- 28
- APR
- 2011
Supply chain 3.0: Are supply chains really globalised?
Author: Jonathan Webb - Categories: Risk, Global Sourcing
The Economist this week carries an interesting review of a book that argues that the world is not as nearly as globalised as we think. Pankaj Ghemawat at the IESE Business School in Spain argues in World 3.0 that a host of indicators show that economic interdependence is relatively rare. more
- 27
- APR
- 2011
How strategic are your strategic plans?
Author: Jonathan Webb - Categories: Procurement Strategy, Category Management
In order to implement successful category management programmes fully, organisations need to possess the strategic capacity to deliver not just savings, but broader value to the business. more
- 26
- APR
- 2011
Procurement GPS: Strategic Cost Management - bandits or businessmen?
Author: Ian George - Categories: Procurement Strategy, Cost Management
Ruskin was right when he said you get what you pay for, but sometimes it's worse than that and you get what you deserve. Expecting to make your business grow through a strategy of reduction gets you only so far and it is often the preserve of the one-trick pony. more
- 21
- APR
- 2011
When wheat makes weathermen of buyers: cost modelling unexpected events
Author: Jonathan Webb - Categories: Cost Management
Droughts in North America and Europe are drying up wheat supplies. How prepared should category managers be for such unexpected events? more
- 20
- APR
- 2011
Do fuel subsidies in the East heighten fuel spikes in the West?
Author: Jonathan Webb - Categories: CSR & Green
Governments in emerging economies have historically supported low fuel prices to quicken the pace of development. However, as global crude prices spike, the continued subsidisation of fuel in the East will heighten oil price inflation elsewhere in the world. more
- 19
- APR
- 2011
Procurement GPS: Procurement Planning - ready, fire, aim
Author: Ian George - Categories: Procurement Strategy
I once had a boss whose philosophy was that as long as you win more than you lose you'll probably be ok. I often reflected on the fact that a four-year apprenticeship followed by four years at university could come down to the toss of a coin - heads you win, tails you lose. more
- 18
- APR
- 2011
Are buyers made or born?
Author: Jonathan Webb - Categories: Procurement Intelligence
At a conference I recently attended one of the delegates claimed that "you cannot learn how to buy" and asserted that procurement was an innate talent. more
- 14
- APR
- 2011
Procurement GPS: Organisational Alignment - demonstrating procurement's value
Author: Ian George - Categories: Procurement Strategy
World-class procurement is becoming more about managing B2B relationships than hard-nosed negotiating. more
