By Bertrand Maltaverne, a Solutions Consultant who helps organisations digitally transform their procurement practices. To be honest, I haven’t totally figured out all of the details of the inner workings of the blockchain technology. And I do not think I will ever try to as some of it is very technical. I also do not […]
Blockchain: what are the opportunities for Procurement? Read More »
Matthias Gutzmann recently came across a quote from Fabian Ziegler, the CPO for Shell, at this year’s World Procurement Congress in London who said, “Procurement is a relationship business.” An article by Steve Kiefer, GM’s purchasing chief, called “Relationships Matter” echoes this sentiment. Fabian’s quote is especially resonant because building business relationships – both internally
How do 9 CPOs improve relationships with their business partners? Read More »
Today companies face increasing levels of competitive pressure and challenges to maintain and improve profitability. There is also increasing pressure from customers and shareholders, necessitating that managers seek ways of reducing costs, while at the same time improving performance. In a series of SmartProcurement articles, Tafara Svosve (Msc Supply Chain Management; CMILT) will focus on
Importance of logistics in supply chains: a micro perspective Read More »
Most of us working in procurement for a large organisation get new and updated Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) every year. Shaun Stoch, Procurement Management at Maersk Line, often finds himself looking at his KPIs and asking the question: “where does this fit into the value chain and do my KPIs actually improve our product offering?
Procurement and our KPIs Read More »
Procurement never came across to Linda Lin as a career. She had never even taken a single module relating to procurement at university, neither was it offered as a major/function during her business school education. Linda’s heart lay with the world of marketing or strategy. But that was until Linda joined Unilever as an assistant
What can a procurement career provide to me? Read More »
The ambition of creating a developmental state to transform the Apartheid economy has been hamstrung by an inability to implement transformation policies; it is a situation exacerbated by a lack of skills, competencies and capacity; and the patronage of corrupt procurement practices. Prof. Marcus Ambe, from the University of South Africa’s School of Public and
5 pillars – a procurement blueprint for accelerating inclusive growth Read More »
The growth of small businesses in South Africa is severely affected by the institutional environment in which they operate. In this series of articles, Cornelia Olivier, Head of Sourcing: Corporate Services, Absa, looks at South Africa’s institutional environment. In the final part of the series, Olivier tells SmartProcurement how extending formal credit to household enterprises
Part 3 – Does tertiary education kill the drive to start a small supplier? Read More »
Travel managers have traditionally been encouraged to keep their travel costs under control and to not use travel as a tool to achieve results. These notions are being challenged by travel management companies, which believe that travel should be seen as an investment instead of purely a cost. After all, how can a business grow
How are you measuring your corporate travel ROI? Read More »
In what Gartner has called the Postmodern ERP era, eProcurement technology and technology in general has become more accessible from both an availability and ease-of-use standpoint than it has been historically. However, does increased technological accessibility ensures success if cultural misalignment exists within an organisation? Jon Hansen, Editor and lead writer for the Procurement Insights
The seasonally-adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) erased the losses sustained in March and edged back above the neutral 50-point mark in April. The index rose by 4 points to reach 50.9 index points in April. This is relatively in line with the level recorded in February and above the average recorded during the first
April PMI rises above Q1 average and exceeds 50-point mark Read More »
