By Alejandra Garcia (MCIPS), Vice President: Procurement, Royal DSM For most organisations, procurement was already undergoing a digital transformation when the COVID-19 pandemic hit us last year. While the accelerated rate of change brought on by the crisis has been brutal, it has confirmed how critical our function is to maintaining a company’s supply chain, […]
The inclusive CPO (part 1): love your customers Read More »
A good number of South African organisations find themselves in precarious positions when it comes to procurement because they have yet to properly integrate their basic processes and their weaknesses have become more evident during a time that limits peoples’ movements and physical contact. The global COVID-19 pandemic has changed almost every business process and
SA procurement is going digital, but for many their processes are not ready for it Read More »
By Moses Manuel, Lecturer in Business, Legal and Development Studies, and Founder of Zerite Network Purchasing and supply management is not an entirely new concept to most people. Take a look at the first part, purchasing: we all undertake purchasing, be it data for your mobile phone, food, clothes, etc. Purchasing and supply management is
Purchasing and supply management: the important difference that you must know Read More »
By Erin McFarlane, Vice President: Services, Fairmarkit If you have recently joined an organisation or moved into a new role that is directly related to procurement, it can be challenging to know where to start. Even if you have been in the role for a while, the whirlwind of daily activity can distract you from
Top five spend analytics measures for procurement managers Read More »
By Stephen Bauld The COVID-19 pandemic is a perfect example that change is an ever-present feature of life. Organisational change may be difficult, but as the conditions of the environment within which an organisation operates change, it becomes essential for survival. Furthermore, the need for change reflects that every organisation is, in some respect, imperfect.
Procurement perspectives: change management in procurement is essential to survival Read More »
By Bill Huber, Partner: Digital Platforms and Sourcing, Information Services Group One of the most common questions enterprises ask about software spend is whether they should benchmark the discounts they receive from software publishers. Whether they are buying from Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, ServiceNow, IBM or others, the presumption is that a higher discount is better,
The fallacy of discounts in software negotiations Read More »
By Sarah Scudder, President and Chief Revenue Officer, Real Sourcing Network In 2020, the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) published an important report on the current state of marketing procurement. This report is part of an ongoing initiative called Project Spring that is being led by the WFA Global Sourcing Board. The Project Spring initiative’s
Demonstrating the value of marketing procurement Read More »
In this article we unpack some of the comments posted during a recent poll on this topic. Smart Procurement World (SPW) recently ran a straw poll on LinkedIn. The question that was asked was simply “Should procurement report to finance?”. The poll garnered an impressive 669 votes with 66% saying ‘No’ and 34% saying ‘Yes’.
Should procurement report to finance? Read More »
Following three consecutive months of improvement, the seasonally-adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) declined slightly to 56.2 index points in April 2021, from 57.4 in March. Despite the modest pullback, the index is now about 2.5 points above the average recorded in Quarter 1 of 2021 and about 26 points above the April 2020 reading
PMI slightly down after 3-month improvement: remains above Quarter 1 average Read More »
By Kait Ries, Digital Marketing Manager, Bid Ops (a strategic sourcing software powered by AI) Strategic sourcing has been growing in importance in the world of procurement. The traditional sourcing strategy of picking the supplier who offers the lowest cost worked for centuries, but does not cut it in a modern, globalised business climate. Strategic
7 strategic sourcing trends for 2021 and beyond Read More »
