Is using a celebrity to hawk your wares as popular as it used to be? A snap poll amongst the SM team could name less than ten current “celebs” promoting some kind of product. We certainly don’t see too many celebrities promoting products to buyers. Even David Beckham hasn’t extended his brand to promote e-procurement [...]
A reader has asked SM: I want to undertake some investigative work with other non-competitive businesses to find out what initiatives leading procurement functions are focussing on. Do you have any advice on how best to approach businesses for this purpose? – Procurement manager, Berkshire Can you offer any advice based on your experience?
In the latest Soapbox, Heidi-Lynn Mitchell, a product services director at Computacenter, examines the opportunities for employees who want to turn their organisations ‘green’: “Procurement professionals have an opportunity to lead their organisations in understanding the environmental impact and the lifecycle cost of their IT equipment. A cheap PC might look good on the balance [...]
At recent events there has been talk that some purchasing professionals prefer their role to be shrouded in mystery. It appears some are unwilling to reveal too much about their work or how they go about it, fearing such information could go so far as to render them redundant. Does this culture of secrecy really [...]
Ever slapped on a fake beard and spied on your competitors? It may seem dark and devious but, as we explore in the latest issue, ‘competitive intelligence’ (minus the phony facial hair) is now a recognised business practice. And it doesn’t involve tapping phones, rifling through bins or bogus identities. It’s legal and above board [...]
Just what makes the Scots so good at purchasing? Many of the top people in the profession are from Scotland and on my travels I seem to meet Scots all over the world in the purchasing profession. Why is purchasing such an attractive career for the Scots?
Our adviser panel were asked the question: Buying venue space for offsite meetings and conferences is common in my company, but spend and bookings are not being tracked. I have now been asked to develop a central-bookings strategy and create a company policy. What steps should I take? – Commercial buyer, Midlands Our advisers said: [...]
In the next issue of Supply Management, out tomorrow – Featured Articles Spies like us – How competitive intelligence can be a huge help for buyers Double strength – Wyeth Pharmaceuticals’ Sourcing 2.0. Deals on meals – How to buy catering services. Cut your call costs – Five top tips on how to make telecoms [...]
Are you only hiring staff with a history of working in purchasing and technical buying abilities? If so, are you excluding employing those with general business skills who could help fill some of the gaps left by the increasing demand for purchasers? Some argue only trained buyers can get the job done, while others believe [...]
Five years ago the Ministry of Defence held its first e-auction. And earlier this year the same department organised the "largest ever" (although disputed by some) government e-auction. When they were first introduced, many questioned how savings from e-auctions would be sustainable. But this has been helped by the large amounts of new suppliers in [...]
