Procure IQ

If you’ve ever bought an enterprise system, you know that the sticker price is usually only a small fraction of the total cost of ownership and that the implementation and integration costs can dwarf the sticker price by an order of magnitude. As a result, integration costs often present supply management with an opportunity to save six or seven figures. But how? Especially when 70% of enterprise projects fail to deliver on their initial promise? In a word, planning. According to several experts in the field, the most common problems that arise when companies …

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This is the first in a series of posts discussing the history of, business case for and strategy behind supplier performance management.
Before we can get to the end goal of creating an SPM strategy, we must understand the factors in our supply chains …

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… where you are likely to experience asphyxia, hallucinations, brain-damage, and death, make sure you secure your rights, namely: You own your data, you’re entitled to the service levels you are promised, and you have a right to come down when you’re ready to breathe again! As per James Urquhart’s Cloud Computing Bill of Rights, your data is your data. This means that the vendor: …

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Today’s guest post is from Robert A. Rudzki, President of Greybeard Advisors LLC, who has (co-) authored a number of acclaimed business books, including Beat the Odds: Avoid Corporate Death and Build a Resilient Enterprise, On-Demand Supply Management, and the supply management best seller Straight to the Bottom Line. Another important aspect of Speaking Like a CFO is knowing how to build a business case in support of your overall transformation agenda, as well as business cases related to specific subjects such as technology investments. When we work with clients, …

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Mostly Harmless, Part V Previous Post An introduction to approvals. The last post addressed the approvals process and its link to the budget process and business workflows. This post will address the associated challenges of the approval process, some associated best practices, and the benefits that could be expected from an appropriate e-Procurement solution. Common Challenges Who Has to Sign Off? The supervisor, yes. But does it have to go to the department manager? The budget manager? The CPO? …

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I really enjoyed this recent article in the Harvard Business Review on the acceleration trap and how corporations often take on more than they can handle when faced with intense market pressures by increasing the number and speed of their activities, raising performance goals, shortening innovation cycles, and introducing new management technologies or organizational systems at a furious and frenetic pace until employee motivation is sapped, the company’s focus is scattered in various directions, and exhaustion and resignation blanket the company which enters a rapid downward spiral. It happens more often than one might think. And …

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Supply & Demand Chain Executive recently ran a short piece on the six keys to the sustainable supply chain advantage by Dr. Lowell Yarusso and Ronald J. Sanderson (of The MPower Group) which was quite good. In brief, these six principles were: Collaborate, Don’t Compete because a true value-oriented supply chain consists of an extensive network of integrated suppliers, suppliers’ suppliers, internal supply chain participants and customers, all working together to maximize the value of the supply chain. This can’t be achieved without extensive collaboration. …

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To the tune of Money for Nothing by Dire Straints. Now look at them cubers, that’s the way you do it … You analyze spend on your PC That ain’t working, that’s the way you do it Savings for nothing and props for free Now that ain’t working, that’s the way you do it Lemme tell ya them guys ain’t dumb Maybe get a blister on your index finger Maybe get a blister on your thumb We gotta install database software Custom …

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… is another man’s success! Share This on Linked In …

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Don’t let it happen to you! To avoid this fate, start with these simple tips offered up in a recent blog post over on the Harvard Business Review: Don’t Turn Presentations into Reports presentations should summarize the key points of a report, not the other way around Clarify the Purpose of a Presentation and get to the point quickly Develop a Presentation Protocol …

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