The Supply Chain: 1/12/2015

To be sure, the pursuit for lower-cost materials and more efficient logistics are very important to industries of all kinds today. But reliability of supply and precautionary redundancy have prompted firms in industries ranging from basic materials like steel and chemicals to high technology, to establish supply networks across the globe.

http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2015/01/08/what-is-the-most-crucial-goal-for-supply-chains

“Rightly or wrongly, perception can sometimes be more important than reality, especially in large organizations. Trying to argue procurement’s case in a mire of organizational misconceptions is like complaining about your opponent who turned up to the gunfight with his pistol while you turned up with a knife.” In other words, the shift towards cooperation is one that comes through gradual acceptance, not stubborn debate. However, there are some steps procurement teams can take today to get the ball rolling.

http://www.strategicsourceror.com/2015/01/the-zen-of-collaborative-sourcing.html

This week IKEA is reaching out to agencies for what it calls a “procurement-led” exploration of agencies. While the brand is said to be perfectly happy with its incumbent agencies, Vizeum and Mother, IKEA UK and Ireland Marketing Manager Peter Wright said: “We continue to work happily with our agencies but, to be expected for a multinational organization, our procurement team occasionally reviews suppliers of marketing services.”

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/241384/ikea-unleashes-bean-counters-for-procurement-led.html

For those who missed the previous overview of the IT/Procurement Collaboration discussion, this presentation will expand on the benefits of supplementing internal IT resources with Procurement’s expertise to solve both sides’ challenges. Following a Source One survey in 2012, we were able to gather that 40% of procurement professionals believed they offered “Little to no value” to their organization’s IT department. Contrary to the thoughts of these 40% polled, strategic sourcing’s role in IT departments allows the maximum value achieved from IT budgets. With the often unclear software packages and complex maintenance terms, IT experts can inform Sourcing of the intricacies of technical portions of buying decisions while Sourcing can use that information to best analyze agreements and pricing structure.

http://www.strategicsourceror.com/2015/01/get-rid-of-departmental-clashing-once.html