New Energy Use and GHG Emissio ...
5 days ago
by Tim Albinson
Last week, The Home Depot announced new targets for lowering energy use in U.S. stores and reducing GHG emissions in its domestic supply chain.
Since 2004, The Home Depot has reduced its U.S. stores’ energy per square foot consumption by 16 percent, and now –after a series of rather straightforward operational programs including the upgrading of [...]
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ISM Reports Shrinking By Nearly A Third In The Pas ...
1 day ago
by Charles Dominick, SPSM
Earlier this month, the Institute for Supply Management released its annual report, which detailed its financial performance over its most recently-concluded fiscal year. The report revealed that: ISM realized gross revenues of $12,399,099. This represents a 32% decline from two years ago. ISM’s personnel budget was reduced by 30 percent over the past year and ISM sustained a nearly 20 percent reduction in headquarters staff ISM's expenses far exceeded its revenues resulting in a negative ...
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Whitepaper Wednesday - The Importance of Supplier ...
3 days ago
by Charles Dominick, SPSM
Welcome back to another installment of Whitepaper Wednesday here on the Purchasing Certification Blog. Today, I'll be reviewing a whitepaper entitled Preventing Supply Disruption:Supplier Viability and the Threat to Your Business from Crowe Horwath and Industry Week.For reasons that I cannot yet reveal, I was particularly excited to review this whitepaper. I thought that perhaps there would be magical things that could be learned about how a procurement professional can assess supplier viabi ...
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For Suppliers, Sourcing Problems Are Like Dating P ...
5 days ago
by Charles Dominick, SPSM
I hope that you have enjoyed the article Sourcing Problems In A Slow Economy. As I thought about the reasons that suppliers are refusing to play the strategic sourcing game, I couldn't help but think that, to suppliers, sourcing problems are like dating problems. What do I mean?Well, imagine this...You are invited on a date with an attractive individual one weekend. Your date suggests some activities that are rather expensive but, hey, this is really someone you'd like to know better so you agr ...
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Four Words To Say That Might Avoid A Supplier Rela ...
8 days ago
by Charles Dominick, SPSM
Businesses mess up from time to time. Even the good ones. Especially your suppliers.Supplier screw-ups can really be frustrating for a purchasing professional. And when something goes wrong, you may come close to losing your temper and doing something you'd later regret.I was reminded of this when reading today's American Entrepreneur blog entry entitled Count To Ten. The author, Ron Morris, tells a humorous story about how, in a fit of frustration, he once mailed a nasty letter to a prospecti ...
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How Could There Possibly Be A Parallel Between Pro ...
9 days ago
by Charles Dominick, SPSM
There are a few interesting differences between how a small-to-midsize business handles procurement and how a large business handles procurement. One of them is that large business procurement middle managers tend to be a little more paranoid about selecting small, less expensive suppliers.There's a lot of political pressure on a procurement middle manager in a large company. If they take a risk on a small supplier and it doesn't work out, many of that manager's peers will think How could s/he ...
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Is purchasing secretly premiering risk takers inst ...
1 day ago
by Torbjörn Thorsen, IBX Group AB
While commuting to work this week I took this year’s first real tumble. Navigating the icy conditions along Norrmälarstrand had more in common with riding the pavé of Paris – Roubaix than a regular commute but to me it came as no surprise. I knew the risks and I had taken precautions – slowing down [...]
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Key success factors for public procurement
3 days ago
by Torbjörn Thorsen, IBX Group AB
Public service procurement has taken some intense flack in the past few years – and not without due reason – but I think it’s time to acknowledge some of the great stuff that actually is happening in the area at the moment. Because it’s there, it’s just that it’s hidden under an enormous pile of [...]
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Suppliers are from Mars, buyers are from Venus
4 days ago
by Torbjörn Thorsen, IBX Group AB
A recent IDC survey regarding the state of IT (in Sweden) in 2010 really did it’s best to expose the difference between buying and selling organizations. When asked about how they expect the IT market to develop in 2010 diametric answers were provided making one wonder where the two parties can actually meet.
The only area with a [...]
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Why more women is needed in procurement – unders ...
5 days ago
by Torbjörn Thorsen, IBX Group AB
Procurement Leaders big tweet chat debate on Friday focused on how procurement must change in order to attract talent got me thinking about the key traits that will define purchasing executives in the future. What we need to know, how will we conduct our work, what traits we need to pay attention to when hiring [...]
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A purchasing nightmare: The perfect storm that hit ...
8 days ago
by Torbjörn Thorsen, IBX Group AB
Dogged by the downturn, the pulp and paper industry has slowly recovered over the past months to the extent that it has been flagging for price increases to boost profitability. Now for the affected categories purchasers this was old news, but no-one was counting on the perfect storm that hit the industry in the last [...]
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Will new regulation curb outsourcing/offshoring by ...
4 days ago
by TPI
By Brian Smith, TPI
The Administration has proposed a set of new rules to increase regulation of the banking industry. While we don’t know what the final outcome will look like, we do know that changes will be focused on lending, bank structure, and the separation of investment banking from retail banking. None of these changes [...]
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Iasta honored with 4 honoree+#8217;s as 2010 +#822 ...
4 days ago
by DWilmes
Supply & Demand Chain Executive Magazine, the executive’s user manual for successful supply and demand chain transformation, this week announced the tenth annual listing of Pros to Know in the Supply Chain Industry.
The Pros to Know is a listing of individuals from a software firm or service provider, consultancy, or analyst or research firm who [...]
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Iasta Makes Strong Entrance in the Gartner Magic Q ...
5 days ago
by David Bush - Iasta
Iasta, a leading provider of eSourcing software and solutions, today announced that Gartner, Inc., a leading independent provider of research and analysis on the global information technology industry, has positioned Iasta in the “Challengers” quadrant of the “Strategic Sourcing Application Suites.” (i) The report assesses the top software providers by a list of criteria that [...]
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It’s what you don’t know that costs you part 1 ...
9 days ago
by David Bush - Iasta
ERP systems have been historically good at processing and recording transactions, but mining data for spend visibility was not one of them. Spend Analysis started in the early 1990’s at progressive companies like GE and at consulting firms like McKinsey. The idea was to mine existing spend data to identify areas where sourcing effort would [...]
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Spend Category Management – What Is It, and Why ...
> 10 days ago
by Rod True - Spend Radar
Category management is very valuable to organizations that conduct sourcing initiatives and want to capture key knowledge around that specific sourcing category, integrated with the corresponding organizational Spend. This allows for ongoing category-specific measurements, such as rebate programs, Diversity Spend relative to specific items, and managing the overall status of the sourcing program to continually [...]
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The Very First ConFoo 2010 Conference An Interesti ...
1 day ago
by procureinsights
Having spoken at many venues in both North America and overseas, part of the initial attraction of the first of what is to become annual ConFoo conferences was its proximity to my home base.
Operating just outside of the nation’s capital (Ottawa) on the Quebec side of the border, the short and relaxing train trip to [...]
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A Winning Strategy: Is Walmart Right To ‘Delayer ...
4 days ago
by procureinsights
At first glance, Walmart’s new strategy of ‘delayering the supply chain’ appears to be a reversal of the cost saving device of consolidating spend and reducing the number of suppliers. Are they mimicking others, who are saying ‘if we get rid of the prime contractors, we can get better deals from working with each sub’. [...]
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Guest Author Post (Essential Connections): Public ...
5 days ago
by procureinsights
The following is a post that appeared in today’s Essential Connections Blog, referencing my July 9th, 2007 article on how public sector procurement has to a certain degree experienced what I referred to as the WalMart Effect.
It is an interesting new Blog focusing on public sector procurement, that features guest posts by industry thought leaders [...]
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Live Event Feed: Monetizing Social Media (ConFoo C ...
6 days ago
by procureinsights
In a recent PI Window on Business broadcast I talked about the differences between traditional media and the emerging world of social media in terms of having a sustainable revenue model. Specifically, can the popularity of social media be practically monetized to the same level that traditional media such as television, print and radio had [...]
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Unfortunately, some traditional mainstream pundits ...
> 10 days ago
by procureinsights
I just read Torbjorn Thorsen’s post on his Purchasing Transformation Blog, and while gently making reference to the fact that Spend Matters’ Jason Busch was “correct in his analysis” regarding a recent post comparing Coupa to Ariba, he went on to say that “there are a few areas where the correct analysis unfortunately gets in [...]
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How does Finance view Procurement?
1 day ago
by Hari Candadai
Here are some nuggets that Andrew Bartolini, Aberdeen Group shared earlier this week on a webcast - ‘Assessing the CFO’s View of Procurement’ - on how you can start building bridges between Finance and Procurement. This is a key focus area for companies enjoying best in class performance - those that are noted for superior [...]
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AMR Answers Top-of-Mind Questions from Recent Webi ...
4 days ago
by Caroline Robinson
In the recent webinar, Correcting Your Spend Vision with Visibility, Mickey North Rizza, research director with AMR Research, discussed implementing spend visibility tools to bring more spend under management, gaining competitive advantage through analytics.
During the webinar, we received three really great questions from our audience, and wanted to share Mickey’s responses covering maverick spend, data [...]
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What’s next for Supply Excellence? (Feedback req ...
9 days ago
by Justin Fogarty
Nearly 4 years ago, Tim Minahan launched Supply Excellence with this post, which spoke of addressing key issues that spend management pros were facing on best practices, metrics, strategy, and technology.
Now that all of those issues are resolved, we’re asking “what’s next?”
Ok, that’s not entirely correct. Those questions will never be completely answered since [...]
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The Future of Commercial Payments
> 10 days ago
by Peter Lugli
Cash is king, credit is scarce, and stubborn clouds of uncertainty refuse to dissipate. In this time, maintaining a strong balance sheet and an eye on cash flows is a prerequisite for business leaders seeking to master the twin near-term imperatives of viability and maneuverability.
Scrutiny on money flows outside the four walls of a company, [...]
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Spend Management Jobs: Connecting talent seekers w ...
> 10 days ago
by Justin Fogarty
On a recent call to discuss top trends in 2010, Chris Sawchuk of the Hackett Group said that procurement departments in many companies are looking to beef up their talent this year. It seems that the value of strategic-minded, savvy procurement pros became more clear during this brutal recession, where extracting value for every penny [...]
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It's Not Just a Job, It's an Adventure!
3 days ago
I have a Senior Procurement Professional position open in my VMO and I'm looking to fill the position with the best in the business. If you're an ambitious procurement professional with a degree and certification (those are absolute requirements) who considers procurement to be a career and not just a job, I want to hear from you. This is an opportunity to work in one of the best and most-recognized VMOs in the world, and will be a great career experience for one sharp person. My folks are ro ...
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Job: Director, Global Sourcing
> 10 days ago
A $2B Division of a $25B
Global Fortune 500 Company is looking for an above average individual to be groomed for a Vice President,
Procurement position within 3-5 years, joining this company as the Director,
Global Sourcing.
Total
Compensation Package
$170K - $180K Range (substantial salary, bonus and options)
LOCATION:
Texas, England, or Asia Pacific
Education
& Experience required:
BS Engineering, MBA required10-15 years hands on experience
in Industrial, Projects and
...
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Stephen Guth to Speak at the Institute for Supply ...
> 10 days ago
In an earlier blog post, I indicated that I would be speaking at ISM's annual conference in April. My presentation was Implementing Best Practices: The Procurement Maturity Model, which I had presented at two other procurement events to rave reviews. ISM had selected my topic based on a conference proceeding that I had written and everything seemed to be good to go. Unfortunately, ISM trashed my presentation in a recent e-mail and, strangely, in that same e-mail, the ISM representative labe ...
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Job: IT Vendor Relationship and Contract Negotiati ...
> 10 days ago
Here's a hot job!
Rate: $60-80/hr W2
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Project:
Our
client's IS organization is experiencing and strong increase in demand to
support the business throughout 2010. As a result the IS organization has
increased it's demands for service from the VMO. The VMO has received
approval to bring in 2 consultants to supplement the VMO team in order to
address the increased demand and provide the level of services required.
Resources will be needed through 1/31/11.
...
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IRS Issues Request for Quotation--for Shotguns! P ...
> 10 days ago
If you've ever wondered what an RFQ for shotguns might look like, wonder no more! The IRS has issued an RFQ for shotguns, specifically: Sixty Remington Model 870 Police RAMAC #24587 12 gauge pump-action shotguns...with fourteen inch barrel, modified choke, Wilson Combat Ghost Ring rear sight and XS4 Contour Bead front sight, Knoxx Reduced Recoil Adjustable Stock, and Speedfeed ribbed black forend. Moral of the RFQ? You better pay your taxes--or else!
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Isn’t Everything Negotiable? Part 2
2 days ago
by jpuvel
Alright, so I have officially completed my bridesmaid’s gown shopping fiasco. Here is a tip from an experienced shopper, be careful when negotiating with certain retailers. They are not all very keen on those extra-thrifty shoppers. You need to get a good feel for the type of business owner you are dealing with before launching into negotiations. Needless to say, I tried to negotiate the price of the gown I selected for my bridesmaids and was not as successful as I had hoped. It turns out ...
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Will the Cloud Reign or Evaporate?
> 10 days ago
by Jen Street
You may not have heard about cloud computing but it has been stirring a lot of buzz this past year within the telecommunications industry. For those of you that are wondering what I’m talking about, the term cloud is used as a metaphor for the Internet, in network diagrams we use a cloud to abstractly represent the internet since the technical infrastructure behind the actual internet can become very complicated. Essentially, cloud computing allows a user to provision applications via the...
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What is the Government doing to save your tax doll ...
> 10 days ago
by Nick Haneiko
We have all heard a lot in the news recently about the stimulus packages, bailouts, government spending, etc. Not too long ago the $787 billion American Recovery Act, aka stimulus law, went into effect. That number seems so ridiculous and surreal it’s difficult to wrap your head around it. Where does that money go in terms of Philadelphia and the surrounding areas? After everything was said and done, $16 billion of that is expected to flow into Pennsylvania and $17.5 billion into New Jersey. I ...
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Tax Breaks, Tax Breaks, Read All About It!
> 10 days ago
by jpuvel
I think at this point we are all looking for ways to save every dime we can. One important thing to remember is that we can realize excellent savings opportunities during tax time. Two big issues that people have in this regard are that 1) they do not know the opportunities available and 2) they do not bother taking the time to learn about and use them. I came upon this article from CNN that lists five new tax breaks that have come about from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, aka...
P ...
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US and Canada “Resolve” Buy American Spat
> 10 days ago
by Strategic Sourceror
Things seem to be going well up north for the Canucks. The Winter Olympics are in full swing, the local economy is buzzing, and Bilodeau has even earned the Canadians their very first gold on home soil. On top of all this, according to the US Trade Representative’s Office, US and Canada have finally “resolved” the key disputes they have recently had over the Buy American provisions listed in the US Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Unfortunately, the Ontario Federation of. ...
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Frank Comments from Akio Toyoda
> 10 days ago
by DaveM
The president of Toyota made some frank and direct comments at a news briefing in Beijing, the last stop on a tour of apology and explanation over the company's quality concerns. Here are excerpted comments from a WSJ article titled “Toyoda Concedes Profit Focus Led to Flaws”. Akio Toyoda said a key reason for Toyota Motor Corp.'s quality problems was an excessive focus on market share and profits among "some people" in the company, some of his bluntest words yet in assessing t ...
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Inflation Still Under Wraps
> 10 days ago
by DaveM
Excluding food and energy, inflation was up 1.6% for January in the United States. Great Britain reported a 3.5% inflation rate while India posted 8.5%. China only posted 1.5%. However, some experts believe that once growth returns so will higher levels of inflation.
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Upcoming Release Purchasing Toolpak 2010
> 10 days ago
by DaveM
Purchasing Toolpak 2010 is in the final stages of testing. There are some great new features worth giving a try. We’ll be offering a free copy to next 10 users who trial the product and provide feedback. We are especially interested in users trying the new features: Installing on a small business network, importing records from Excel or using the quick start wizard. To qualify for your free copy, just send an email about your experience. You’ll receive a free license key.
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High Tech Back Shoring for Procurement
> 10 days ago
by DaveM
Good article from strategy + business about the case for back shoring. Here is an excerpt: Moreover, some companies are amplifying materials and logistics savings from backshoring by modernizing their U.S. plants to outpace Chinese facilities. Such is the case with Diagnostic Devices Inc., a maker of blood glucose monitoring systems. In August 2009, the privately held company based in Charlotte, N.C., announced that it was moving the manufacturing of its Prodigy line of audible glucose monit ...
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Supplier Information from Bing
> 10 days ago
by DaveM
Internet Explorer 8 has a helpful addon that provides company information by just typing the companies stock ticker. Bing displays company stock and new information that you can subscribe to as a web slice. A Web Slice uses simple HTML markup to represent a clipping of a Web page, enabling users to subscribe to content directly within a Web page. Rather than using multiple RSS feeds, a Web Slice enables users to subscribe to content directly within a web page; a separate RSS feed file is not re ...
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Capgemini acquires IBX
> 10 days ago
by Jean-Philippe Massin
The news came out yesterday: Capgemini Group today announced its acquisition of on-demand purchasing solutions provider IBX and with it, the availability of the industry’s first global end-to-end, Procurement-as-a-Service offering. Having collaborated together since summer 2009, Capgemini and IBX decided to join forces in order to drive development of a new global procurement service offering and further expand the addressable market for IBX’s best-in-class technology
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15-question Supplier Sustainability Assessment sur ...
> 10 days ago
by Jean-Philippe Massin
Late July 09, Wal-Mart announced plans to develop a worldwide sustainable product index, which is expected to lead to higher quality, lower costs and measure the sustainability of products and help customers, live better in the 21st century. This index will be build out of a 3 steps program, starting by the assessment of their 100 000 supplier base with a Supplier Sustainability Assessment.
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Top 15 questions for Supplier Sustainability Asses ...
> 10 days ago
by Jean-Philippe Massin
Late July 09, Wal-Mart announced plans to develop a worldwide sustainable product index, which is expected to lead to higher quality, lower costs and measure the sustainability of products and help customers, live better in the 21st century. This index will be build out of a 3 steps program, starting by the assessment of their 100 000 supplier base with a Supplier Sustainability Assessment.
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Supply Risk has risen up the corporate agenda in 2 ...
> 10 days ago
by Jean-Philippe Massin
Ariba lately published a whitepaper about Supply Risk management. Wide topic indeed, which obviously shouldn’t be seen as a one-off action but as a continuous effort over time and a board-level matter. Supply risk emerged strongly – as the current financial market turned unsecure – and shall stay in CPO’s minds as the economy will [...]
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Supply Risk in 2009: Top 10 learnings
> 10 days ago
by Jean-Philippe Massin
Ariba lately published a whitepaper about Supply Risk management. Wide topic indeed, which obviously shouldn’t be seen as a one-off action but as a continuous effort over time and a board-level matter. Supply risk emerged strongly – as the current financial market turned unsecure – and shall stay in CPO’s minds as the economy will [...]
