tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5431045319750071148.comments2023-09-15T01:24:55.188-07:001 Procurement PlaceMark Usherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06444588194810525806noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5431045319750071148.post-67400347377550948682011-05-30T20:41:03.544-07:002011-05-30T20:41:03.544-07:00Right, When times are good again the source of int...Right, When times are good again the source of internal hires will dry up.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.cubiture.com" rel="nofollow">Houston office furniture cubicle</a><br /><a href="http://www.cubiture.com" rel="nofollow">Houston workstation cubicles</a>Houston cubicles office furniturehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13516939735848129108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5431045319750071148.post-44686717035983983662011-04-16T03:06:06.926-07:002011-04-16T03:06:06.926-07:00Its a great information about ecommerce and i got ...Its a great information about ecommerce and i got a good knowledge. thanks for sharing your wonderful sharing.Ecommerce developerhttp://www.ecommerce-web-developers.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5431045319750071148.post-49941985228006566182011-03-31T16:00:24.566-07:002011-03-31T16:00:24.566-07:00Without taking measurements, you can't improve...Without taking measurements, you can't improve. Not even considering the extra money the consultant would be able to earn by first establishing a baseline, how would he go about determining how well he ACTUALLY did for his client?<br /><br />Joke's on him, as you said.Tonyhttp://www.recoveryourlove.com/175/how-to-win-him-back-fast/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5431045319750071148.post-29761779539280941052010-11-04T05:10:08.309-07:002010-11-04T05:10:08.309-07:00Wow. Not too many procurement folks can pull out ...Wow. Not too many procurement folks can pull out an analogy to the "duel in the sun." You must be a runner. If you know the rest of Dick's story, you could write a whole case study on risk management, overcoming adversity, and the power of positive thinking. Dick is a close friend of my family so I am biased :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5431045319750071148.post-56726142849167733362010-10-12T17:09:04.985-07:002010-10-12T17:09:04.985-07:00Interesting observation. In the case of one govern...Interesting observation. In the case of one government all of the ERP procurement functionality is turned off across 13 different types of ERP and over a hundred organisations use the same P2P system which has saved hundreds of millions in reduced expenditure on multiple systems and costly integration.<br /><br />The truth is the ERP's are dinosaurs and represent an old organisational design (single enterprise and largely vertically integrated) and were designed around technologies based on the mainframe and latterly client server operation. This world is ebbing away and being replaced with collaborative ways of working and information sharing. With some of the emerging P2P systems you can turn off all of the ERP workflow and just send it information to keep the CFO happy. <br /><br />Your ePERP is really a stepping stone to systems that will eventually run exclusively in the Web layer and will be built using Internet technologies. I get your point about the sensibilities as if a CFO/CEO has just spent many millions 'bolting' in an ERP it would be best to point out the value of the hybrid. Although I would use the workflow of the P2P system and the catalogue/content management as it is less costly and more flexible.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5431045319750071148.post-29396119004289121312010-07-07T10:26:51.373-07:002010-07-07T10:26:51.373-07:00Very good post Mark - it will be interesting to se...Very good post Mark - it will be interesting to see how many companies maintain investment in their cost reduction programs when we finally come out of this recession. Although with a double dip looking possible it may be business as usual for awhile anyway. Do you have any examples of the companies you mention that invest the greatest amounts in product development, or sources of any benchmarks that confirm what you are saying? I agree with the hypothesis and have heard it also, but have not been anle to find specific numbers. I have a feeling that high tech would be an industry where it plays out.Dave Meiernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5431045319750071148.post-55396056974911188312010-03-25T21:02:04.225-07:002010-03-25T21:02:04.225-07:00Add in a hip or knee replacement (they set off ala...Add in a hip or knee replacement (they set off alarms every time for me) and air travel fun escalates another notch as you get to meet people with the wands and the pat-downs on every trip!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5431045319750071148.post-54302764367213461642010-02-21T09:46:00.748-08:002010-02-21T09:46:00.748-08:00Strategies to serve customers in a focused fashion...Strategies to serve customers in a focused fashion are appropriate in any market but I think the thrust of your argument is valid. As one of the former employees mentioned (albeit many years ago) it was a simpler world in 1998. Only P2P to worry about then. Today there are chargeable hour targets I'm sure that create pressures to make land grabs. Maybe its not Ariba's message that's the issue but a more flexible services delivery model?Maccagatenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5431045319750071148.post-73052419976751150412009-10-26T12:05:30.089-07:002009-10-26T12:05:30.089-07:00You bring up good points, however, I believe you s...You bring up good points, however, I believe you seem to be missing the overall challenge in building a world class procurement organization. <br /><br />The Procurement department is no longer where the left overs from other departments go, but that doesn't mean that you can't leverage talent from other departments as a way of building your organization. <br /><br />It can be used as one of many tools to build your organization. We have leveraged a strong college recruiting and intern program, strong people development processes, internal department transfers, as well as external recruiting to build our organization. <br /><br />And if your company supports cross functional assignments as an approach to developing talent, it is an excellent way to pull top talent out of other departments to support your short term needs, as well as a way to give your top talent exposure to other departments to broaden their skill and business accumen. <br /><br />Pulling rejects from other departments would certainly not be a strong way of developing your organization, but ignorning other departments as a potential source of talent to build your organization would be an equally poor choice. <br /><br />Chris StockwellAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5431045319750071148.post-1408986616762281752009-08-16T10:59:48.280-07:002009-08-16T10:59:48.280-07:00The move towards an operational mindset in PE has ...The move towards an operational mindset in PE has probably been driven by the state of the economy. As a consultant who has spent over 10 years in the operational cost savings space it makes sense to me that PE firms would look to strategic souring type programs to create value. What I've never been sure of is who pays the consultant, unless it's as you say and they are doing it themselves internally. Would the PE firm pay or the portfolio companies? My company tried something in this space with a PE firm. I wasn't directly involved but I believe it fell apart because the PE firm and the companies couldn't agree how to pay us.Brian Carrewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5431045319750071148.post-24894842256882525612009-07-29T22:29:23.831-07:002009-07-29T22:29:23.831-07:00Really interesting post.
Wanted to let you know...Really interesting post. <br /><br />Wanted to let you know, I’ve just started a new blog focused on risk in the supply chain: (www.atrisk.net). Please let me know what you think.Kevin Cornishhttp://www.atrisk.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5431045319750071148.post-88577003170520796532009-06-05T10:09:57.715-07:002009-06-05T10:09:57.715-07:00MBA @ McCombs try www.purchasing.com there are se...MBA @ McCombs try www.purchasing.com there are several companies profilesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5431045319750071148.post-48927273098508174592009-04-12T20:27:00.000-07:002009-04-12T20:27:00.000-07:00Hello, I am an MBA student at the Mc Combs School ...Hello, I am an MBA student at the Mc Combs School of Business (University of Texas at Ausstin)... I am doing a final paper for my Purchasing and Sourcing Management Class and I need to find information about the total Purchasing spend by category of purchase of a Fortune 500 organization, the organization of the purchasing function including reporting relationships, the challenges, goals and objectives, etc.... I have been doing a lot of research on the web but so far I have not found much information... Could any of the people in this blog provide me with some insight on where I can find this information ???... I would appreciate it very much.<BR/><BR/>Thanks,<BR/><BR/>RodAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5431045319750071148.post-34907822668943675012009-03-25T22:13:00.000-07:002009-03-25T22:13:00.000-07:00Nice insights and nice movie line! I'd add to your...Nice insights and nice movie line! I'd add to your list of retailer mistakes the strategy of aggressive discounts for overstocked products. Better forecasting and inventory management would result in less need to discount in the first place.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5431045319750071148.post-84738415046190781152008-12-29T07:53:00.000-08:002008-12-29T07:53:00.000-08:00Right on Mark although aren't there conditions abo...Right on Mark although aren't there conditions about GM and Chysler needing to show profitability by March? So you'd think that the big three would know they have to keep their suppliers healthy to make that happen.<BR/><BR/>Posted by AnonTex14Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5431045319750071148.post-8491313668030832342008-12-29T07:43:00.000-08:002008-12-29T07:43:00.000-08:00I agree very much with purchasing needing to take ...I agree very much with purchasing needing to take a meaningful role in supplier selection. Not sure the "press conference" idea would work though unless there's already support at the C-level. In my experience that needs to happen first or else purchasing's compliants will fall on deaf ears. In principle though I agree about the number of the stakeholder relationships that are dysfunctioal. On, and can't wait for the National Lampoon Xmas insights! :)<BR/><BR/>Cale LavendriAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5431045319750071148.post-50175757314020463282008-09-16T08:20:00.000-07:002008-09-16T08:20:00.000-07:00e-Procurement should be an intregral part of any o...e-Procurement should be an intregral part of any organization running an ERP. Small and Large ERP's like Oracle, SAP, Lawson, Microsoft and others all have e-commerce enabled modules. The benefits are well documented, and the cost of PO issuance and Procure-to-Pay process can save organizations thoudands of dollars per year, depending on the number of PO's issued. <BR/><BR/>Mark, you are right, Supplier Enablement is a thing of the past. Utilization of Supplier Networks and/or typical transactive websites are all that is needed in the Web 3.0 Environment. A B2B, B2C, or B2G relationship should link to one marketplace and the marketplace then is based on the internet and the supplier feeds custom pricing accordingly. As an e-Business Sales person at a large punchout enabled MRO supplier, too many times over the e-procurement/ERP purchasing failed to deliver due to supplier adoption. This is no longer the case with vendors like Vinimaya, ePlus and others...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5431045319750071148.post-87667469914377441372008-07-11T15:01:00.000-07:002008-07-11T15:01:00.000-07:00Glad to see you doing this Mark. Cheers,David Rot...Glad to see you doing this Mark. <BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/><BR/>David RotorDavid Rotorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17730927574146786993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5431045319750071148.post-76543367453017434672008-07-05T14:39:00.001-07:002008-07-05T14:39:00.001-07:00Colin,I've also been involved in several sourcing ...Colin,<BR/><BR/>I've also been involved in several sourcing projects sponsored by a C-level executive where the single priority was to deliver cost savings with no requirement for knowledge transfer. In my view the main issue in these cases is not whether the consultant trains the client staff but whether there is a mechanism in place to push spend through the new contracts and actually realize the "potential" cost savings from the sourcing process. This is partly change/stakeholder management issues (e.g. involving users in the sourcing process so that the new contracts meet their needs), and partly systems issues (e.g. e-procurement catalogs populated with quality content, spend analysis to track compliance, etc.). <BR/><BR/>Re:your comment about skills of existing staff, I agree that unfortunately not all current purchasing staff are a fit with the requirements of a strategic procurement organization. This is an assessment that must be made at the beginning of any procurement transformation initiative. Where training alone cannot deliver the strategic sourcing and interpersonal/leadership skills needed there should be a hiring plan developed to bring on any new staff required.Mark Usherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06444588194810525806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5431045319750071148.post-76390644665059892862008-07-05T14:39:00.000-07:002008-07-05T14:39:00.000-07:00Colin,I've also been involved in several sourcing ...Colin,<BR/><BR/>I've also been involved in several sourcing projects sponsored by a C-level executive where the single priority was to deliver cost savings with no requirement for knowledge transfer. In my view the main issue in these cases is not whether the consultant trains the client staff but whether there is a mechanism in place to push spend through the new contracts and actually realize the "potential" cost savings from the sourcing process. This is partly change/stakeholder management issues (e.g. involving users in the sourcing process so that the new contracts meet their needs), and partly systems issues (e.g. e-procurement catalogs populated with quality content, spend analysis to track compliance, etc.). <BR/><BR/>Re:your comment about skills of existing staff, I agree that unfortunately not all current purchasing staff are a fit with the requirements of a strategic procurement organization. This is an assessment that must be made at the beginning of any procurement transformation initiative. Where training alone cannot deliver the strategic sourcing and interpersonal/leadership skills needed there should be a hiring plan developed to bring on any new staff required.Mark Usherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06444588194810525806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5431045319750071148.post-88810686268137479632008-07-05T14:23:00.000-07:002008-07-05T14:23:00.000-07:00Aaron,I agree about some of the cardinal rules app...Aaron,<BR/><BR/>I agree about some of the cardinal rules applying to outsourcing. If you are the company doing the outsourcing then the parallel is not completely "checking out" after you "hand over" the responsibility for the outsourced process to the provider. Make sure that you clearly define your expectations to the provider in terms of customer service levels and total cost and, as you say, relate specific metrics to these expectations. And demand regular reports on these metrics on a quarterly or even monthly basis. Tie the outsourcing provider's compensation to these metrics, too.<BR/><BR/>And the link to the Coldplay CD? I never had a link - that would be copyright infringement. I would recommend the Viva La Vida, however - it's awesome (or "tight" as my 18-year daughter would say)Mark Usherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06444588194810525806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5431045319750071148.post-8830781089940238472008-07-03T16:02:00.000-07:002008-07-03T16:02:00.000-07:00Sounds like Project Management 101 to me but I gue...Sounds like Project Management 101 to me but I guess I've seen this when PMs get themselves stretched too thin. And what about outsourcing? I can see how some of your cardnal rules would apply to outsourcing of certain processes where the outsourcer is not held to clear metrics.<BR/><BR/>Btw, what happened to the music links? Didn't you have a link to the Coldplay CD before? Doesnt work now...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5431045319750071148.post-74075238014090831252008-07-01T14:25:00.000-07:002008-07-01T14:25:00.000-07:00MarkMany projects are driven from cfo-level withou...Mark<BR/><BR/>Many projects are driven from cfo-level without directive for knowledge transfer - in that case though how to make sourcing savings stick?<BR/><BR/>And how often can the existing staff be trained to take on the new roles anyway? In my experience less than half of purchasing staff can make the cut to strategic sourcing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5431045319750071148.post-55183145926776876712008-06-30T00:00:00.000-07:002008-06-30T00:00:00.000-07:00Our company's had 3 strategic sourcing projects "d...Our company's had 3 strategic sourcing projects "done to us" in the last five years by various consulting firms with varying sucess regarding knowledge transfer. Only one did formal training which I would classify as mildly effective. In the trenches, many didn't want the firms there anyway so that was a struggle for transferring skills in itself.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5431045319750071148.post-47869291158323138052008-06-24T08:05:00.000-07:002008-06-24T08:05:00.000-07:00Thanks for the comment, Bryan. Yes it is a 2-way s...Thanks for the comment, Bryan. Yes it is a 2-way street - the client does need to exercise purchasing best practices by clearly understanding the deliverables she is contracting for. On the assumption the consultant wants to ensure value and grow more business with existing accounts, though, it makes sense to be pro-active. Was it a real example? Let's say it's an amalgam of several horror stories I have been either personally involved in or have direct knowledge of....Mark Usherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06444588194810525806noreply@blogger.com