An upside of crisis can be the inevitable deep analyses that tend to follow. And the recent financial turmoil is no exception — likely keeping the world’s economists at near full employment. An adjunct phenomenon resulting from this process is that …
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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 using ships to …
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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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There’s been a lot of chatter in the market these past few weeks about acquisitions. Some larger players are clearly headed to Costco to look for warehouse bargains (smaller formats and Ma and Pop shops aren’t worth the time for these larger players,…
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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 around the bush and gets straight to the seven warning signs it …
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If someone pinned me down and asked my opinion about the broadest and most universal trends in procurement in recent years, I’d have to say that organizations of all sizes and sophistication are gaining access to an ever-increasing amount of informat…
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There’s been much buzz in the Apple community about whether Apple will be able to meet initial demand for its new iPad. Many Apple enthusiasts would agree with the statement that Apple’s new product supply chains usually take time to flex to keep up …
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The more I have the opportunity to see how companies are (or aren’t) strategically sourcing indirect goods and services, the more I recognize that there are still huge benefits to be captured even in those categories of spend where companies have tra…
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I was appalled to see this recent headline on the SSON site asking2010: The Year For Outsourced Thinking? (membership required) as well as the statement that organizations are increasing willing to outsource complex, higher value-added pieces of the “end-to-end” process. Why? Because we’ve outsourced everything else. Raw material collection? Check. Processing? Check. Product Manufacturing? Check. Distribution? Check. Value-added services? Check. If we outsource thinking, and innovation, what’s left? Nothing of value! So while we should take advantage of reverse innovation at every opportunity, and partner with talent where we can find it, we …
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You might have missed this announcement last week that there is a new force of nature in the boring and stodgy industry analyst world. My good friend Phil Fersht–he’s only “good” when he?s buying the first round, mind you–has decided to leave the p…
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