Category Archives: Supplier Information Management
Contract management is an important aspect of managing supplier relationships and ensuring that commodities and services are negotiated at the right time. Unfortunately contracts are often managed poorly within a company. Even a smaller company can have hundreds of active agreements, adding up to thousands of contract terms and clauses. As you may know, not one of those contract terms carries much weight if the agreement isn’t monitored and enforced. Procurement Managers know that getting a fair price on goods … More
It’s easy to get caught up the “go live date” for your eSourcing software implementation. Many procurement leaders believe their team will be empowered to succeed simply by turning on a tool. However, that is not the case. Michael van Keulen from VF Corporation (an Iasta client) shared some best practices and advice at eWorld London for groups who are rolling out new eSourcing software. Michael shared some key elements from VF Corp’s successful eSourcing technology adoption that included: Developing … More
As you and your team are preparing to execute your Procurement strategy for 2013, consider adding these resolutions to your “to-do” list: 1. Tell your sourcing story. Has your team transformed processes or implemented new technologies that blew the socks off senior management? Tell everyone by sharing your sourcing stories. Consider creating a quarterly (or monthly) newsletter or e-mail to distribute to the entire company so you can publicize your successes and impact on the organization’s growth and bottom line. … More
In Part One, I introduced a discussion of some surprising trends I found when looking at supplier registration forms from a wide variety of companies across many industries. The first surprise for me was that so many of these companies are asking the same questions from supplier companies. In this post I’ll discuss the other unusual thing I discovered: some organizations ask potential suppliers essay questions. It’s not quite as open as the classic American “How I Spent My Summer … More
When organizations adopt formal supplier management programs, one of the first steps they take is to focus on a more disciplined approach to collecting and managing basic information about current and potential suppliers. I am interested in the kind of data they collect and how they use it to manage suppliers so I took a look at supplier registration forms for a wide variety of companies and I was surprised by a couple of things: First, the data requested from … More
It never ceases to amaze me that during harsher economic times, organizations choose to reduce/cancel budgets for procurement projects. It is understandable for those functions that are more client-facing, where revenues are challenged, but why the procurement budget? A $/€/£ saved is a $/€/£ more profit – there are no cost of goods/services to be charged. Organizations need all the help they can get at the moment and where better to turn to than procurement? It would be understandable if … More
In today’s procurement world, awarding business to a supplier isn’t about just the lowest cost. In a recent webcast, Jason Busch, Executive Editor of Spend Matters, dove into ways that procurement groups can partner with suppliers in creative ways to lower their Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Click to read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, and Part 7. First of all, you need to understand the total cost of doing business with your … More
As part of our blog series highlighting advice offered by Jason Busch from Spend Matters in our recent, this installment discusses idea # 5: Advanced Procurement Strategies for Supplier Performance Management. Click to read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. Successful procurement groups are using their Supplier Performance Management (SPM) processes and tools to reap benefits far beyond basic performance data. SPM implementations have moved from simply collecting and monitoring supplier data on key performance indicators to … More
This is the fourth post in our 10 part series. Click here to read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. Investing in capabilities to support basic supplier management activities is Spend Matter’s fourth idea to enhance procurement’s value across the organization. During the Webcast, Jason Busch presented a few key supplier management activities including: Supplier on-boarding (i.e., the need to efficiently electronically enable suppliers for eProcurement and invoicing) Supplier portals (i.e., basic portal capability designed to capture supplier information … More
In Part 2, I ended my blog post with: The basis of price risk management therefore lies in asking the following questions: What is the “right” level of price cover and how do we determine what this level should be (particularly if we do not enjoy market information advantage)? What are the cost/benefits of derivatives over inventories? What is the difference between hedging and trading? How can we ensure our corporate objectives are aligned to our price risk management program? … More
Procurement professionals like you have indicated two main roadblocks hindering them from becoming a best in class procurement organization include: 41% a lack of culture that accepts procurement as strategic 38% a lack of technology to automate the strategic sourcing process Join us for a Webcast on May 2 at 11 AM EST, “10 Ways to Drive Procurement Influence Using Advanced Technology.” Jason Busch from Spend Matters and Joanna Martinez from Cushman & Wakefield will discuss tips on how you can … More
In the past few years, the procurement world has developed better ways to level the playing field between new suppliers and incumbent suppliers. Buyers have successfully driven costs down by embracing processes and technologies that increase competition between suppliers. Generally this trend has made it easier for suppliers to get “introduced” to buyers. Supply relationship management technology has also increased the pressure for incumbent suppliers to maintain competitive pricing. Clearly the risks associated with switching suppliers are commodity dependent. It’s … More
In the past decade, manufacturing and service firms, to name two examples, have become increasingly aware of the importance of supplier performance and its impact on their own performance and market competitiveness. A number of factors have converged to create the perfect storm in these sectors: • Increased outsourcing and reliance on suppliers for both goods and services • Globalization of business and supply chains • Increasing complexity in managing suppliers • Increasing supply risks • The view of suppliers not just as a cost, … More
Have you ever considered that Thanksgiving might be the perfect time of the year to think about how to get valued suppliers more involved in helping your business succeed? Setting up an awards program that recognizes your supplier’s accomplishments, business improvements and future initiatives is an excellent way to show your gratitude. Supplier award programs help solidify your relationship, drive motivation and make the supplier feel like they are a critical contributor to your team. One of our clients, a … More
On Friday, McDonalds announced the company dropped its egg supplier after learning about reports of animal cruelty. From a recent article, “A three-month investigation conducted by ABC News and Mercy for Animals, a non-profit organization devoted to animal welfare, produced a video alleging abuses at farms run by McDonald’s egg supplier Sparboe in Iowa, Minnesota and Colorado. The video, first shown on “Good Morning America,” shows hens packed into industrial cages too small for them to spread their wings. It … More
