Category Archives: Analyst Research
Clients often complain that they don’t get enough innovation from their service providers, so we asked a group of providers at our recent Sourcing Industry Conference about why this might be. They defined innovation as a two-way street and said their clients don’t understand the collaborative process needed to foster innovation. They also noted that the contract between service provider and client can cloud the matter with vague promises of innovation but that it often lacks specificity on how 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
The series summarizing Jason Busch’s “10 Ways to Drive Procurement Influence Using Advanced Technology” continues with some time devoted to his sixth point: Going Hunting for Big Game. Click to read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5. While we can’t all be Theodore Roosevelt, (and Jason himself joked that discussing it in such terms may not be the most politically correct approach he’s ever taken) he makes an excellent point that I’m excited to relay. … More
In Part 1, I discussed serveral companies discussed in the Gartner Webinar that recognize the importance of having a good balance of understanding product and opertional excellence. You can read Part 1 here. One of Burkett’s major points in this Webinar is that to realize value across a products’ lifecycle a company must consider the product, supply chain and demand from the beginning of the its life. They must anticipate challenges in early introduction and have created a supply chain … More
Michael Burkett, VP Research at Gartner conducted a compelling Webinar last week titled, “New Supply Chain Strategies to Maximize Product Value and Growth.” The key message of Burkett’s presentation is that product value is maximized when the supply chain is considered and integrated throughout the product’s lifecycle. New products fail 50% of the time. Why? Contributing factors include product cost issues, inventory shortages and poor commercialization process, to name a few. Profitable innovation is key to bringing new products to … More
How can CPOs help their organization deal with supply chain disruptions, talent shortages, communication gaps, globalization, increasing commodity prices and many other challenges invading their supply chains? Iasta recently sponsored an Aberdeen Group report that investigates this question. The report titled, “Dynamic Procurement: The CPO as a Collaborator, Innovator and Strategist,” is written by Constantine Limberakis. You can download the full report at no charge for a limited time. More than 120 finance, operations, procurement and supply chain professionals were … More
Last week, Iasta received the 2011 North American Product Line Strategy Award in the Strategic Sourcing Industry from analyst firm, Frost & Sullivan. “Iasta is honored to receive this prestigious award that recognizes our strategy, innovation, product line and equally important, our commitment to customers,” said David Bush, CEO of Iasta. “This past year, we have built a sustainable strategy that has allowed us to continue growing with our customers, without letting the business outgrow its founders. We have taken … More
TPI has recently concluded its third annual captive benchmarking study in India. To enhance benchmarking results and analysis, in addition to cost factors we included operational and process complexity parameters to identify key industry trends and actionable insights for the participants. Here are the TPI Top 5 trends and observations from the study: 1. Adoption of global service delivery model. Captives have diversified their geographic portfolio by going beyond the typical captive locations. Parent entities now look to leverage the … More
For more than 40 years, Earth Day has inspired individuals and organizations to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability and environmental projection. Developing and implementing a green supply chain strategy can help your company stop wasting valuable resources and money while also reducing your environmental impact and carbon footprint. What are some possible advantages of a green supply chain? • Increasing your operational savings by reducing waste. • Developing a positive reputation by aligning yourself with environmental regulations and organizations can increase revenue by … More
Many people and corporations take advantage of water’s very existence, believing there is a limitless and free supply. The reality is that less than 3 percent of the world’s water supply is fresh and drinkable. And nearly 70 percent of the fresh drinking water is frozen in glaciers, ice or snow. According to a recent report published by the University of Pennsylvania, use of fresh water has more than doubled in the past 50 years, from 33 to 75 trillion … More
Food and beverage companies that survived the Great Recession have learned that uncertainty is certain in a recovering economy. For many food and beverage companies, 2011 will be a dynamic and challenging year, according to Steve Simonson, a partner at Tompkins Associates. He says these companies are witnessing greater pressure to lower supply chain costs, despite growing complexity within those supply chains. Many food and beverage companies are experiencing additional pressure caused by new trends in consumer preferences. Consumer demand … More
I wrote a blog last week reflecting on a SpendMatters post about social media and procurement. Since then, I’ve read more conversations about social media and the supply chain. Some see great benefits while others are still unconvinced about connecting social media and procurement. In hopes of adding more to the conversation, today I attended a Webinar titled “Thought Leader Power Hour: The potential of the social supply chain.” The panelists discussed a few of the benefits of being a social … More
Social media is transforming the way people throughout the world interact and gather information. More and more, research proves that we live in an on-demand, smart phone kind of world, where busy executives and professionals use social applications and browse industry leading blogs for the latest news. A phone or tablet can connect you to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn … the list goes on. The question is, does social media offer critical advantages to supply chain professionals? Jason Busch recently ran … More
In 2010, one of the most overused words in technology media was “cloud.” What is the cloud? Meanings are all over the map, according to Bill McBeath, Chief Research Officer at ChainLink Research. “It can refer to Infrastructure-as-a-Service, Software-as-a-Service, Platform-as-a-Service, or even just the Web and Web phenomena like Facebook and Twitter. In spite of the vagueness of the term, all this hype about cloud has spurred growth in the Software-as-a-Service sector. The SaaS vendors as a whole are growing … More
Today, ChainLink Research released the third and final installment in its series of research findings from the Supply Chain Education Survey. You can read my previous posts, part one and part two, if you need to catch up on the research. The final part highlights how well fundamental education needs are being met today. ChainLink provides highlighted information for each education category, but I’d like to conclude the series by stressing the biggest themes realized throughout the research: supply chain … More
