Procure IQ

Mostly Harmless, Part IX Previous Post In the last post, the goods receipt was defined and some of the complexity around the requirements thereof were discussed. This post will address some of the challenges associated with the goods receipt, some of the associated best practices, and some of the benefits that could be expected from an appropriate e-Procurement solution that effectively handled goods receipts. Common Challenges m-Way Matching The goods receipt needs to be matched back to the appropriate purchase orders and/or contracts …

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Mostly Harmless, Part VIII Previous Post A goods receipt is a written (or electronic) acknowledgement by a buyer that a specified set of products or services was received by the buyer in acceptable conditions. It’s primarily used for the receipt of goods by a buyer’s warehouse or distribution network. A goods receipt tells the supplier that the buyer has accepted the goods and that the supplier can expect to be paid subject to the terms of the associated purchase order(s) or contract(s). A goods receipt is so simple in principle that one might believe that …

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A recent article over on CFO, which states the obvious, says that big lesson from the downturn is to cut inventory, not people. The timing of this is so poor it’s shocking! Why couldn’t they have run this *before* organizations cut so many people that joblessness came close to reaching an all time high: 10.1 in October of 2009 compared to the all time high of 10.8 in November of 1982! (Source: The Misery Index) As noted in the article, there is a huge savings potential in inventory reduction, which ties up working capital, eats up storage …

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Demand Solutions recently released a white paper on managing inventory for optimal advantage (registration required) that overviewed 10 common inventory mistakes and how to correct them. Of these, the following five can cost an organization dearly if not corrected. Forecast Management without a Process All stakeholders have to agree on the process and the forecast that results and someone needs to own the process to insure it’s implemented properly. Otherwise the budget will be padded and the end result will be obsolete inventory and associated …

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The SCMR is back, Quinn is still in charge, and it looks like he’s striving to maintain the quality that the SCMR was known for. I was quite impressed with one of the first articles on driving a turnaround in tumultouos times, which presented a case study on PolyOne and how it came back from the brink of bankruptcy. In March of 2009, it’s share price reached an abysmal low of $1.32. On May 27, it was $10.19. That’s an eightfold improvement in a little over a year and the reason analysts are now recommending it …

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Two weeks ago, in Part I, we told you how b-pack, hot on the heels of Ivalua, had decided to cross the Atlantic and join in the conquest to bring the bohemian revolution to the world of Procurement and P2P with their extensive solution suite that actually closes the P2P loop. Then, last week in Part II, we expounded on a few additional capabilities, which are relatively unique in the marketplace, that extended the basic value offering beyond what a standard P2P application delivers. Today, we’re going to dive into a few more value-adds, some of which are …

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That’s right, the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) could be replacing the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) at your US headquarters in as little as four years with the current proposals on the table. And since you have to maintain double books for a year (in GAAP and IFRS) before you switch over, to make sure you have a good handle on the new rules, that means your new IFRS-friendly systems have to be in place in less than three years. Which means your people have to be trained in less than two years … especially since …

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In Part I, we re-introduced you to MCA Solutions, a Philadelphia, PA company that specializes in after market service (and service parts) optimization, and noted that they were still going strong despite some recent shake-ups in the market (and the noteable acquisition of Servigistics and Click Commerce by Marlin Equity Partners, who also acquired Emptoris not too long ago). We noted that, in addition to completing a strong SAP integration, they’ve also added a considerable amount of new functionality in the last two years around reporting, plan analysis, and reporting management. Since we covered their new reporting and plan …

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MCA Solutions, a Philadelphia, PA company that specializes in after market service (and service parts) optimization, is still going strong despite the recent struggles of a few of its direct competitors (namely Click Commerce and Servigistics who were recently acquired by Marlin Equity Partners). If anything, the recession (although it did considerably lengthen the sales cycle) only bolstered the need for after market service (as no one could afford new equipment) and optimization thereof (as everyone is strapped for cash and every penny counts). As I indicated in my first post on MCA Solutions and their strategic service …

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In Part I, we covered the inventory forecasting solution for SMBs contained in the new SYSPRO 6.1 solution suite, which is built on the Microsoft .NET platform and which is (tightly) integrated with Microsoft Office and other Microsoft products. We concluded that the forecasting solution, which allows you to create forecasts and the product family / grouping level as well as the SKU level, is quite robust and extensive for an SMB offering, as well as being quite easy to use, and left off noting that it provides the foundation for a true inventory optimization solution that is newly …

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