Tag: Purchasing

Purchasing is the tactical part of Procurement and involves all of the transactional activities associated with buying goods and services.

Create Collaborative Innovation with Suppliers!

Supply Chain Collaboration – The New Way to Drive Value!

Previous CIO of General Motors (GM), Tony Scott, was once quoted saying,“GM is a highly collaborative organization; we rely on a whole tier of suppliers for everything that we do.” They rely on collaborative innovation.

Our organization’s products, customers, and profit, are ultimately a byproduct of the global supply chain networks that operate on a daily basis to add value through collaboration. The complexity of global supply chains – especially in organizations like GM, often the elephant in the room – require hands-on relationship management of suppliers to ensure that supplier collaboration will lead to added value, and innovation.

It’s nice to see that their previous Chief Information Officer had enough perspective to recognize their suppliers’ importance.

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The Role of Procurement in Supply Chain: Key Strategies for Success!

Featuring Our 12 Best Procurement Articles!

In today’s competitive business landscape, effective supply chain management is crucial for organizations to thrive. At the heart of supply chain management lies the role of procurement, a strategic function responsible for sourcing, acquiring, and managing goods and services essential for business operations. 

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Supplier Collaboration is a Win-Win Strategy!

How to Create Collaborative Innovation with Suppliers!

Suppliers are an intrinsic part of the Supply Chain.  It does not matter what business you are in, what products you make, distribute and sell, or what part of the world you are in.  And it doesn’t matter where in the Supply Chain you are.  You can not accomplish anything without collaboration with your Suppliers.

Yet I have seen, like many of you, Suppliers treated in many different ways.  No matter what the circumstances are poor treatment of Suppliers is never appropriate.  Given that Customers fundamentally need their Suppliers to be successful why do people treat them badly?  And how do we ensure there is a healthy and productive relationship between Suppliers and Customers?

Working together with your Suppliers is always a formula for success!

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What is Supply Chain Management (SCM)? (Video)

Thesis Ideas for Supply Chain Students!

What is Supply Chain Management?

The term was coined over 35 years ago but still to this day there are a large number of different definitions of SCM.

To someone who is starting out their career, or who is new to the field of Supply Chain, it is understandable that there may be confusion as to the definition of SCM.

But the reality is that there are many expert individuals and organizations who define Supply Chain differently. Are they really that different or are there just subtle nuances in what some people consider SCM that others do not?

Watch our video to learn more about how people define Supply Chain Management!

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Why Procurement Transformation Can Fail!

What’s the Difference between Procurement and Purchasing? (Infographic)

Over these past 28 years of my career in Procurement (yes I started when I was 12), I’ve had the privilege and pain of seeing, not just procurement, but many different types of Transformation initiatives succeed and, unfortunately, fail. Let’s discuss why procurement transformation can fail.

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What’s the Difference between Procurement and Purchasing? (Infographic)

Featuring Our 12 Best Procurement Articles!

It’s a good question. We often see these terms used interchangeably, but there are some concrete differences between Procurement and Purchasing such that we think they are two different practices, each with their own set of concerns and skills.

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Are You on the Supply Chain Naughty List or Nice List this Year?

Is Your Supply Chain A Cost Centre or a Value Creator?

Supply Chain is a very difficult business area to work in.  It is not for the faint of heart.  But the fact that it is such a challenging area, promising both risk and reward, is one of the things that makes it an exciting career path.  At any point you can be on the Naughty list or the Nice list.

These are hard jobs.  I’ve heard it said many times that just staying afloat in Supply Chain is success because there are so many things that could drown you from one day to the next.

And even though the Supply Chain is absolutely essential for running virtually any business the Supply Chain team doesn’t always get the recognition they deserve for keeping the company afloat.

So we felt that it was time to sit back and reflect on what kind of year you’ve had and think about what you’ve done, what you’ve overcome, and what you’ve accomplished.

What do you think?  Are you on the Naughty list or the Nice list?

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Procurement Bots – Transformer or Destroyer?

The 3 Pillars of Digital Procurement!

The last few years have seen a lot of real (and over) hype associated with the emergence of Software Robots (called Bots/Bot) and Procurement Bots which are disrupting the legacy procurement processes involving human interface.

This research paper introduces the concept and evolution of the Bots, their characteristics with focus on Procurement processes, the Pros and Cons and debates on the transformation of the procurement function (vs destruction of human interface).

In summary – Bots will have a high appeal on the transactional and digital side of procurement processes and will gain exponential growth in the coming years with the advent of cognitive and machine learning tools.

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Tail Spend: The Hidden Procurement That’s Hurting Your Bottom Line!

Indirect Procurement – It’s Time to Rise and Shine!

In the fast-changing world of strategic Procurement, certain categories of spend get all the thunder: IT Procurement gets to help drive a company’s innovation. Business Services Procurement gets to restructure a company’s operations and drive competitiveness. Travel Procurement gets to look at pictures of exotic destinations all day (just kidding). But what about tail spend?

And most large companies are well aware – by now – of the cost savings and strategic advantages of being more strategic about the way you buy things in an organization. For the most part. For most of the stuff a company buys.

But there’s another sort of spend that never gets any love, a sleeping giant that’s actually costing companies millions of dollars and opening them up to risk: Tail Spend.

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Seasoned Leadership in Action™ – An Interview with Stephany Lapierre, CEO at tealbook!

Seasoned Leadership in Action™ Interview Excerpts: Lessons Learned by Global Leaders

At Supply Chain Game Changer we believe in sharing experiences and expertise from people in every industry and from across the globe.  As such we have introduced our “Seasoned Leadership in Action™” Interview series at Supply Chain Game Changer. This interview is with Stephany Lapierre, Founder and CEO at tealbook.

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Procurement Transformation Delays – The Role of Personality!

Manage Procurement Spend Like It’s Your Own Business!

We’ve all heard of the need for Procurement to embrace the Digital Procurement transformation for many years. 

So why are so many organizations still in the beginning of this process?  

Why are industry projections failing to materialize despite ample technological advancements in Procurement?

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7 Essential Attributes of Strategic Supplier Partnerships!

Strategic Supplier Relationship Management – Do’s and Don’ts
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Though the phrase partnership is often used, what really constitutes a strategic supplier partnership?

In a previous article about supplier management, I suggested that the more a supplier tells you that they are strategic, the less they really are. Strategic is a term that is often overused. Whether the phrase refers to sourcing, procurement, relationships, or other matters, its use is prevalent.

The notion of partnerships is equally ubiquitous and similarly both mis- and over-used. This article will identify a taxonomy for a strategic partnership between two parties.

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The Future of the Chief Procurement Officer … Is Already Here!

Could the CPO Be Replaced by the Chief Value Officer?

Kodiak Rating’s CTO was recently in attendance at a Chief Procurement Officer and Procurement Leaders event held in London, titled DITx — Data Intelligence and Tech Forum.

As written by Procurement Leaders, “DITx is Europe’s ONLY event specifically designed for procurement professionals wanting to capitalize on a whole new set of opportunities that disrupt yet provide new transformative, value adding capabilities” (Procurement Leaders 2017).

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7 KPIs Your Procurement Team May Be Ignoring!

Strategic Supplier Relationship Management – Do’s and Don’ts

Procurement bridges the gap between product, internal stakeholders and customers. Elements of that bridge include KPIs.

In order to support the weight of internal and external expectations, Procurement teams must be prepared to perform as a key value adder within an organization.

Meeting expectations at the door isn’t always the easiest task, especially when those expectations can be wide sweeping (example: minimize cost).

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Procurement (and Purchasing) Job Interview Questions & Answers

20 Supply Chain Job Interview Questions and Answers!

Procurement, or Purchasing, is an area of Supply Chain that involves and requires very specific skills and expertise.  This is particularly apparent if you are conducing a job interview and hiring a Procurement professional, you are looking for a  Procurement job,  you are looking to outsource anything, or you are dealing with Procurement people in the course of conducting business.  

Regardless of your position or situation it is highly valuable to understand  the type of interview questions, and answers, appropriate for Procurement and Purchasing professionals.    

Check out this list of 25 Procurement and Purchasing and Supply Chain interview questions and answers.

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