Vendor Relations

Meta-Skills: What Are They and How Are They Relevant to the Procurement Function of the Future?

Posted: 06/04/2021 - 09:00
Meta-skills are crucial within procurement.

What Is a Meta-Skill?

It’s long been acknowledged that both hard and soft skills are needed in most jobs. They are no less crucial within procurement.

While hard skills include the teachable, quantifiable abilities you need to do the job and will be reflected in your qualifications, soft skills are, of course, slightly more difficult to measure. These can include teamwork, communication, conflict resolution and problem-solving abilities.

A Road Map for Selecting Marketing Technology

Posted: 12/29/2020 - 23:04
It’s no secret that marketing has become heavily dependent on technology and that the number of marketing technologies has been growing at an exponential rate.

It’s no secret that marketing has become heavily dependent on technology and that the number of marketing technologies has been growing at an exponential rate.

The inaugural (2011) version of Scott Brinker’s marketing technology landscape graphic contained roughly 150 solution providers. The 2020 version of the graphic includes 8,000.  This indicates the marketing technology landscape has grown by an astounding 5,233% since 2011.

How Outsourcing Cuts Costs for Your Business

Posted: 10/26/2020 - 22:58
Outsourcing provides businesses with easy access to a skilled and low-cost pool of talent.

Outsourcing provides businesses with easy access to a skilled and low-cost pool of talent. Rather than spend time and money to hire or train full-time employees, many companies hire an outsourced team.

Outsourcing your business processes helps to increase productivity and efficiency while freeing up employees for more meaningful work. From payroll to customer service to advertising, outsourcing is a flexible way to bolster your capacity without increasing costs or headaches.

The Dangers of Dirty Data and How to Ensure Your Data Has Its COAT on

Posted: 10/23/2020 - 02:11
Data accuracy is an investment, not a cost.

We all think we know what dirty data is, but it can mean very different things to different people. At it’s most basic level, dirty data is anything that’s incorrect.

Within procurement, it could be misspelt vendors, incorrect invoice descriptions, missing product codes, a lack of standard units of measure (e.g., ltr, l, litres), currency issues, duplicate invoices or incorrect/partially classified data.

Human Ecosystems: How to Achieve Breakthrough Performance in Partner Management

Posted: 05/17/2019 - 22:04
I recently met with a senior supply chain leader who, fresh off a redeye flight from Asia, faced a day of meetings that he barely participated in because of interruptions. Not a meeting went by without a call about a supplier “meltdown” in the region he’d just left.  This situation was all too familiar to him. “I’m just tired,” he told me. 
 
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