Lead Category Manager Mike Petro explains how non-price factors indicate a shift from buyer’s to seller’s market conditions.
This segment is a clip from the LinkedIn Strategic Sourcing & Procurement group member conference call on commodities. You can stream the full replay here (embedded player top center). Request to join the group here.
Justin Fogarty is Managing [...]
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As many of you know, the Category Managers who contribute to Supply Excellence also create a quarterly report called SupplyWatch. The Q2 issue is posted and includes detailed category breakdowns for…
Metals
Plastics, Rubber & Raw Materials
Transportation
Electronics, Electrical & IT Hardware
Paper & Packaging
Services & Capital Goods, Construction & Engineering
This quarter’s feature article is on Working Capital [...]
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I recently posted about the Strategic Sourcing & Procurement LinkedIn group member call on commodities that’ll be conducted this Friday, but wanted to provide a couple updates for those who’d like to listen or participate. Below are the details, format and experts we have lined up.
First, the 1-hour call is this Friday, April 30th at [...]
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The fifth and final category in the recent Top 5 Categories to Source Now webinar was metal stampings (full replay here). With commodity prices rising, any strategy that alleviates some cost pressure in metals will be greeted with open arms.
So, what were Category Manager Tom Arbogast’s recommendations for reverse auction strategies for metals?
The full [...]
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Spring has sprung. The markets, manufacturing and perhaps even … employment may be emerging from hibernation. And while we’re all happy to see the economy awakening from a brutal recession (please don’t hit the snooze button), it will mean some changes as we shift from buyer’s market conditions. Indeed, we’re already seeing commodity prices rising, [...]
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Supply Watch report subscribers likely know about this (and have hopefully registered already), but the Category Management team is holding one of their Top 5 Categories to Source Now webinars tomorrow. The details:
Thursday April 1st at 11am Eastern Time (3:00 GMT)
Register here.
On the agenda tomorrow are:
Mike Petro, Lead Category Manager, North America
Loriann Andersen, Category Manager, [...]
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As many of you know, the Category Managers who contribute to Supply Excellence also create a quarterly report called SupplyWatch. The Q1 issue is up and includes detailed category breakdowns for…
Metals
Plastics, Rubber & Raw Materials
Transportation
Electronics, Electrical & IT Hardware
Paper & Packaging
Services & Capital Goods, Construction & Engineering
In addition, there is a feature article on Cutting [...]
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This week, we posted on early signs indicating some manufacturing jobs are returning to the US in select sectors and regions. I still think the evidence is anecdotal at this point. But if manufacturing jobs are truly to return to the United States, it will take a convergence of conditions to happen in any significant, sustainable way. A combination of politics, labor costs, currency rates, consumer demand, and a host of other variables will need to be favorable in order for more companies to scale up or shift their operations stateside.
Some of those factors are beyond the control of individual companies, manufacturing trade groups and even the industry as a whole. But … they can help to drive consumer demand with a combination of good products (at competitive prices that people want to buy!) AND marketing/advertising. So on the marketing front, it’s great to see the manufacturing industry getting creative and making use of social media to help get their message across:
Hat Tip to Mojo for sharing this gem.
Justin Fogarty is Managing Editor of Supply Excellence. For any questions or feedback on the blog or its contributors, Justin can be reached at jfogarty[at]ariba.com.
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As the G-20 Summit officially kicks off today under a typical layer of London fog (comprised of economic storm clouds and tear gas), the topic of protectionist policies are certain to dominate trade discussions. Although I suspect many of the assembled leaders are truly “free traders” caught up in populist political pressure to protect jobs [...]
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In response to protectionist populism, the recently passed US economic stimulus bill included a controversial “Buy American” Clause. The rule, which was watered down from its original language, requires that all Steel, Iron, and “Manufactured Goods” used for stimulus backed “public works” projects be produced in America unless:
Quality or quantity from US suppliers is insufficient
Cost [...]
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