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Hoping for a new year with less corruption

December 9, 2010

Today is International Anti-Corruption Day. The UN designated it so seven years ago to raise awareness of sleaze and the role of the United Nations Convention against Corruption in preventing it. It wants all states to sign and ratify the convention as soon as possible.

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Buyers should get on board with green shipping effort

December 8, 2010

Although Lindsay was sceptical about the results from the climate change summit currently being held in Mexico, there has been at least one associated outcome that might be of interest to buyers.

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The rush before Christmas

December 7, 2010

As the seasonal peak nears, it must be tempting to put pressure on suppliers to turn things round quickly. This risks factories breaking codes of conduct or reducing quality to rush orders through.

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Stay on top and in touch

December 7, 2010

I recently attended a summit hosted by a procurement outsourcing firm (also providing online reverse auction services). Many customers shared stories about how the host’s solution had reduced their vendor spend by 30-50 per cent in categories like shrink wrap, private label products, paper and light bulbs. You may think of your company as more [...]

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Predictions for the year ahead

December 7, 2010

It’s Christmas time, which means the New Year is nearly upon us. It’s the time of year when resolutions are made, fortunes are cast and reviews are carried out. Through my contacts at Santa’s elves outsourcer, I have obtained insight into what the next 12 months hold. So sit back with a glass of compliance-approved-supplier-gifted [...]

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Supply spooks

December 7, 2010

A Christmas Carol for the procurement profession

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A game on a different field

December 6, 2010

Derek Nash compares England’s World Cup bid with the public sector process

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Diary of an MBA #5: The joys of Mandarin and other challenges

December 3, 2010

The MBA at Durham Business School continues apace with our final few lectures in HR, finance, marketing, economics and strategy ahead of the Christmas break before returning in January for exams. My fellow students and I are currently working away on a finance assignment comparing the financial performance of two companies from the perspective of an investor or supplier (naturally I chose the latter). Having scrutinised annual reports in detail for the first time I’ll treat credit reports with some degree of scepticism when I go back to assessing supplier financials in the world of work. I found them to be well wide of the mark.

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Climate change summit – the sequel

December 2, 2010

This week is Copenhagen II. This is a global climate change summit, without last year’s hype or caste of world leaders. If it were a movie it would be Grease II.

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What’s important to you in 2011?

December 1, 2010

At SM we like to know your priorities for the year ahead, so our editorial content can reflect the issues and challenges you face.

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