So far, LIVE has been a rather quiet affair. No big news, no surprises. But if you read subtlety between the lines, I’m detecting a serious change in strategy for Ariba which I put into three buckets. These are ideas I’ll continue to expand on in the coming week, but I thought it would be […]
Read the rest » SpendMatters
I’ve only been in Boca since last night, but already LIVE has been a great chance to catch up with many old faces. The only glitch is yet another Vista problem which is preventing me from getting online with my machine (it even stumped a small army of Ariba technical resources who volunteered to help […]
Read the rest » SpendMatters
As you read this, I’m flying on a Southwest flight somewhere over the midwestern corn fields on my way to Ariba LIVE. I’m very much looking forward to this year’s event, as it will give me a good chance to catch up with many old colleagues from my FreeMarkets’ days. Believe it or not, a […]
Read the rest » SpendMatters
Lisa Reisman and I spent the past couple of days slumming it in Indianapolis, the scene of that car race and the far more famous software user conference for that soon-to-be-household name: Iasta. In all seriousness, the event brought together a good mix of users (junior managers to executives) for a range of discussions and […]
Read the rest » SpendMatters
This morning, I’d like to welcome a contribution from “anonymous”.
To: The Board of Directors of the Institute for Supply Management
From: A concerned supply management practitioner
Dear Sirs and Madams,
Please forgive me for penning this letter under my anonymous persona and via a blogging web site, but I fear that doing so with my real persona would bring […]
Read the rest » SpendMatters
I had the privilege of giving a presentation before Thomas Stallkamp last week at Synergy. For those who have had seen Stallkamp speak before, you’ll appreciate the humor and wit in his comment about indirect spend. During his presentation on building collaborative — but competitive — supplier relationships, Stallkamp joked about the importance of indirect […]
Read the rest » SpendMatters
When it comes to describing pressing Spend Management issues, there’s not enough compelling rhetoric out there. If I had a Euro — I’ve sworn off the dollar this quarter, given its proven a horrible investment of late — for every time sometime tossed out the phrases “cost savings” or “compliance” to describe a reason to […]
Read the rest » SpendMatters
After a weekend of R&R, I’m headed to Vegas on Monday morning for ISM. Ironically, there will be no rest for the weary on this Nevada bender, as I’m in the midst of conference season. At ISM, I’m planning on spending a good deal of my time walking through the exhibit hall, catching up with […]
Read the rest » SpendMatters
Kicking Synergy 2007 off to a fast-paced start — well, maybe not as fast as one might go on a Harley on the open road — Theresa Metty introduced her “war on complexity” as her first theme in a highly informative hour long presentation. Her jihad against all that is not simple and / or […]
Read the rest » SpendMatters
When it comes to conference keynotes, it’s not often that you get two speeches for the price of one (either as an audience member paying with his time or a vendor paying with their dollars). But Theresa Metty — who happens to be louder without a microphone in a sizable auditorium than most speakers with […]
Read the rest » SpendMatters