Archive for the 'Services Procurement' Category
Last week, Mike Petro outlined the opportunities presented by direct materials. On a similar note today, regular Supply Excellence contributor Rachel Rutkoski explains buyer’s market conditions for indirect spend and identifies several hot categories, including:
Labor - Rising unemployment means “buyers should evaluate any category where labor is a main cost component.” There is a glut […]
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December 22nd, 2008 | Posted in Sourcing, Supply Management, Best Practices, Procurement, supply market dynamics, recession, Services Procurement, webinar, Top 5 Sourcing Opps, transport, indirect spend, temporary labor, SupplyWatch, buyer's market
Even in a very dour employment market, there are always bright spots. As the saying goes…fortunes are made during recessions. So, tremendous volatility in commodity prices and a recession provide a HUGE opportunity for direct materials procurement professionals to make their career “fortunes”. The buyer’s market conditions provide obvious strategic and savings opportunities for procurement […]
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December 15th, 2008 | Posted in Sourcing, Supply Management, Skills Rectruitment and Development, Events, Procurement, LCCS and trade, supply market dynamics, oil/energy, Services Procurement, indirect spend, commodities, Spend Management Days, career
Stephen Hayers, VP of Services Procurement at BT, recently sat down for an interview with David Rae from Procurement Leaders. The video replay of their discussion is available here (sorry, can’t link directly - hit “What’s New” the top of the player and it is the 1st video on the menu). It was a very […]
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December 9th, 2008 | Posted in Sourcing, Supply Management, Best Practices, Procurement, Design and Development, Services Procurement, indirect spend
As my colleagues have recently pointed out (here & here), it is definitely a buyer’s market right now. And similar to the broader economic recession, which often takes hindsight analysis of numerical data before they can officially call it a “recession”, buyers often feel the shift in their favor before they can quantify it. But, […]
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December 4th, 2008 | Posted in Sourcing, Supply Management, Best Practices, Supplier Management, Procurement, LCCS and trade, supply market dynamics, recession, Services Procurement, indirect spend, commodities
Last week, my colleague Dan Kowal posed the question - if you’re not sourcing now, why not? Plummeting prices and demand make it a buyer’s market for indirect and direct goods. But as Dan pointed out, many buyers are still sitting on the sidelines. Why?
In my observations from the trenches, I think you can chalk […]
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December 3rd, 2008 | Posted in Sourcing, Supply Management, Best Practices, Supplier Management, Spend Analysis, Outsourcing, Procurement, LCCS and trade, supply risk, supply market dynamics, oil/energy, recession, Services Procurement, indirect spend, commodities
Many key commodities (Copper, Nickel, Zinc, Aluminum, Lead, Rubber, Resins, etc.) that go into the parts that we buy and the energy (Crude oil, Furnace Oil, Coal etc.) our suppliers are using to convert the raw materials into finished goods are at two, three and in some cases four year lows. Due to excess […]
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November 26th, 2008 | Posted in Sourcing, Supply Management, Best Practices, LCCS and trade, supply risk, supply market dynamics, automotive sector, oil/energy, recession, Services Procurement, transport, commodities, indirect materials
It is with a heavy heart that I tell you we lost a friend and colleague suddenly last week. Justin Falgione, a father, husband and friend, passed on Wednesday. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette obituary and guest book are here.
Over 9 years with FreeMarkets and Ariba, Justin earned the love and respect of his colleagues and customers. […]
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November 4th, 2008 | Posted in Sourcing, Services Procurement, indirect spend, SupplyWatch, Justin Falgione
Deloitte’s Ryan Flynn recently previewed the ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) webinar and their Wal-Mart case study. As you likely recall, Wal-Mart received a very public PR black-eye a few years ago when some of their subcontracted cleaning crews turned out to be comprised of undocumented workers. The media hung the company out to dry […]
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October 1st, 2008 | Posted in Sourcing, Best Practices, Supplier Management, Outsourcing, supply risk, regulation, regulations, Services Procurement, Case Study, webinar
Last week, I posted an analysis of Accenture’s recent SRM report. Now,
Manufacturing Business Technology has a detailed take on the study as well. Tim “sound-bite” Minahan and Mickey North Rizza are quoted extensively. In the article, Tim refers to a new law of “diminishing returns” in procurement. “You can only take so much out […]
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June 23rd, 2006 | Posted in Sourcing, Best Practices, Supplier Management, Outsourcing, supply risk, regulation, regulations, Services Procurement, Case Study, webinar