Yesterday I was reading a story about the making of a billionaire. It heralded the likes of Steve Jobs, Richard Branson and Roman Abramovich for having the right blend of vision, talent, diligence and selflessness to bring in the big bucks. Take Bill Gates, who at the tender age of 17 was working 20 to [...]
Last night I finished a book of essays speculating on alternate outcomes of battles throughout history. The last chapter concerned the gamble of Chinese nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek to halt his attack against Chairman Mao’s communist troops in the North when he was on the verge of victory, having been encouraged by US who were [...]
Supplier relationship management is something we cover frequently in these pages and on supplymanagement.com. Historically the articles have had some recurring themes: how buyers should align their objectives with suppliers’, encouraging innovation and focusing on long-term relationships. But that was in the good old days. As recently as February 2008 we reported the SRM strategy [...]
Sophisticated supplier relationship management programmes may have appeared to previously be the preserve of larger organisations with the resources to appoint dedicated SRM managers and the capability to go beyond basic procurement techniques. But it is certainly not one of those things that will be flung out of the window as buyers attempt to cope [...]
Reports this week suggest that Barack Obama has won the battle to hang on to his much-loved BlackBerry. The new US president feared he would have to relinquish the email device because under law, any correspondence from the White House must be recorded in national archives. But Obama has secured a “compromise” that will allow [...]
Last night I attend the CIPS fellows lecture and dinner at the Hurlingham Club in London. The event was busy with senior members of the profession, most with very pressing issues at the fore of their minds. It was difficult to escape discussion of the current financial climate and circling the room it is clear [...]
Squeezing suppliers has become synonymous with industries such as retail and construction, so my news story today will come as little surprise. Barratt Homes, the housebuilder which cut 3 per cent off its suppliers contracts last year, is running out of opportunities to find savings through its supply chain. Chief executive Mark Clare said the [...]
Having followed the new US President’s procurement plans and proposals in detail recently, I can’t help feeling a little “Obama fatigue” beginning to set in. Fortunately my cynicism will certainly not dampen the spirits of an estimated 2 million people who are expected to line the streets of Washington D.C. to witness the inauguration of [...]
Following hot on the heels of “Divorce Day” (January 5), today is apparently the most depressing day of the year. The combination of cold weather, broken New Year resolutions and the post-Christmas bills, lead experts to predict a quarter of the workforce will call in sick today.
After yesterday’s extraordinary scenes in New York as a US Airways plane crash landed in the Hudson river, the pilot manning the jet has been dubbed ‘The Hero of the Hudson’. Captain Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger III was praised for his “masterful landing” after the airliner’s two engines were hit by a flock of birds. Traffic [...]
