Despite the economic turmoil, people still need to eat. And when times are tough, they’re naturally going to eat out less, cook more meals at home and even brown bag some lunches. So, you would assume that provides opportunity for supermarkets, but that might not always be the case.
Last week Safeway announced they had increased […]
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In a blog post last Friday, Jason Busch brought up an interesting twist on the credit crisis…namely the ability of businesses to pass along increased supply chain costs to the end customer in an environment of tightening belts and lowered spending. He cites a story out of the UK where Marks & Spencer and […]
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I recently read an article on Purchasing.com about HP’s Purchasing Organization titled HP’s purchasing organization looks beyond price. At $104B in annual revenue, HP is quite a large organization with $16.5B in Indirect and Services Spend. The article talks about about how HP’s Procurement Organization initially focused their efforts on cost reductions but have […]
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Talk about getting squeezed! Businesses of all sizes are feeling the pinch of rising commodity costs - from fuel and energy to flour and eggs. Leading retail, CPG, and restaurant companies are employing a variety of different approaches to cope in today’s market, including focusing on supply chain and productivity initiatives, offering drastic […]
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It seems a week can’t go by without yet another product supply safety scare traced to international supply chains. This week’s episode provides some of the scariest headlines yet: Tainted baby formula.
It also points to another aspect of international supply chains that requires increasingly sophisticated oversight by spend management organizations. We typically think […]
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While it may not have the news-cycle cachet of a $700 Billion bailout, or the immediate voyeuristic drawing power of the battle of the banking titans (i.e. Wells/Citi/Wachovia), the struggles that suppliers are facing finding cash flow and short-term credit can have immediate and long-term impact on supply chains if those suppliers fail or are […]
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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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According to a CFO.com survey released on Wednesday, “”[as a result of the credit crisis] 61 percent of finance chiefs are concerned about their companies’ access to day-to-day financing.” This concern is especially acute for small to mid-sized suppliers for whom short-term credit is the primary operational bridge allowing them to make it from […]
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My own travels last week offer validation from the trenches that Amex’s predictions for travel curbs will come to fruition. Travel restrictions were a hot topic at the Sourcing Interests Group (SIG) Conference last week. No less than five procurement execs said their companies had implement restrictions for all but sales related travel. (Only two […]
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In case you missed the story (and that’s a forgivable offense since you’re likely watching the response of your supply chain, company and 401k to the financial situation this week), sixty-three formers employees of an Indian auto-parts manufacturer are under arrest for murder after beating their former CEO to death Tuesday. The workers were set […]
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