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.
Filed under:
Fraud & corruption, International, Risk & continuity by Rebecca Ellinor
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.
Filed under:
International, Low cost sourcing, Sustainability by Paul Snell
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.
Filed under:
Purchasing, Risk & continuity, Supply chain by Rebecca Ellinor
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 [...]
Filed under:
Purchasing, Soapbox, SRM by Sean Geehan
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 [...]
Filed under:
First person, Purchasing by Sam Covell
December 7, 2010
A Christmas Carol for the procurement profession
Filed under:
Home Truths, Purchasing by Home Truths
December 6, 2010
Derek Nash compares England’s World Cup bid with the public sector process
Filed under:
*Purchasing, General by Derek Nash
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.
Filed under:
Careers, Purchasing, Risk & continuity, SRM by Chris Atkins
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.
Filed under:
International, Purchasing, Sustainability by Lindsay Clark
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.
Filed under:
Outsourcing, Purchasing, Risk & continuity, SRM by Rebecca Ellinor