Tag: supplychainmanagement

supplychainmanagement is the tag associated with all things Supply Chain Management, or SCM, with involves every company in every industry.

The Negotiation Before the Negotiation!

What Exactly Is Procurement? And What is Purchasing?

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!

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When the Elephant in the Room is Your Supplier!

Procurement (and Purchasing) Job Interview Questions & Answers

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?

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The Humble Label – Too Many Are Used!

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

We need to move away from the printed label!

I retired from a multi-national supply chain management company to become a co-owner of a label manufacturing company, which was a real culture change for me.

In the past discussions were held with a Director or Vice President of Supply Chain or Procurement or even the Chief Operations Officer about the design or re-design of the Supply Chain.  In my new position, I get to meet the buyers or an executive in charge or procuring labels.  In some companies they are categorized as “Consumables”.

There is very little high level attention paid to labels due to the low cost of the labels which can be a few cents to less than a cent. Many buyers feel that the labels are such insignificant parts of the product and place very little time and attention in the sourcing and procurement of the labels.

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The Thanksgiving Turkey Supply Chain!

Food Waste and World Hunger – The Food Supply Chain is Broken!

Recently we were driving on some back roads and in the distance we saw something on the road.  As we got closer we saw that there were a bunch of wild turkeys about to cross the road.  Was this Thanksgiving turkey?

The turkeys, hearing us coming, immediately turned around and quickly went back down the side road that they had come from.  Apparently they knew that being close to humans was not a good idea, particularly at this time of year.

With this in mind, and with Thanksgiving around the corner, I got to thinking about what the Supply Chain was that brought the Thanksgiving Turkey to the dinner table.

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Are you a Game Changer? Tell us your Story!

Every day there are individuals and teams all around the world who are making a difference.  They are driving transformational change in their jobs, in their Departments, in the Organization and in their Companies.  And they are achieving amazing results that defy what they previously thought possible.

We want to hear your stories and we invite you to share those stories on https://supplychaingamechanger.com so that we can all applaud, and learn from, your tremendous efforts.

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Could the CPO Be Replaced by the Chief Value Officer?

Enable Spend Aggregation in Procurement!

What is the role of the Chief Procurement Officer?  And what is the role, and difference, of the CPO as compared to the Chief Value Officer?

Procurement is the process of translating customer requirements into the selection of highly capable suppliers, to timely, accurately, cost-effectively deliver high quality, mission-critical inputs and raw materials to internal customers. As well as assuring the accurate receipt and timely payment of all accrued invoices.

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How to Safely Handle Chemicals!

A Comprehensive Warehouse Safety Guide!

Every time I am asked about how to handle and transport chemicals I answer that it is all about being well-informed.

Indeed, there are various elements that one has to know when it comes to the storage and handling of chemical products.

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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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Amazing Examples of 3D Printing Technology!

The Guinness Book of World Records for 3D Printing!

3D printing technology is not new.   Its been present for two decades now.  But this technology is so broad, immersive and innovative, people are continually stretching the limits of 3D Printing and continuously discovering more interesting and more challenging things with its application.

From developing an artificial human body part to manufacturing a fully-fledged supercar prototype, it’s assured that this is the most innovative and cutting-edge technology we have discovered to date.

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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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Will Driverless Trucks Ever Gain Traction?

6 Technologies that will Change Transportation and Trucking Forever!

Self-driving vehicles (driverless vehicles) are being tested throughout the world, with technology companies focused on bringing greater efficiency and profitability to the freight business.

Heavy hitters, including Uber with its recent purchase of Otto, and Tesla with its initiatives for autonomous driving platforms, have made waves throughout media outlets and investor groups alike.

However, driverless trucks have yet to gain full traction in the broad market for a variety of reasons.

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The 5 Point Last Minute Black Friday Supply Chain Checklist!

Black Friday – If Your Supply Chain Isn’t Ready Now You Are In Trouble!

Black Friday is almost here!  The Last Minute Black Friday Supply Chain checklist is here too!

It marks the tipping point demarcating the less busy, preparation focussed pre-Black Friday period from the frantically busy, execution focussed post-Black Friday period.

Record sales are expected from the online retail channel in particular, as is the case year after year.

For Supply Chain teams this means that time is running out to ensure that all of the planning, preparation, contingencies, resources, systems, processes and goods are in place.  

Here is our Last Minute Black Friday checklist.

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What Gets Measured Is What Gets Done!

On Time Delivery – Get that right First!

There are a myriad of variables and factors which affect your ability to achieve your objectives.   Deciphering this complexity to determine what should be measured is critical for driving improvements and change.

As with many aspects of your business there can literally be dozens and dozens of different metrics.  The same is true in sports.  So if you are trying to drive breakthrough results in your company or win on the field how do you determine what is important to measure?

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