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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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