As I am writing this article in late March, the full economic fallout from COVID-19 is not yet known and, in fact, will remain unknown for a while. However, two things are clear. The economic repercussions of COVID-19 will be huge and marketing spending is about to be put under the microscope in ways that we haven’t seen since the “great recession” of 2008-2009.
Just about every company monitors when its staff is absent, whether on a planned holiday or sick, and has a policy for how much leave its employees are entitled to. However, very few go any deeper than this. Absence is observed, but most companies do not see the implications of certain trends or ensure compliance across a global workforce, much less take any proactive steps to help their staff on absence-related issues.
Knowing the behavioral history of a supplier prior to negotiations is essential to understand the reasons why a supplier is likely to offer optimal prices and service level agreements (SLA).
In the past, siloed and in-person negotiations often revealed insights about supplier behavior, but these insights were usually ignored because there was no empirical way for a sourcing professional to capture, share, and leverage this behavioral data cross-functionally.
Several recent developments suggest that sustainable procurement is about to become a more significant priority for business and procurement leaders. In August of last year, for example, the Business Roundtable – a non-profit association whose members are the CEOs of major U.S.
As the world gets to grips with a world health and humanitarian emergency resulting from the spread of coronavirus (COVID19), the knock-on economic effects also take effect. In an increasingly global economy, we are starting to see how fragile some just-in-time supply chains have become.
Businesses must ensure they understand what can be done remotely in relation to the signing of documents. They should also now be re-visiting contracts and opening dialogue with other parties within the supply chain to understand the potential impact Covid-19 may have. This planning is imperative to ensure business continuity, that relationships remain commercially viable and that disputes are avoided. Uncertainty does not absolve directors of the need to act in the business’ best interests.
Today, more than ever, filling the top of the funnel is proving to be extremely difficult. Speak with any salesperson and you’re likely to hear just how hard selling has become. And while yes, this is true, it’s nothing compared to being the person on the other end – you guessed it, I’m talking about the buyer.
Sustainability is one of the most important trends of our time – and it looks set to dominate business discussions well into the foreseeable future. In fact, studies have made the case for sustainability to be considered a new type of competitive priority, joining quality, cost, reliability, timeliness, flexibility and innovation as one of the core factors for building competitive businesses.
Having a diverse workforce results in increased ROI for companies; but this isn’t breaking news. Companies in the top quartile for gender, racial and ethnic diversity are “more likely to have financial returns above their national industry medians,” according to a McKinsey & Company report.
