Category Archives: e-Sourcing Marketplace
Are you taking a gamble and leaving millions of dollars on the table? You could be if you don’t have the right solutions in place… As a modern procurement pro, you know that having the right technology in place is a key component of your procurement strategy. Implementing eSourcing and eProcurement solutions together allows your team to enhance its performance and impact across the entire organization. What else can you do with the right technology in place? You can: Collaborate … More
During the hustle and bustle of this year’s eWorld Purchasing & Supply seminar in London, attendees had the chance to tuck-in and listen to Michael Van Keulen, Senior Procurement Manager for VF Corporation, give his insights on eSourcing best practices. Not having the chance to attend this Iasta sponsored talk in person; I was able to watch his entire presentation on Iasta’s YouTube page, IastaInc. In one specific segment, Michael strikes a chord with the audience while talking about eSourcing … More
Just like most of you, I live in a town that has to purchase various forms of commercial insurance. The goal is for the town to create a fair bidding process for qualified insurance brokers to bid based upon the specifications provided. To accomplish this, Municipalities and Governmental Agencies use what is known as a “Sealed Bid” process where the bidders submit a sealed envelope that no one can tamper with. We understand that this is a fairly common practice. … More
Few companies have the ‘cool factor’ that can be claimed by Apple. But with a high profile comes high stakes, and their procurement and supply chain operations are not exempt. In order to remain competitive (or dominant in Apple’s case) in the consumer electronics industry, a high level of secrecy is usually required – both in the introduction of new products and the release of next generations of existing products. Historically, Apple has been a highly secretive company, driven in … More
When procurement professionals are speaking with me about spend visibility, one of the first questions I ask them is: “What do you want to accomplish with improved spend visibility and data?” I lead with this question because there are many ways to define spend analysis as part of the strategic sourcing process and countless ways to empower sourcing professionals with actionable information. I encourage my clients to start with spend velocity reporting as a traditional starting point, which helps access … More
In Part 1 of this series, I explained how the contract status and having clear specifications / requirements can drive the success of your reverse auction. Click here to read Part 1. Today, we will cover 4 more elements to consider when developing your reverse auction project and strategy. Is the spend volume attractive? The bigger the potential business award, the more likely suppliers are to compile all of the pre-auction information such as non-price factors in an RFI or … More
Many products and services you are currently buying may be ideal candidates for a reverse auction. Reverse auctions allow you to collect pricing information in a competitive bidding environment and have comparative reports available at the conclusion. Suppliers submit pricing within a pre-determined time frame and receive real-time feedback on where their price stands by being able to include ranking or pricing information. Ask yourself these six questions to help determine if a sourcing project is appropriate for a reverse … More
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” – William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet There is amazing variety in the titles used by professionals in the spend management space. In most cases, those differences are nominal and other than suggesting something about the organization someone works for, or their relative seniority, we know we all do the same thing for a living. One of the advantages of being a process-driven function is that we have the opportunity to … More
In Part 2, I covered what investor relations means for the CEO and CFO. In part 3, I will cover how procurement can fully understand the objectives of a investor relation strategy. Click here to read Part 1 and Part 2. The CPO on Capital markets Day The CPO must ensure they understand fully the objective of the investor relations strategy. Is it to manage existing investors, attract new investors or to control damage? Either way, communication is key so … More
In part 1, I covered the first five reasons eSourcing fails when a company is trying to implement an eSourcing solution. Click here to read Part 1. Below are five more potential pitfalls to avoid when taking your organization to the next level with strategic sourcing: 6. Assuming the process will be the same as before. When adding technology to your process, rethink the way you do things. Do you still need that form? Does that step make sense anymore? … More
David Bush previously wrote a post for eSourcing Forum called ‘Spend Analysis – To UNSPSC or Not UNSPSC.’ In which he made the following statement, “Visibility into your spend is only as good as a desired taxonomy’s ability to accurately reflect the nature of your data.” UNSPSC (the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code) is commonly used as a standard taxonomy in spend analysis implementations because most companies do not have a custom taxonomy for categorizing spend. UNSPSC is … More
eSourcing has become essential in best-in-class procurement organizations. Strategic sourcing improves efficiency, communication, and consistency – all of which are highly regarded in any organization. As companies implement an eSourcing solution to take them to the next level, they should consider the following potential pitfalls to avoid. 1. Lack of internal buy-in. A common issue among companies implementing an eSourcing solution and process is the lack of internal buy-in. You make the decision to move forward with a new process … More
As the credit crisis evolves into the new normal, credit has become tighter and one outcome investors and regulators will almost certainly demand is more transparency into the strategy and crucially, the underlying operating and financial performance of companies. Investors are increasingly aware of the impact that procurement and the supply chain can have on overall company performance in supporting growth, managing risk and increasing earnings and are therefore looking for company executives to demonstrate how they are addressing these … More
If your company doesn’t have a good contract management process in place then you are missing out on some significant opportunities to improve your procurement processes, maximize negotiated savings, minimize off-contract spend, and leverage your full buying potential to get the best possible pricing from suppliers. How do you know if you need a better contract management process? Ask yourself these 10 questions and, if you answer yes to more than one or two, you should take a serious look … More
In a recent webinar, industry analyst Jason Bush offered 10 pieces of advice for expanding Procurement’s influence. Click to read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6. The seventh idea Busch advised to go beyond basic sourcing and enhance procurement’s value was to embrace specialists and specialty tools for advanced services categories. In the previous post, we discussed hunting for “big game categories” such as legal, marketing, accounting, consultancy, BPO and outsourcing spend. Advanced … More
