I have put together 10 tips to help you on your next sourcing project in China. I have spent several years sourcing in China, including setting up and running representative offices for my employers in the UK. This is not a fully exhaustive list (I did have more than 30 tips, and a more detailed look at purchasing from the country will appear in an upcoming edition of SM) but they are the ones I thought most helpful to act as a checklist. (more…)
As the Euro crisis rumbles inexorably on, we lurch from one disaster to the next. Each week brings the worrying news of another protest, strike or even riot from a different corner of the continent. Over the summer, the European Central Bank’s pledge to intervene in bond markets to help troubled eurozone countries was seen as a silver bullet – some diplomats even called it “Mario Draghi’s ice cream”. But by the autumn, it had been exposed by waning enthusiasm in Germany and more challenges in Greece, Spain and, most importantly, Catalonia. (more…)
No Más Acidez (tm: Heartburn No More(tm In Spanish! No Competition!=”" width=”100″ height=”100″ />The swift move by transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin to “wholly and squarely” lay the blame for the West Coast rail tender fiasco on the Department for Transport (DfT) can be viewed with muffled admiration and scepticism.
Forthright condemnations and immediate suspensions relating to such monumental government and civil service errors are indeed very rare – especially in developing countries. (more…)
Visual Impact – A Workout For The Lean Hollywood Look!“Rebecca Ellinor, managing editor, Supply Management” width=”100″ height=”100″ />Knowledge is power, as the saying goes, and an awareness of the past performance of suppliers would certainly be useful for purchasers considering using their services.
order viagra width=”100″ height=”100″ />We’ve all tried it on holiday – bargaining at the local bazaar. In certain cultures it is simply part of the process but many of us Brits find it uncomfortable. However, it looks like times are changing, as negotiating is becoming increasingly acceptable on the high street.
According to a survey on moneysavingexpert.com published earlier this week, more than half of those who tried to get discounts on certain goods, have had success. (more…)
You can quickly become quite cynical about public procurement in the UK, with its arcane rules, constant reform programmes and mistakes that make national headlines.
But we take for granted that the biggest fear for the majority of our public buyers is that their error might end up on the six o’clock news, or splashed over the front page of the local newspaper.
Sadly, for public purchasers working elsewhere in the world, this is not always the case. (more…)
Since the start of 2012, I’ve been to the US three times and it is interesting to reflect on what is going on in the world of sustainability. It is tempting to say “not much” and make this a very short blog, but that’s not the case.
I never imagined I would spend time in Texas working on sustainability with a company that exclusively supplies big oil with capital equipment, but I did. I never imagined I would end up helping the United Nations deliver the Rio +20 event in a more sustainable way, but I have. I did not predict spending time with the UK, US and Canadian institutions for civil engineering talking about more sustainable infrastructure development, but I have. And I expect to be back in the summer, working with at least two other global businesses. And yes, I offset my flights! (more…)
I was surprised just how much of Doha, the location for this year’s CIPS Middle East Conference, is still under construction.
I mistakenly thought the Qatari city would have suffered from the financial crisis like other nations in the region, but there was no sign that this was the case as workers toiled in the roasting sun. And, with the announcement last week of plans to build an underwater hotel in Dubai, it seems the rest of the region continues its recovery. Last year the economy of Qatar grew by 15 per cent, and expansion is likely to continue, boosted by hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2022 (and – potentially – the Olympic Games in 2020). (more…)
The countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) (Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait) are evolving and the procurement profession is doing so with them. (more…)
I have put together 10 tips to help you on your next sourcing project in China. I have spent several years sourcing in China, including setting up and running representative offices for my employers in the UK. This is not a fully exhaustive list (I did have more than 30 tips, and a more detailed look at purchasing from the country will appear in an upcoming edition of SM) but they are the ones I thought most helpful to act as a checklist. (more…)![[Bloglines]](http://blog.supplymanagement.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/bloglines.png)
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