Knowledge has always been a very valuable commodity and the competitive advantage that it gives, whether in times of conflict or in the creation of wealth, has been recognised since the very earliest civilisations.
There’s an apocryphal story that when the scribes in the ancient library in Alexandria asked to borrow the original works of Sophocles and Euripides to make copies for scholarly research, the Athenians demanded half a ton of gold as a guarantee of their safe return, so important were they to the well-being of the state. (more…)
The launch of the new suite of CIPS qualifications on 2 April was the culmination of two years’ work, representing a huge investment of staff and volunteer time, as well as funds. It has been an institute-wide undertaking, involving thousands of individual consultations of employers, study centres, assessors and members, not to mention a cohort of educationalists and course book authors. (more…)
Many of us take it for granted that we are going to be able to study for qualifications in our chosen profession, either by funding the courses ourselves or through our employers supporting our professional development.
Yet for some people, a career in procurement as a qualified practitioner is almost out of reach, whether due to financial hardship, lack of transport to a study centre, or no local internet access. I have seen for myself what enormous challenges some of our members in the developing world have to overcome in order to qualify and what profound changes the achievement of MCIPS can bring to individual lives. (more…)
We’ve just completed the CIPS Negotiation Challenge 2013 in partnership with the Peter Jones Enterprise Academies and made an even bigger splash than last year. Targeted at college students aged 16 to 18, it is designed to promote procurement as the profession of choice for young people looking for an exciting career.
What impressed me most last year was the calibre of talent on display and the fact that these young people were so open to the idea of our profession and what it could offer them. (more…)
Getting our message across to CEOs and CFOs is one of our greatest challenges as a professional body. If we want to really improve the status and recognition of procurement, we have to reach beyond our own community and get professionals from other business disciplines to join in the conversation. (more…)
If you’re finding it a challenge to keep on top of all the information rushing at you from every direction, it’s only going to get a whole lot worse. It’s estimated that by 2016, the data equivalent of every film ever made will be streamed across the internet every three minutes. The internet is growing exponentially, creating a blizzard of information that can take time and effort to navigate. (more…)
As announced by CIPS CEO David Noble at this year’s CIPS Annual Conference, from January CPO Agenda magazine will be relaunched with a new name and new look, and will be called Supply Business.
As every CPO will be aware, the attention on the profession from the higher echelons of senior management has dramatically increased. (more…)
The profile of procurement and supply as a career is building all the time.
CIPS CEO David Noble kicked off this year’s CIPS Annual Conference with a speech celebrating the profession’s impact on the world stage. “There is no more global a profession currently,” he said. (more…)
Energy regulator Ofgem’s new tariff plan to help consumers find the best deals is moving us towards a more regulated energy market. Doing away with over-complicated multi-layered tariffs and forcing energy companies to offer customers their cheapest rates should, in theory at least, create more competition and benefit consumers. (more…)
canadian pharmacyid Noble, chief executive, Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply” width=”100″ height=”100″ />Asking for information to verify and evaluate a supplier’s sustainability credentials is a routine feature of many tender processes. The information gathered, whether through a questionnaire or other means, is then usually weighted and mapped against a benchmark, producing an overall sustainability score on which you base your sourcing decision.
But do you know how your scoring of a supplier compares with how buyers in other organisations rate that same supplier? (more…)
Knowledge has always been a very valuable commodity and the competitive advantage that it gives, whether in times
of conflict or in the creation of wealth,
has been recognised since the very
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