Global
Sourcing Modernization: Two Solutions for One Goal
In the midst of global disruption, fluctuating demand and supply has driven industry leaders to hold sourcing events more frequently amid the chaos.
While supply chain challenges continue, it is crucial that businesses equip themselves with tech that allows for both standard and complex sourcing events. This is especially true as the need to drive non-cost objectives around sustainability initiatives, delivery speed and more rises.
5 Ways Digital Procurement Mitigates Risk
Nothing in business is risk-free. Every department in a company needs to deal with risk daily.
Risk management appears to be a simple concept, yet it is a highly complicated aspect of organizational and procurement strategy.
We all know that procurement must be dependable and secure. Hence, it's crucial to control and mitigate the variety of risks connected with business operations to achieve success.
They Did What?! Data Horror Stories Revealed
We all like a good horror story, especially a data one. It’s like when you pass an accident on the road, you can’t help but slow down to have look, and then you’re thankful it wasn’t you.
Data horror stories are just like that. It gives us comfort to know that we are not the only ones suffering and that there might be people in even worse situations out there. We’re not just going to slow down here though; we’re also going to stop and see what went wrong. That way we can avoid finding ourselves in these situations in the future.
Then and Now: What Has Procurement Accomplished in the Past 25 Years?
Procurement has changed dramatically in the past 25 years, but it is not often that we take a step back to evaluate just how much has changed. A flashback to 1996 would reveal the average procurement professional sitting at a desk stacked high with paper and a bulky, dial-up desktop computer to help with some select tasks. This is in stark contrast to today’s world, where real-time insights are at your fingertips thanks to the digitalization of procurement and the dawn of business networks.
Why Going Back to the Office Isn’t the Magic Bullet for Building Employee Morale
When will things return to “normal?” It’s a question we’ve all been asking since early 2020 and one that has particularly been challenging for managers. They’re grappling with turnover and a people shortage because of the pandemic and now must decide if they’ll reopen offices or let work from home continue.
How Will You Weather the Next Storm? Build a Stronger Supply Chain
In the world of procurement, there is always another crisis right around the corner. Time and time again, the industry has been rattled by various disruptions and forced to reconsider how we will weather the storm better than we have had in the past.
Three Steps to a More Equitable RFP Process
Supplier diversity. These days, it’s more than a buzzword. It’s rapidly become a top priority for many organizations.
What is on the Horizon for Micro Fulfillment Centers?
As we are hopefully moving beyond the pandemic, one positive trend that began during the height of 2020 supply chain upheavals was the emergence of the Micro Fulfillment Center (MFC). Supply chains made swift seismic shifts to accommodate new business models during pandemic and have gained a new attitude toward flexibility and fixing what remains broken. Technology exists to accomplish additional changes that will help manufacturers, brands, retailers, and supply chains meet a new and uncertain future.
Why the Just-in-Time Supply Chain Model is Failing
The shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) is a direct result of one of the biggest supply chain management disruptions in recent history -- the COVID-19 pandemic. These shortages aren’t just bad news for hospitals and retailers, but can often mean the difference between life and death for healthcare workers and their patients.
John W. Henke Jr. and Chun Zhang: Increasing Supplier Trust and Innovation
The tricky question that most if not all companies face on a constant basis is how to get their suppliers fully engaged and committed to – and even be instrumental in driving – innovation.
While the importance of innovation is a given that dates back more than 50 years to the teachings of Peter Drucker in The Practice of Management (1954), it has only been fairly recently that academics and organizations have been studying how to make innovation go from idea to reality.
John W. Henke Jr. and Chun Zhang are two such academics.
Power Purchase Agreements Are the Underused Path to Sustainable Energy
With more than half of the world’s GDP dependent on nature for its resources and services, companies and their supply chains, have an outsized impact on the environment. The stark reality is that corporations continue to increase emissions of toxic greenhouse gases year after year because of their reliance on fossil fuels as a dominant source of energy.
Cloud Compliance and 4 Ways to Improve It
Cloud compliance accounts for a company adhering to previously established cloud usage regulations and standards that are dictated by both federal laws and industry guidelines. Let’s say your business operates within the FinTech industry. This means that you must adhere to the Fintech Law (comprising 100+ laws and multiple regulators, tribunals, etc.) in terms of how you store and handle customer data. The same goes for the healthcare industry for storing and handling patient data, and so on.
Using Procurement Analytics to Become an Agent of Change
The role of procurement is changing. Okay, I know – you’ve heard that before. But after the events of 2020 and the ongoing repercussions, that change has been hugely accelerated.
Increased market volatility and a high risk of supply chain disruption have placed pressure on procurement teams to maintain profitability, better manage working capital, mitigate third-party supplier risks and drive business sustainability. As a result, those teams are playing a more central and strategic role in their organizations.
What Can Your Procurement Data Tell You?
You might not realize it yet, but your procurement data can tell you a lot. It’s not just numbers either, it can tell you a story about what is going on within your organization -- and even further afield.