In Wednesday’s papers there was a full-page advertisement thanking the “employees and supply chain partners…who successfully delivered St Pancras International to the nation”. A nice touch from Corber the construction joint venture behind the project, to include their suppliers in such a public endorsement. The suppliers didn’t appear by name – there were undoubtedly thousands [...]
This week SM’s adviser panel was asked: For a long time we have marketed ourselves as the function that makes savings. How can we demonstrate to internal stakeholders that we add value in many other ways? – Purchasing officer, Portsmouth Our advisers said: * ensure there is a strong connection between the stakeholders and the [...]
In the next issue of Supply Management, out tomorrow – Featured Articles Survive & prosper – What do you need to do if your organisation is faced with a merger or acquisition? Fields of vision – Are there limits to procurement’s role and what skills are needed to advance the profession? Stage hands – What [...]
A new report from the Committee of Public Accounts doesn’t look too favourably on the way procurement teams in the public sector handle Private Finance Initiative projects. The report says that since 2004 the number of PFI deals attracting only two bidders has more than doubled, thereby increasing the risk of no competition if one [...]
In online poll conducted by SM five years ago four-fifths of purchasers were arguing for performance-related pay, driven by such things as cost savings. Most people work hard and expect to be paid according to results but is this view out of date? Not only might there be problems deciding who gets the credit for [...]
Have you ever played that game in the car with your kids where you try and go through the alphabet, thinking of a different object for every letter (A is for apples, B is for Banana for example)? Have you ever thought about trying it with purchasing? We’ll get the game started here, post your [...]
This week a reader asked SM: Some of my suppliers refuse to provide cost breakdowns for services. I have used cost breakdowns on components and need advice on using cost breakdowns on services. What should I do? – Procurement Officer, Devon Do you have any suggestions?
In this week’s soapbox Mark Pyman, leader of Transparency International UK’s global defence against corruption programme, says that procurement professionals should be in the lead when trying to reduce corruption. "Reducing corruption risk in the defence sector is about individual firms strengthening their compliance programmes, and governments reforming their procurement process. Government reforms focus on [...]
Two surveys we have reported on in the past week have pointed to the appetite for e-procurement within the profession at the moment. The initial enthusiasm for the help that technology could offer buyers seemed to have dimmed, but it now appears to be back. What has caused this increase in interest? Can e-procurement systems [...]
Private equity (PE) deals are often associated with short-term outlook that involves stripping out cost, devaluing the brand and selling the business on. In the latest issue of SM, our cover feature on the Birds Eye Iglo Group shows that PE deals can benefit procurement because it’s role and value is recognised. Have you had [...]
