Procurement & Career Guidance
Peter Kraljic is probably the most famous procurement practitioner of the last 100 years.
In the 1980’s, he developed a quadrant view of supplier spend vs. risk that helped companies focus on more strategic relationships. This quadrant is frequently called the Kraljic Matrix.
This video go deeper into the matrix and also the man.
Communication in the business world is difficult. It is usually the root cause of most major issues.
For Procurement Professionals, it is our job to convene and communicate. In an imperfect world this is a perfect recipe for frustration.
I take the perspective of procurement customers in this video and try to address identify their frustrations and explain why sourcing departments act the way they do.
Kate Vitasek is an influential figure in procurement and outsourcing who developed a better way to approach outsourcing. This method is commonly called Vested Outsourcing which focuses on outcomes instead of micro-managing vendors.
I am on a journey to learn more about the people who made procurement what it is today and Kate was at the top of my list. This video covers the “5 Vested Rules” and gives some history on Kate.
Kate’s Books:
The Request for Proposal (RFP) is one of, if not THE most important tool in a procurement professional’s toolbox.
In this high inflation period which is driving up costs, the RFP is the best way to test market pricing and understand price points.
This video discusses why it is so critical to leverage and the issues customers and suppliers have with organizing a proper RFP.
Companies are trying to turn everything into a monthly software subscription.
You can’t be fooled by the hype, step back and understand what the product is, and what you are actually purchasing.
Just because a supplier calls their product SaaS or PaaS doesn’t mean it is. If a company is performing a service for you and spitting out a document or a product, that isn’t software.