By Jon Butler, an expert in technology operations, outsourcing, offshoring and nearshoring For many years India was the jewel of the American outsourcer’s eye. English speaking resources coupled with a flashy rate card proved hard for companies to resist. In fact, outsourcing to India had developed into such a standard solution that it recalled another […]
Nobody gets fired for outsourcing to India, but they should Read More »
By Kate Vitasek, Professor in Supply Chain Management, University of Tennessee A report by the American Productivity and Quality Center (APQC) outlines the critical skills gaps that face today’s procurement professionals. The good news is that companies have pushed procurement out of the back office and onto centre stage, accelerating the demand for skilled procurement
Companies’ procurement skills woefully lacking Read More »
SmartProcurement has joined forces with SAPICS to offer Africa’s largest-ever online event for supply chain and procurement professionals. Africa Supply Chain in Action takes place on 19 and 20 August 2020. It is expected to bring together more than 1 000 supply chain and procurement professionals.
By Tiran Gunarathna, Senior IT Category Lead, Infosys Business Process Management; andSriKrishna Koneru, AVP – Strategic Business Practice Head, Sourcing and Procurement, Infosys Business Process Management We often hear about vendor management in sourcing and procurement organisations, but how frequently do we talk about vendor relationship management? Are they the same or are they different?
Understanding and managing IT vendor relationships: do they matter? Read More »
By Dr Marcell Vollmer, Chief Innovation Officer, Celonis Across all industries, procurement leaders are seeking significant and measurable productivity gains. New technology, based on machine learning and artificial intelligence, is driving the digital transformation of the procurement function to deliver value, driving supplier innovations, performing risk management, securing a sustainable supply chain and, of course,
Procurement empowered by cognitive and intelligent applications Read More »
By Hemant Porwal, Executive Vice President: Supply Chain and Operations, WESCO Distribution Over time, the concept of measuring savings has evolved to creating a baseline by comparing items under the form, fit and function framework. Top-quartile procurement teams have taken this further by adopting total cost of ownership (TCO) into their request for proposal (RFP)
The traditional mindset of cost savings is dead Read More »
By Ndabeni Bagosi, Head: Cost and Agility Programme, Total South Africa Leading and forward-thinking organisations rely on the agility of their supply chains for sustainability. Traditionally, the focus of supply chain has been on compliance and cost cutting. However, increasing competition, changing customer needs and a changing economic environment are challenging organisations to think beyond
Agility and sustainable sourcing are SCM’s new focus areas Read More »
SMME Clinic interviews Dumisani Ngadi, from the South African Bureau Standards (SABS), on how small business can secure SABS accreditation for their products in Covid-19. For more information email Dumisani Ngadi at dumisani.mngadi@sabs.co.za or contact him on +27 72 267 7955
SMME Clinic | SABS standards during Covid-19 – Session 9 Read More »
By Marko Grujicic, Analyst, Growth Analytics;Joseph Lemoine, Analyst – Growth Analytics, Development Economics Vice Presidency; andGreta Polo, Private Sector Development Analyst, World Bank It might be assumed that public procurement is most heavily regulated in high-income countries, given that they have greater public sector capacity, more efficient institutions and longer traditions of regulation. This assumption
Which region regulates procurement the most? Read More »
The Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for June 2020 showed that conditions continued to improve in the South African manufacturing sector. This is after most of the sector came to a near standstill during the nationwide Level 5 lockdown in April 2020 and only partially returned to normal production levels in May 2020. The headline
PMI: activity continues to improve as lockdown easing lifts production levels Read More »
