This week (and next), if you haven’t seen it mentioned, is fair trade fortnight. Buyers can play a big role in the uptake of "fair trade" items from suppliers. Sales of "fair trade goods" passed the £500 million mark in 2007. Is buying "fair trade" products the answer to developing suppliers in poorer nations? Or [...]
In this issue’s Knowledge Zone, Pat Law discusses the benefits for procurement people working as interim managers (including more free time and less responsibility) and the advantages for their employers (like the ability to hire a specialist for a particular project), but what is it like for buyers being managed by interim staff? Are there [...]
In the next issue of Supply Management, out tomorrow – Featured Articles Into the spotlight – New CIPS CEO Simon Sperryn talks about his plans to boost the profession Team spirit – Past CIPS awards winners talk about the difference it made to them The A-Z of SRM – Procurement leaders give their views on [...]
Research by AT Kearney has shown that buyers should analyse all the potential risks within a contract before submitting it to a lawyer. Following a series of workshops with other organisations, the firm found that by mitigating risks early, unnecessary bureaucracy could be avoided and more open relationships could be built with suppliers. The authors [...]
A press release arrived at SM this week, saying that British Cheddar cheese is becoming increasingly popular in Barbados. One firm, North Downs Dairy, said it has shipped 20 tonnes to the Caribbean so far and expects demand to increase. What other British products would be popular in other countries? Are there any unlikely contenders?
This week in Adviser our experts looked at this question: “I have been asked to outsource the IT department. What are the biggest issues I need to consider and the problems I might face?” Do you have any helpful advice?
In this issue’s sopabox, consultant Lee Parkinson examines some of the problems for buyers in working with charities. "It is difficult to see how a public sector buyer can adequately evaluate the respective merits of a private sector supplier and a third sector organisation (TSO). From a financial evaluation perspective alone it is most likely [...]
In the current issue of SM we look at the career paths of some senior procurement professionals once they have reached CPO. The posts they move to are varied; CEO, COO, MD sales and head of corporate responsibility, to name four. How could ex-procurement individuals who move up the corporate ladder best represent the profession? [...]
U2 frontman Bono and experimental British artist Damien Hirst yesterday teamed up to auction off over $40 million (£20 million) worth of Valentine’s art to fund HIV/Aids charity work in Africa. Last year the procurement team at Reuters teamed up with Chelsea FC to organise a corporate football tournament to raise money for the charity [...]
In this issue we talk to buyers who met their partner at work, but office romances can lead to potential problems for employers. According to today’s Chicago Sun-Times some companies now require dating co-workers to sign a contract in order to protect themselves in case the relationship turns sour. These ‘love contracts’ have also been [...]
