Why Procurement Transformation Can Fail!

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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High Prices and Low Availability Plague the Electrical Supply Chain!

Have you found that the consistent supply and reasonable prices in the Electrical Supply Chain that you were used to before COVID-19 hit have not returned as soon as you hoped, or as soon as some experts predicted?

Global events have created further obstacles in the electrical supply chain, but there are ways to work around them.

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

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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The Digital Supply Chain Road is Full of Potholes, Construction and Accidents!

The Digital Supply Chain road, or Supply Chain 4.0, is the path to the future.

Enabled by highly publicized technologies such as Blockchain, Big Data, the Internet of Things, Autonomous Vehicles, Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Virtual/Augmented Reality, 3D Printing and more the Digital Supply Chain holds great promise and exciting opportunities.

But even with established technologies the road to implementation can be challenging to say the very least.

As you are developing your Digital Supply Chain strategies it is important to understand, consider, and account for the inevitable problems and obstacles that will test your resolve and your leadership.

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Cultivating Procurement Excellence Through the Power of Negotiation!

Negotiation skills are highly expected in lots of posts; it’s no wonder modern business finds employees with this ability to be the most valuable ones. Their proficiency in securing favourable terms, building strong relationships with vendors, and optimization of procurement processes has great influence on the overall success of the company.

Business owners should see the potential of their employees, and by providing them with comprehensive procurement training and certification, they can help them learn and master their negotiation skills. How can your company benefit from official procurement certification?

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Revolutionizing Procurement: Empowering Professionals with Procurement Tactics’ Price Tracker Tool!

In today’s fast-evolving business world, staying ahead of the curve is not just a competitive edge but an absolute necessity. Recognizing this need, Procurement Tactics, a pioneering player in the procurement industry, has introduced its game-changing Price Tracker tool –  an innovative solution that promises to reshape the way procurement professionals approach price monitoring.

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

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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Supplier Quality Management: Drive Value By Safeguarding Value!

Fall is in the air.

Pumpkins are chunkin’, the leaves are changin’ and Thanksgiving cornucopias are being filled by the second. There’s something about autumns crisp air that makes me romanticize the ‘coziness’ of it all, but can you blame me?

As an ex-pat American, I sometimes forget that my associations with the autumn season don’t align with those of my friends here in Stockholm, Sweden. But, if there’s one thing we’ve all come to an agreement upon, it’s that Thanksgiving dinner is a must.

I introduced the tradition a few years ago and it’s been an annual event since then, hosted at my place- in potluck fashion. I fix the bird, stuffing, and taters, and each attendee stands for their own dish. It is a feast of epic proportions, and there’s a spread of food big enough to feed Coxey’s Army (as my Grandmother always says).

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Our 2017 Top 10 List! – Part 2

It’s been a tremendous first year at  supplychaingamechanger.com.  Our goal has always been to share experiences and expertise.  And in the second half of 2017 we had an ever increasing number of articles contributed by industry leaders all of whom have been very generous in sharing their intellect and insights.  This is our second 2017 Top 10 List.

Our readers and contributors come from all over the world.  They include individuals new to Supply Chain as well as Industry leaders and everyone in between.   And they work in many different industries and vocations.   But they all have a common interest in Supply Chain, Operations, Business, Leadership, Change Management, Human Resources, Transformation,  and Technology.

Most importantly they all have an interest in learning and sharing.

As we end this first year we wanted to publish our 2nd Top 10 List.  Our first Top 10 List covered the Top blog posts from the first half of 2017 so our 2nd Top 10 List will cover the second half of 2017.

Thank you for your tremendous, ongoing support.  

So here is our 2nd Top 10 List of 2017…

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What is a Machine Learning Development Firm?

Machine learning development firms are becoming more important for businesses in today’s technological world. Machine learning, a type of artificial intelligence, enables computers to improve without explicit programming. As technology continues to be a crucial aspect of business, machine learning is essential for enhancing efficiency and decision-making.

A machine learning development firm is a company that specializes in creating and implementing machine learning solutions for businesses. These firms work with clients to identify areas where machine learning can be used to improve operations, and then develop and implement customized solutions.

In this article, we will explore the role of a machine learning development firm and how businesses can benefit from their services.

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The New Age of Negotiation!

We negotiate on a daily basis. But there is a new age of negotiation at hand.

We negotiate contracts, terms, and specifications in our professional lives and we negotiate dinner plans, curfews, and allowances in our private lives. Sometimes negotiations are small and sometimes they hold a bit more value or impact.

It’s a natural emotion to desire a favorable outcome within negotiations. You want to come out of any negotiation feeling accomplished about what was agreed upon. You put time, energy, focus, and emotion into a negotiation, so naturally, you want to come out feeling as if you’ve done a good job, get a good price, or ‘won’.

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The Role of Offshore Teams in Streamlining Supply Chain Operations!

Global trade economics constantly change, and supply chains are becoming more complicated and interconnected. Organizations are always looking for ways to increase their efficiency, minimize overhead, and maintain a threshold of 98% customer satisfaction.

An alternative strategy that has become popular is the application of offshore teams. Cost reductions to 24-hour productivity can be one of the benefits that offshore team could offer to supply chain operations. Properly handled, this integration can make supply chain processes much more efficient.

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Procurement Bots – Transformer or Destroyer?

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!

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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What is Blockchain? And How Does it Work? (Infographic)

Blockchain!

What is all the fuss about?  It’s a word that was rarely used or even heard of in Supply Chain not that long ago.  But now it is very common to hear about Blockchain.  Further it is often used in the context of being a necessary and integral part of any Digital Supply Chain Strategy.

Most companies do not yet have a Blockchain strategy.  More importantly  most people do not even know what it is.  How can you have a strategy for something if you don’t know what it is?  So, as with anything, let’s start at the beginning.

What exactly is Blockchain?

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