Tag: Procurement

Procurement involves the tactical and strategic procurement of all goods and services required for the operation of any single business or organization.

Our 2017 Top 10 Blog Posts … So Far!

It’s been 6 months since we launched supplychaingamechanger.com.  Our goal has always been to share experiences and expertise.  The site has evolved.  The number of categories has continued to grow.  And the response has been absolutely tremendous. We can now present our 2017 Top 10 Blog posts.

In that time Supply Chain Game Changer was also selected by Feedspot as one of the Top 75 Supply Chain Blogs on the Internet.

So we thought that this would be a good point at which to share a list of the 2017 Top 10 Blog posts that we have published so far.  We would be remiss if we didn’t also thank the phenomenal Guest Bloggers who have given us such great content.

So here is the 2017 Top 10 Blog List, so far …

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Responsible Sourcing! Making Sustainability Happen for Real!

The Green Supply Chain: True Sustainability or Just a Marketing Stunt?

Sustainability and responsible sourcing.

The word with so much focus and buzz surrounding it, it has almost become difficult to speak or write about.

It’s become the keyword that you see in article titles and hit like or share when scrolling by — so your friends and professional network see you care about the future of the earth — but seldom click on the link to read.

Unfortunately, sustainability and sustainable development are beginning to turn from green to grey, considering its ever-increasingly washed-out idealistic applications in business and society at large.

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Business Practices Disrupting Procurement!

7 KPIs Your Procurement Team May Be Ignoring!

When I was a kid, my mom had a ’93 Ford Escort.

I remember that car as clearly as I remember banging with my fist on it’s ceiling singing Tom Petty’s Makin’ Some Noise.

Days and years went by, and eventually, the ’93 Ford Escort was living in the hybrid-dominated world of the year 2004. My mom decided that the Escort had seen better days, and started a new/used car hunt. She soon selected the Prius as her car of choice for its environmentally friendly features. The Escort joined its fellow junk metal comrades in an automotive-parts junkyard a few miles away from my childhood home.

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Procurement Integrity Breach – A Sure Way to Get Fired!

Could the CPO Be Replaced by the Chief Value Officer?

The following story about Procurement integrity is true; no names or companies will be mentioned.

“Hello, Rebecca. Great to hear from you this morning. What can I do for you today?” I said to my direct report on my cell phone.

“We have a situation that needs your attention.” Her voice foretold that this was one to pay extra attention to.

“What’s up?”

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How to Compare Metal Fabricators!

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

 Are you in a dilemma in deciding which company, like https://www.steelproductsdirect.com/, to choose for your next big project for steel equipment? There may be lots of metal fabricators and options springing up as you open the Internet, and they are all pretty much impressive enough to confuse you.

Also, there may be companies who have offered you their services for the same thing with a really tempting quote! This may create confusion in your mind as to whether to choose them (or not!).

When your contract is a really big one and influential enough, you just can’t take risks anywhere. Even when going for a metal fabricator company, it’s better to be very sure about your choice. (We know the contract may be worth a really big amount).

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The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Digital Procurement!

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

Navigating the complexity of the global supply chain as a procurement professional can sometimes feel like taking a walk through the Amazon without a compass, or entering into outer space without an oxygen tank, especially when considering digital procurement.

It’s important that procurement teams take into account the new risk reality and challenges that face them, their organizations and their value chains. As the world around us continues to put the pedal to the metal within the digitalization of business solutions, procurement can’t decide to slow down for every speed bump.

At the same time, it’s never smart to punch the gas if you haven’t packed a spare tire. You never know when you might run into something sharp along the way.

Finding the perfect balance between preparation and action can be tricky.

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Supply Chain as a Service (SCaaS)!

Preparing Business for the Digital Supply Chain! Oracle Interviews Mike Mortson!

I began my career working in a manufacturing plant within an international company that was completely vertically integrated. From component manufacturing through to subassembly manufacturing and end product assembly they did it all.

Within 10 years the company experienced a number of site closures and declared that manufacturing was no longer a core competency. For the site that I was a part of this meant that closure was an inevitability.

Faced with this stark reality we made the choice to spin off from the parent organization and start our own new company, entering the world of Contract Manufacturing.

This was my first experience with Outsourcing, or what I refer to as “Supply Chain as a Service” (SCaaS).

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The Future of Procurement!

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

There has been transformation in the Procurement function over the past decade. From the starting point of the traditional buy-sell, transaction-based purchasing, the practice has moved through stages of change that redefines most aspects of the business and the future of Procurement.

A typical Purchasing Function is limited to the transactional job of collecting information about the requirements of user departments and carrying out commercial checks and balances to finally procure the product & service based on cost reduction only and focused on supply continuity.

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Seasoned Leadership in Action ™ – Our 2018 All Star Leaders!

In 2018 Supply Chain Game Changer introduced our Seasoned Leadership in Action ™ interview series.

There are so many fantastic people leading in Business and in Supply Chain.  We thought that it would be great to learn a little more about what makes these people tick, what is important to them, and what we can all learn from them.

The Interview series has proven to be phenomenally popular with our readers with many of these Interviews being amongst our most viewed articles of all time.  So we thought that it would be great to recap all of the Interviews we published in 2018.

Finally we extend our thanks to all of those who participated in our Seasoned Leadership in Action™ Interview series.  You were quite simply great for which we are truly grateful!

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Featuring Our 12 Best Procurement Articles!

Featuring Our 10 Best Inventory Management Articles!

Procurement is a core function in every single company. Whether purchasing goods or services to support the company’s product offering or purchasing goods or services to support the infrastructure and operation of the company, Procurement is key and featuring our best Procurement articles is more than appropriate.

Depending on the type of industry you are in the Procurement of goods and or services can be the largest, or one of the largest, expense areas. As such the ability to efficiently procure goods to meet all objectives of cost, delivery, quality, and more is essential for not only success, but for survival.

In this “Featuring” series article we are putting the spotlight on Procurement and Purchasing. We are presenting our Top 12 best Procurement articles with information, techniques and approaches which will have something for everyone to learn from and apply in their own situation.

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How Social Media Benefits Supply Chain!

Supply Chain as a Service (SCaaS)!

If your supply chain company isn’t active on social media, know that your competitors are and they are enjoying social media benefits.

Here are four ways social media can help the supply chain in improving processes and expanding your audiences.

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What Exactly Is Supply Chain Management? 10 Different Definitions!

What Exactly Is Procurement? And What is Purchasing?
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When I began my  career there was no such thing as “Supply Chain Management“.  Supply Chain was not a title to be found anywhere on any organization chart.

Yet all of the functions that we now associate with Supply Chain have been around for a very long time:  Planning, Inventory Management, Logistics, Procurement and Purchasing, Warehousing and many more.

So what exactly is the definition of “Supply Chain Management”?  Interestingly there are many views on how to define Supply Chain.

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Manage Procurement Spend Like It’s Your Own Business!

Procurement and Procurement Spend. Purchasing. Commodity Management. Category Management.

They are all running their own businesses within their companies, or at least they should be, whether they realize it or not.

Goods and services spend in many companies is the largest, or one of the largest, expenses. And all of this is managed by Procurement personnel.

But do they manage this spend like it is their own business or do they manage it like it is just a functional job with transactional activities to be performed?

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The Hottest Supply Chain Jobs! (Infographic)

Supply Chain Compensation is on the Rise!

It’s an exciting time to be involved in the Supply Chain and for Supply Chain jobs.  Across every industry, every geography and every country there are advances in Technology, the Internet of Things (IoT), Industry 4.0, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain and more.

But none of this can function without Supply Chain professionals.  Your expertise and experience are the backbone of developing the strategies and action plans for making these evolutionary and revolutionary improvements .

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Spend Aggregation Obstacle Course for Procurement!

Enable Spend Aggregation in Procurement!

The theory is simple!  If you can increase spend levels through centralized spend aggregation across entities then you increase your leverage in negotiations. This leverage should translate to lower costs and better terms and conditions.  But there is a spend aggregation obstacle course to be overcome first.

These entities may be different departments or facilities within your own company. They may be different companies under common ownership. They may be disparate companies within an industry. Or they may be unrelated companies spanning many industries.

The benefits seem clear. So why is there so much resistance when it comes to trying to aggregate spend across these entities?

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