Spend analysis was the topic du juor at the Ariba Spend Management Day in Atlanta earlier this month. Faced with a sagging economy and highly volatile supply markets, presenters at the event pointed to improved visibility into spending as key to a number of strategies — from queuing up new sourcing opportunities to enforcing contract […]
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In a recent post on the impact that corporate sustainability programs can have in driving bottom line savings during an era of shrinking top line revues, a commenter asked for a follow-up post on the tactics leading organizations are using to achieve results. Great request and I’ll do my best to oblige.
One of the first […]
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The struggling world economy has some wondering if we - consumers and businesses alike - have raised expectations in the area of sustainability higher than we can afford. It’s a fair question since past environmental movements have stalled when the economy turned sluggish, as it did in the early 1990s.
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz wrote an […]
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Ryan Walicki of National City Bank leads a procurement team with some very aggressive savings goals. With their focus on indirect spend (a bank, after all, can’t print money), they’re tasked with a 500% ROI on their efforts this year and a whopping 700% next year!
Despite those massive goals, procurement has actually taken a lead […]
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Another enlightening presenter at last week’s Spend Management Day in Seattle - which by the way was at the Edgewater Hotel of Beatles fame and Led Zeppelin infamy - was Erik Rupinski from MeadWestvaco’s Supply Chain Solutions group.
Like many companies, MeadWestvaco (MWV) is global in terms of their supply chain, acquisition strategy and sales. Some […]
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On a swing through Europe last week, I had the good fortune to attend a discussion with British Airways CEO Willie Walsh during the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) forum at the new Sofitel in the airline’s new Terminal 5 at London Heathrow.
In between pot shots at rival Virgin Airlines CEO Sir Richard […]
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All too often, we have good intentions in life but aren’t quite sure how to put those intentions into action. The cynics among us (and are there any non-cynics left?) question whether petitions we’re asked to sign really mean what we’re told and whether or not donations end up going where they claim.
Enter the internet […]
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A recent Newsweek article showcased the “greening” of the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. Both ports have a long history of polluting the air, water and citizens’ lungs in the area. In fact, their current clean up efforts were sparked by a combination of lawsuits, shockingly high local cancer rates and public outcry.
But in […]
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On the day the stock market lost a record $1.2 trillion in value, another trading exchange saw values of its stocks rise nearly 65%. A factor that could have implications for your company’s spend management and operating plans.
Under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a group of fossil-fuel burning power plants in 10 Northeastern states […]
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The most important part of the spat between British Airways and Virgin Atlantic over biofuels is not whether BA is stuck in the “old economy” and can’t adapt (as tempting as that might be given the headlines about opening day at Heathrow Terminal 5) or whether Richard Branson is the ultimate public relations wizard.
The real […]
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