By Paul Snell Subway now has more stores in the UK than McDonalds, but it could have all been very different without good supplier relationship management (SRM). According to an article in this week’s Financial Times, in 1966 young Fred DeLuca’s new sandwich shop was struggling. So he got his Mum to drive him to [...]
By Delwyn Cummack In this issue's Knowledge Zone, change management consultant Alan Stevens emphasises the importance of leadership and management skills for those in charge – especially in times of change. Leadership, he says, means focusing on future possibilities, while management means getting the job done today. Ideally, those in management positions will be able [...]
By Steve Bagshaw At the end of last month the new business secretary Lord Mandelson announced government payment terms to SMEs would reduce to 10 days. Sounds good. Some public sector buyers were keen to point out this already happens. Others claimed it wouldn’t be practical to achieve this ambitious target. Either way it is [...]
As you may have seen in our recent Procurement Outsourcing supplement, the market in outsourcing traditional, low value aspects of procurement overseas is beginning to take off
By Delwyn Cummack We've had the following question from a reader in Zambia: "I have just joined an NGO that receives funds from about ten donors. I would like to produce a procurement policy which will take into account their requirements. However, the donors can change from year to year and they all have different [...]
By Paul Snell After nearly 18 years, Microsoft has finally stopped issuing licences for Windows 3.x. Reading that article bought a nostalgic smile to my face, because, like many, it was the operating system that properly introduced me to computers. I doubt that any purchasers are still buying licences for Windows 3.x, but it raises [...]
By Delwyn Cummack We’ve had the following question from a reader: “Central government and the North West Improvement and Efficiency Partnership advocate the procurement of locally produced goods and services to help local businesses and pursue sustainability etc. But they don't tell you how to do this while complying with conflicting factors such as legislation [...]
By Jake Kanter Barack Obama has become the new president of the US in what has been widely described as an historic election. The democratic senator is the country's first black leader and his victory was met with an outpouring of high emotion in his hometown of Chicago. In a sober, but rallying speech to [...]
By Paul Snell So the big day for US voters is finally here. After months of argument and accusation, they finally have to make up their mind – Barack Obama and John McCain. While the economy continues to be a major issue, will the candidates plans for procurement have any influence? The American Small Business [...]
By Rebecca Ellinor New CIPS president Bola Afolabi begins his tenure this month and the theme he’s selected is ‘leadership without boundaries’. He wants to see more people in senior purchasing positions regardless of gender, race or disability. He says while progress has been made this may not have happened consciously. He believes that only [...]
