Julian Nyarko, assistant professor at Stanford Law School, has researched an interesting concept he calls contract “stickiness.” His findings? Once a contract’s terms or covenants is written into a contract it “only rarely” gets changed or improved – hence the concept that contract terms are sticky.
The year that started the global pandemic also brought more than just the coronavirus. The world became acutely aware of the weak links within the global supply chain. At the onset, product and people movements were challenging. We saw supply shortages not entirely driven by hoarding behavior, but because the supply chain was stuck.
The question became this: How do we get people and products moving safely, without jeopardizing employees’ health, safety and well-being, as well as customers?
Poor contract management costs businesses up to 9% percent of their annual revenues. Contracts determine the flow of an organization’s finances and directly impact customer satisfaction, savings, risk exposure and productivity. However, organizations can have thousands of working contracts at any given time—each with their own set of set of risks, terms and expectations.
Keith Hausmann, Chief Revenue Officer, Globality, explains how the AI revolution is transforming the way companies source complex categories – typically services, delivering faster, better decisions; more autonomy for stakeholders; and greater opportunities for procurement professionals to drive innovation.
The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped the global workforce in a variety of ways, with employee health and safety catapulted to the forefront of business concerns. Even with vaccination rollouts and months of experience navigating a worldwide pandemic, the future of the global workforce remains uncertain.
When Alibaba.com surveyed 5,000 SMB decision-makers in September 2020, keeping employees healthy and safe while reopening in-person operations was reported as the number one concern among employer firms in 2021.
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors are becoming increasingly important in supply chains. Consumers are demanding more transparency and better practices than ever before. Meanwhile, millennials are putting their money where their mouths are and increasingly investing in companies that align with their environmental and societal values.
With so many elements and technologies present in every vehicle on the road, the ecosystem behind the vehicles we drive is massive. Navigating the business side of the automotive and technology worlds requires partnerships, and deals are happening constantly behind the scenes as suppliers and OEMs align with the goal of creating the next big thing in the world of autonomous vehicles and vehicle technology.
COVID-19 resulted in over 20.5 million jobs lost in the U.S. alone. As the economy recovers, workforce participation is at an all-time low, falling to 61.2% in March 2021, the lowest it's been since 1976. Unemployed, laid off and furloughed workers that do return to the workforce do so with a fundamental shift in the mindset, impacting how and where work gets done.
Centers of Excellence, or CoEs, are part and parcel of every progressive procurement organization. In the strict sense, they’re internal bodies that perform knowledge-based services on a one-to-many basis for the procurement function and other related stakeholders.
In this piece, I discuss the role of the Center of Excellence in a procurement department, the types of issues they grapple with, and how can they work to ensure that they’re playing a strategic role and helping to facilitate real change across the procurement team.
With unemployment claims skyrocketing to almost 10 million at the end of March and expected to jump by millions more, COVID-19-driven economic jolts have quickly shifted the labor environment to the most volatile we’ve seen – well, ever.
Saving time and money while maintaining high standards have always been important issues for hiring professionals in the sourcing space. Yet with Covid having impacted the job market in the past year, the pressure to fill roles with the right candidates has never been greater.
Clearly, hiring professionals need smart solutions that can get results while maintaining agility and cost-effectiveness. Old methods of hiring like the resume alone just don’t cut it anymore, especially in an economy where people are shifting careers more than ever.
Remember when the U.S. was virtually held hostage by OPEC? If they raised the price per barrel, U.S. consumers were stuck with higher prices at the gas pump. And then along came fracking. Boom! The U.S. took the alpha role in energy production. Carbon emissions notwithstanding, this new power freed the U.S. economy from dependance on other oil-producing nations.
Wondering if you have what it takes to be a successful procurement manager? Take a look at these qualities to see if you’re management material. Don’t worry if you’re not strong in all of these areas -- you can find ways to build your skills to improve in areas you consider weak.
A great deal of procurement tasks involve building and maintaining relationships. Not just with your suppliers, but with your co-workers, stakeholders and others you come into contact with through the course of your work.
Supplier management is something that many companies overlook. Customer satisfaction is the natural focus for businesses, but it's not the only relationship you should be cultivating, as it is also critical to have a good relationship with your suppliers. Supplier relationship management is a domain in which all companies can excel because it has far-reaching implications.
