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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As Pat Furey said yesterday, it is a buyer’s market right now. And transportation, which has seen a serious downturn in a very short period of time, currently provides sourcing, negotiation and procurement opportunities. Let’s look at the numbers:
International Air Freight: Volumes have declined for 4 consecutive months, dropping 11% in Asia, 7% in […]
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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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The latest supply chain risk story hitting the news this week is … pirates. Yes, pirates. With 8 pirate attacks on oil tankers off the coast of Somalia in the last 10 days, the total number of attacks this year is up 75%.
The story has all the ingredients necessary for a hyped up post-US-election week […]
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This week, DHL announced that as of January 30, 2009, they are halting US domestic service and focusing on “what we do better than anyone else - international shipping”. The move allows them to cut US costs by 80%, although with half of their top customers and global shipping volume based in or routed through […]
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TNT has been the center of rumors that both UPS and FedEx may be interested in acquiring the company. While all companies involved deny these rumors, similar rumors surfaced between Exel and UPS right before Deutsche Post World Net bought Exel to form DHL Exel Supply Chain.
If the rumors prove to be true and TNT […]
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On a swing through Europe last week, I had the good fortune to attend a discussion with British Airways CEO Willie Walsh during the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) forum at the new Sofitel in the airline’s new Terminal 5 at London Heathrow.
In between pot shots at rival Virgin Airlines CEO Sir Richard […]
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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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