Technology

The 'mid-market reality check': what are the real procurement priorities for UK medium-sized businesses in 2017?

Posted: 03/07/2017 - 08:03
Author: Mark Cook

There always seems to be plenty of commentary around what’s driving innovation and growth in both large enterprises and startups. By comparison, the mid-market seems slightly neglected; this seems an oversight given the crucial role it plays in the UK economy. Although this market segment represents just 1% of UK firms, medium-sized businesses are increasing revenues by an average of 6.7% each year and the mid-market is expected to boost the economy by 18% over the next five years.

Outsourcing realities: What business executives need to know

Posted: 03/07/2017 - 07:26
Author: Paul Singer

Congratulations! It’s been three years since you decided to outsource accounts payable. Or, accounts receivable, or customer care, or payroll, or HR, or procurement, or any one of a dozen business process functions typically outsourced, in part or in full. You’ve finally stabilised operations, established consistent market standard processes, addressed the fears from the field, started realising those projected savings, and convinced IT that it is possible to improve response time without creating a horrific security breach.

What your suppliers aren’t telling you (and why you should worry)

Posted: 02/28/2017 - 07:20
Author: Leo Navarro

In a multi-partner service delivery model, transparency and visibility are essential to an effective security and supplier risk management (SRM) strategy. Yet a wide range of evidence suggests that this transparency is sorely lacking in many cases. According to a study by the independent Ponemon Institute, 73 per cent of suppliers that experience a data breach don’t notify other vendors in the supply chain, while more than a third (37 per cent) of suppliers don’t notify their customers.

Contracting for emerging technologies: change with the changes

Posted: 02/21/2017 - 05:15
Author: Megan Paul

Emerging technology services have revolutionised the sourcing industry. These disruptive technologies like autonomics, interface technologies, big data analytics and other computing technologies have permitted smaller companies to successfully challenge established incumbent businesses. Specifically, as incumbents focus on improving their products and services for their most demanding (and usually most profitable) customers, they may exceed the needs of some segments and ignore the needs of others.

Digital strategies without the hype: fundamentals for effective implementation

Posted: 01/20/2017 - 00:42
Author:

Undoubtedly, digital has huge potential: to fundamentally transform the business operating model; to unlock the “impossible challenge”; to greatly accelerate change; and to intimately connect a company to its customers in real time. However, digital can also expose a company’s inner contradictions, reveal hidden pockets of poor performance, and even lead to perceived core capabilities being seen as critical weaknesses.

Life Lessons: Kit Cox

Posted: 01/17/2017 - 02:02
Author: Kit Cox

Kit Cox is the founder and CEO of UK-based BPO software company Enate, and a long-time observer of and commentator upon the international outsourcing space. He's also, now, the latest professional to come under the microscope of our Life Lessons series: we're in your hands, Kit...

What has been the single most significant development to impact your profession or area of business during your career, and why?

Black swans - and the price we're paying today

Posted: 01/17/2017 - 00:20
Author: Bobby Varanasi

The sourcing industry has so far had a spectacularly wonderful run. Twenty-five years of constant change, dynamism, technical competencies; business-aligned, people-centric, and bottom-line focused; intrinsically able to deliver on all promises made. As with any journey, bumps and roadblocks are expected. Navigating them painstakingly has created heroes of many an organisation, spilling over benefits into the developing world, and capital markets.

Extending the corporate risk profile to road safety

Posted: 01/10/2017 - 07:40
Author: Marcus Beard

Leading companies are working to extend management of the corporate risk profile to road safety. This is achieved by acknowledging key challenges, understanding the big picture and launching well-targeted strategic programs that consider local challenges and solutions. Such programs include driver management (driver selection, development and monitoring), vehicle management (including best use of new technologies) and assessing and managing route risks.

Seven is a lucky number, but procurement success takes more than luck

Posted: 01/06/2017 - 20:59
Author: Kay Ree Lee

It’s clear that procurement has evolved over the past several years. And it continues to evolve. Digitisation has helped take it from what was viewed as a back office function to a key differentiator and value driver. But why have some procurement organisations soared with the change while others lag behind?

What do winners know that others don’t? What makes some procurement organisations more efficient or effective, more successful, more innovative, more on top of their game?

Think differently

Life Lessons: Gautam Singh

Posted: 01/06/2017 - 20:57
Author: Gautam Singh

Gautam Singh is the co-founder and CEO of The Smart Cube, a global analytics company. A first-generation immigrant who worked and built his way up to become the head of a respected international organisation, he's full of Life Lessons - and keen to share them with our readers in the next instalment of this series: over to you, Gautam...

What has been the single most significant development to impact your profession or area of business during your career, and why?

Regulating outsourcing creates surprising vendor opportunities

Posted: 01/04/2017 - 08:42
Author: Chris Niccolls

During the election, Donald Trump said that he would stop work from leaving America, and would tax offshored products at 35%. Weeks before Trump is sworn in as President of the United States, he is hard at work wheeling and dealing with American corporations. Will these deals tell us about the “Trump Plan” for outsourcing? Let's dive right in and see!

Sin to cross the oceans?

Posted: 01/04/2017 - 08:17
Author: Ravichandran Venkataraman

Our ancestors in India always told us that it was a sin to cross the oceans (and many in India do not cross oceans even today). There was something about globalisation that they just did not like and I have not been able to figure out what it is.

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