In the middle of our 5th year here at Supply Chain Game Changer we are proud to publish our 2021 Top 10 List. Here we are showcasing our 10 most popular articles for the first half of the year.
Since we’ve started we have amassed an extensive library of over 750 articles. There is something for everyone no matter what your interests, challenges and needs may be from one day to the next. And that fulfills our mission of sharing experiences and expertise for the benefit of all.
Still there is always more to right about to help our readers.
So let’s take some time to reflect, and look back on our 2021 top 10 list … so far!
In the era of digital transformation, organizations are constantly seeking innovative solutions to enhance their supply chain management (SCM) processes and create the Digital Supply Chain of the future.
One such revolutionary technology is ChatGPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer), powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI). ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, is a sophisticated language model that can understand and generate human-like text.
All over the business landscape, more companies in more diverse industries are transforming their Procurement functions and Procurement strategy.
They’re leaving behind more transactional models and becoming more strategic, implementing total cost of ownership Strategic Sourcing models, either centre-led or decentralized.
In any company or industry that sells products the cost of the raw materials and components is often the single largest expense. Despite the magnitude of this cost however there is a wide range of focus put on managing this expenditure from proactive and strategic to reactive and tactical. This is all managed by either Commodity Management or Category Management.
In some cases there is a great level of planning applied before a single purchase order is placed. In other cases buying decisions are made subjectively and with very little focus. Further the experience in those buying these goods can vary significantly as well.
Supply Chain is about much more than just negotiating lower materials costs. A well constructed Procurement Strategy will raise the value of the Supply Chain to your company.
How do you manage your materials spend? Are you executing a Buying Strategy or are you just blindly placing purchase orders ?
Some procurement professionals can quickly identify their key or champion supplier partners.
Unfortunately for many, basic supplier insights, such as contract, spend, performance, risk, and compliance data aren’t so easy to get a hold of or begin to analyze.
Listed as a top key finding in a 2020 WBR Insights report, it was found that “The top concern for procurement professionals is making buying decisions without the necessary insight” (WBR Insights 2020).
Access to reliable insights is incredibly important when aiming to know which suppliers are the ‘right suppliers’ to collaborate with.
Selecting a reliable supplier for bulk coffee and hot chocolate is crucial for maintaining product quality and customer satisfaction. The right supplier can significantly impact your business, whether you run a café, restaurant, or retail store.
Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you find the best suppliers and ensure a seamless supply chain.
The Supply Chain touches all of our lives whether it be in business or personally. No matter what industry you are in or are touched by, all involve the movement of goods, services, and information. So the most efficient functioning of the Supply Chain affects us all. And it affects us in every aspect of our lives whether we are consumers, employees, or business leaders.
With a career spent in Supply Chain I’ve seen many ways of performing the processes involved in managing the Supply Chain. Many of these processes are highly efficient. Yet many more are highly inefficient. Regardless, everyone strives to improve the way things are done. And every experience has been an opportunity for growth.
In this blog I’d like to share my experiences, and those of others, in improving, working in, managing in and being managed by the Supply Chain.
There have been some remarkable achievements and there have been some missteps along the way. However there are lessons to be learned and experiences to be shared in every case. And I hope that this learning and shared experience will be of value as you seek to improve the Supply Chain you are a part of.
On top of that we want to share anything and everything related to Leadership, Change Management, Technology, Procurement, Purchasing, Distribution, Logistics, and much, much more.
Overall Supply Chain Game Changer can serve you as a guide as you do your jobs and as you progress through your career. The issues and challenges that you face will be different for everyone on any given day. There is something for everyone in Supply Chain Game Changer.
Additionally I invite you to comment and send me content. By learning, not only from successes but from failures, we will all be better going forward. There is a wonderful world of people and experiences that we can all learn from.
So again I welcome you to the Supply Chain Game Changer™ blog.
Very early on in my career an associate of mine was fired because he was found to be taking kickbacks from packaging suppliers to whom he had been preferentially and inappropriately been giving business.
Most recently I have received lots of emails and messages from unknown people offering to sell me masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) for really low prices. A cursory investigation into some of these finds that the items are substandard at best, and the commensurate price gouging during the pandemic reeks of fraudulent behaviour.
One of our most popular articles is Freight Forwarding scams. Every couple of weeks I will get an email from someone, from anywhere in the world, who has been the victim of a freight forwarding scam, and is looking for help.
All of this, and more, has caused to me consider that this is a very important, very real, and very prevalent issue. So let’s discuss Supply Chain scams and fraud.
When preparing for a negotiation, it is common to identify the issues to be negotiated, decide on negotiating tactics to use on your supplier, think through what your supplier may say and practice saying the words you’ll use during the negotiation.
Those are all necessary components of negotiation preparation.
But, they are not enough. To truly reach your potential in a negotiation you need to understand some key things about your supplier. This article will focus on three major things you need to know about your supplier before beginning a negotiation.
How do you get to know them? You can research your supplier and/or you could – get this – ask your supplier contact!
Unless your company is amongst the very largest companies in the world then chances are your Procurement team will, at some point, be dealing with Suppliers that are larger than your company. They are the Elephant in the room.
In a function such as Procurement where negotiating is a central part of the role, leverage is a critical element in those negotiations. And in many cases size translates to leverage.
So how do you negotiate with a Supplier that is larger than your company and has greater perceived leverage?
How do you negotiate when your Supplier is the Elephant in the room?
There is a great line in one of the Spider-man movies, “With great power comes great responsibility!”
Procurement organizations can have the power to spend and control as much as 75-80% of a company’s revenue. Now that is power! And with that power comes a huge responsibility.
Less enlightened organizations still think of Procurement as a back office function processing transactional purchase orders and standard contracts. But better informed and leading organizations see and recognize Procurement for its strategic value.
What actually is the power that is within Procurement’s mandate? And what responsibility does Procurement have commensurate with that power?
Choosing suppliers. Finding the right products. Making requisitions. Getting the right amount of products at the right price. All of these are the challenges of working in procurement, necessitating an automated popular procurement software.
But procurement is one of the most integral parts of running an operation. Whether you’re servicing other businesses in a B2B capacity or serving the general public, you need to be able to procure the right types of items in the right quantities to be successful.
Has your friend, or partner, ever looked at you and said, “Let’s go out to eat!”(Side Note: we’re talking about pre- or post- COVID 19 of course) and put a review on Yelp?
There’s often not many seconds between the proposition of eating out, and a frantic barrage of mobile searches on various review sites, blog posts and news articles.
Supply Chain responsibilities are vast in any organization. These jobs reach far and wide, touching virtually every business process, most metrics, and all functional areas.
But too often the expected deliverables from Supply Chain professionals are established without a real understanding of the totality and breadth of actual tasks that must be performed underneath those high level expectations.
With an iceberg it is said that only 10% of it is visible as the rest is under the water. This can be analogous to the work done in Supply Chain.
So let’s explore the Supply Chain Workload iceberg!
Are you looking to source products from China but don’t know where to start? Working with a China sourcing agent could be the solution you’re looking for. China sourcing agents are professionals who help businesses find suppliers, negotiate prices, and manage the production and delivery of goods from China.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the benefits of working with a China sourcing agent and provide tips for finding the right one for your business.
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