In the current issue’s Soapbox, Matthew Jones, head of community procurement at the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, outlines a few of the obstacles he faced when starting a new job in the public sector. “Naively, I had planned to complete a reorganisation in six months. I realise now why there was a broom [...]
As we saw this week, the World Bank has published the names of those suppliers they have banned from tendering, including three major Indian vendors. While this is very useful for other buyers who may be contemplating using these suppliers, and who might now be thinking twice about it. I wonder what benefit this gives [...]
The recent allegations of poor standards in Primark’s supply chain has received national attention. Many buyers will feel aggrieved that in this instance procurement is grabbing the headlines for all the wrong reasons. But I think the story sends out a very clear message to purchasers. It shows that issues with labour standards in supply [...]
I think we’re all agreed 2009 is going to be a difficult year for business – possibly also 2010 and 2011… As Richard Brass explains in this issue’s cover story ‘Global warning’ it’s not just economic pressures that buyers have to worry about. The Control Risks Groups’ annual RiskMap forecasts political and security risks that [...]
Evidence of procurement’s march up the corporate ladder is to be found in this article on jobs that pay more than £50,000. Sitting pretty at number four is the role of purchasing manager, ahead of HR, sales, management consultancy and (perhaps an odd choice) coroner. It chimes with another recent study from a US university [...]
By Paul Snell The current issue of SM features this call for help from a reader – I am drafting a five-year procurement strategy for a unitary local authority. I have my own ideas to call on, as well as national initiatives, audit reports and the council's corporate strategies, but are there any templates or [...]
As the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas rages on in Gaza, this report in the Sunday Times made interesting reading.
By Paul Snell Did your relationship survive yesterday? Apparently 5 January is “Divorce Day”, and kicks off the busiest week of the year for lawyers as people look to end relationships after Christmas. The reasoning is that the festive period “forces” people to spend time together, and brings out the tensions. And according to lawyers, [...]
By Paul Snell In October the Management Consultancies Association (MCA) launched its first Dealing with the Downturn report. It warned companies are far more reliant on their supply chain today than in previous periods of economic trouble, and urged buyers to move away from adversarial relationships with their suppliers. The MCA are returning to this [...]
