Archive for the 'Best Practices' Category

With Drop-off in Deal Activity, Private Equity Seeks Cost Savings

Bloomberg recently reported that Private Equity (PE) deals have fallen 70% in the first 10 months of this year, confirming what many in the industry have known for quite some time: economic conditions have put a near halt on deal flow and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. At The Deal’s M&A […]

Read the rest » Supply Excellence

Is Now the Time to Lock in Steel Prices?

I recently wrote about the dollar gaining strength and the plummeting price of steel. It’s a welcome change after years of hearing a broken record on direct materials…higher prices…higher prices…higher prices…
Naturally, when purchasing power goes up and prices go down, buyers want to act on the opportunity, and many ask “is now is the time […]

Read the rest » Supply Excellence

Increasing Liquidity Without Soaking Suppliers

Clearly in this business economy cash is not only King, it’s pocket Kings with the flop on the way (for you WSOP fans!). To protect their businesses and ensure sufficient cash flow in this tight credit environment, organizations are doing everything they can to hold on to the cash they have and free up even […]

Read the rest » Supply Excellence

“Hero Culture” is no way to manage risk

The credit crisis is the supply chain risk getting most of the attention these days. But in the recent online Town Hall forum, IACCM President & CEO Tim Cummins, pointed out another risky behavior that many companies engage in. Tim said a “hero culture”, where saving the company from disaster in the nick of time, […]

Read the rest » Supply Excellence

Yahoo! CPO Interview: Ron Carcamo Changes Things Up

This quarter’s SupplyWatch report hit the virtual shelves Friday (print edition will go out to subscribers shortly). In addition to the Core Category Details, this issue includes an interview with Yahoo! CPO Ron Carcamo, a man who was brought into the company 18 months ago to get their spend under control and chart a course […]

Read the rest » Supply Excellence

The Value of Proactivity in the Current Business Environment

Today’s guest post is from Robert Rudzki, a former Fortune 500 senior executive of supply management who now runs Greybeard Advisors, a strategic management consulting firm.Bob has authored several business books including Beat the Odds: Avoid Corporate Death and Build a Resilient Enterprise and Straight to the Bottom Line.He can be reached at rudzki <at> […]

Read the rest » Sourcing Innovation

PurchSearch: Scouring the Internet for Procurement Gold

I recently laid out my thoughts how Web 3.0 will change sourcing and procurement by increasing the volume of information about buyers and suppliers. B the time that evolution occurs, the internet itself will be massive. Actually…what am I saying…it already is massive and that’s why everyone relies so heavily on Google to index everything.
But […]

Read the rest » Supply Excellence

Is Renegotiating During a Recession Ethical?

A member of the Buyer & Supplier Contracts Group on LinkedIn recently posted a very interesting question to the community:
In this Volatile market scenario is it ethical to renegotiate the existing contracts? Is this the only way to survive in the business?
In the current economic and credit climate, I’m sure a lot of companies are […]

Read the rest » Supply Excellence

Spend Matters on SCM: If The Prophet is Right …

This is part two of a three-part series.Yesterday we covered the five — new and improved — predictions of Jason “The Prophet” Bush, the Spend Master of Spend Matters, that he has issued from high (on his soapbox) to the supply management community as part of his fall conference tour. These predictions were: […]

Read the rest » Sourcing Innovation

Tesco: What Not to Do in a Down Economy

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 […]

Read the rest » Supply Excellence