Purchasing Blogs
Mixed economic news has metals markets searching for direction
Base and precious metals were off and running as the week began, initially spurred on by the weak dollar, positive expectations concerning global economic growth, and even bad Chinese weather. Wall Street, meanwhile, was also encouraged by October’s retail sales along with Ben Bernanke’s remarks on the U.S. economy and to “… ensure that the dollar is strong and a source ... More
About this blog
COMMODITIES UPDATE written by Bob Garino is a review of supply, demand and pricing activities in various commodity markets.
How much should you squeeze suppliers in a relationship-based environment?
At a presentation to the Purchasing Management Association of Boston this past Monday night, I spent about 45 minutes speaking passionately about the importance of supplier relationships and how good relationships go a long way in improving supplier and supply chain performance. The attendees seemed especially interested in the concepts of trust, communication and courtesy as they relate to suppli ... More
About this blog
BACK TO SCHOOL is a blog focusing on academic and professional development in the supply chain and procurement fields. Blogger Richard Weissman is a 25-year veteran of both the professional and academic worlds of supply chain. For full bio, see Profile.
Responsibility: It’s More Than What YOU Do
Here is an interesting anecdote from the book “Developing the Leader within You (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1993) by John C. Maxwell: The sales manager of a dog food company asked his salespeople how they liked the company’s new advertising program. “Great! Best in the business!” the salespeople responded. “How do you like our new label and packag ... More
About this blog
LEADERSHIP is a blog covering the skills needed for leadership in purchasing and the supply chain. Lara Nichols has a wealth of experience in supplier management, technology management, risk management, performance metrics and much more. For a full bio, see Profile.
Career advice from your bank?
You would never think you would receive career networking tips from your local bank, but that’s just what I received this week and they’re actually pretty useful. So useful, I’ll share them now. My bank sent along “Seven Ways to Maximize the Value of Networking Meetings” by Bruce L. Katcher, who considers himself an industrial/organizational psychologist. Indeed ... More
About this blog
CAREER TURNS focuses on issues of professional development and change within the procurement field - or is it the purchasing field?
If they don’t go out the door…
Attempts to study the effects of labor on a total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis of MRO costs are inhibited by the inability to associate parts of people’s time to that cost. A company recognizes that there are potential cost recovery opportunities for MRO parts by hiring a third party that has a total focus on indirect materials storeroom management. The company’s focus is manufac ... More
About this blog
MRO & MORE focuses on maintenance, repair and operations sourcing strategies and looks at ways purchasing operations can better control costs surrounding the buy. George Krauter has more than 40 years’ experience in the fields of industrial distribution and MRO purchasing.
Regulatory changes
In her recent piece for GovernmentExecutive.com, Elizabeth Newell does a great job of highlighting a few of the announced acquisition regulation changes. This is a must read for anyone involved in Government Contracting. You can find the article here. ... More
About this blog
Government Contracting is a blog about purchasing best practices in the government sector, federal, state and local. Lee Crane is a contracting officer with the U. S. Postal Service and has both CPM and CPIM certification.
China's supply chain value
I recently attended the ISM China conference, which was attended by about 200 supply chain professionals from companies like IBM, Cooper Industries, Delphi, Alcoa, Home Depot, BP, Emerson, Cardinal Health and Eaton. The major theme of the conference was about China’s supply chain value. The general consensus at the conference was that sourcing from China was necessary and still an advantage ... More
About this blog
Global View provides perspectives on sourcing and supply-chain management in low-cost countries.
Back to Basics: The RFP for outsourcing
(Note: This post is a continuation of Michael Higgs’ previous “Back to Basics” blog post on outsourcing.) Now that you have your documents and you know what you are looking for, you can put your RFP together. You should also have defined the suppliers that you would like to target, but before you share anything, get your NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) signed and filed. For t ... More
About this blog
Lessons from the Road is a blog focusing on the strategies and challenges of global sourcing in today’s supply chain. Blogger Michael Higgs is a working supply chain professional and writes about his travels in meeting with suppliers in low-cost regions around the world.
