Efforts to cut public spending and recruitment recovery in the private sector are the talking points in procurement right now.

Filed under:
Business change, Public sector, Purchasing by Rebecca Ellinor

Salespeople and purchasers – a combination with the potential for conflict, if ever there was one.

We could sit and talk about how we, as the vendor community, respect and support the efforts and dedication of purchasing. But let’s skip this and deal with the elephant in the room that exists when a salesperson is face-to-face with a professional buyer.

Filed under:
Purchasing, Soapbox, SRM, Supply chain by Mark Hunter

I have been thinking rather a lot about Chrissie Hynde, lead singer of the pop group The Pretenders. Perhaps I ought to clarify that last remark. Recently I have been thinking a lot about the song Hymn to Her, a hit record (as we used to say) in 1986.

It is the lovely refrain of that song, performed by Ms Hynde, that has been in my head: “Some things change, some stay the same.” This is the potency of popular music, to paraphrase Noel Coward. It can say apparently very simple things but in a memorable and powerful way.

Filed under:
Business change, First person, General, Purchasing, Technology by Stefan Stern

Copper is the commodity of the moment, evidently. Demand from fast-growing economies such as China – combined with ageing copper mines struggling to keep up – have caused the metal to attract such a premium from scrap merchants and buyers that unscrupulous individuals are going to extraordinary lengths to get hold of it.

In Leeds a man was admitted to hospital recently with severe burns to his face, hands and chest after causing an explosion while trying to cut through a live copper cable with a saw.

Filed under:
General, Home Truths by Home Truths

As my CIPS graduate diploma studies drew to a close with my final level six exam last November, like most students I felt a sense of relief that it was all over.

Filed under:
Careers, Diary of an MBA, Purchasing by Chris Atkins

Desai does not advise failing deliberately, but to analyse small failures and near misses in more detail, before waiting for a giant cock-up to force you into action.

Filed under:
Careers, General by Paul Snell

In My way to the top interviews senior purchasers are asked to admit their greatest fear and guiltiest pleasure. Julia Brown, SVP & CPO of global procurement, Kraft Foods said her greatest fear is “living an average life”. Whereas David Kemp, vice-president – supply chain at Goodrich ECEPS Division said his greatest fear is losing his wallet. Alyson Brett, CEO at the NHS South East Coast Collaborative Procurement Hub, guiltiest pleasure is Curly Wurlies. But for Steve Johnson, head of global procurement and supply chain management at Prosafe Offshore it’s nibbling Nobby’s Nuts!

Filed under:
Careers, General by Isabel Palmer

As a professional buyer, how would you assess value for money? What is the worst example of a procurement decision?

Filed under:
General by Lindsay Clark

We all know change only happens by doing something different, so below I take aim at procurement regulations, which I argue are to the overall detriment of the effectiveness of public purchasing.

Filed under:
Business change, General, Public sector by Dave Henshall

Apparently a US company has created a “divorce probability calculator”. Cheerful eh? It reckons it can work out with only 13 per cent of error the chance of your marriage breaking down, once you give it information like age difference, any history of depression, race difference etc.

Filed under:
General, SRM by Rebecca Ellinor