Supply Knowledge (tm)

How to avoid sky-high travel costs

 http://bit.ly/bwQXfA

Vendigital: Reducing cost and risk in your supply chain

 http://ping.fm/XADzf

Monthly Metrics - Travel Procurement

The Indicators section includes results of the latest research on business travel's return on investment. A study conducted by Oxford Economics and commissioned by the U.S. Travel Association and the Destination & Travel Foundation found that in-person meetings result in new sales 40 percent of the time versus 16 percent without such meetings.

via www.promedia.travel

ERP delays give CFOs a headache - Software - Breaking Business and Technology News at silicon.com

Cost over-runs on the largest ERP implementation projects can reach tens of thousands of pounds per month - so what are the classic stumbling blocks that delay the roll out of these gigantic projects.

The late completion of ERP projects can create problems in terms of additional cost, delayed savings and potential loss of revenue, meaning the CFO has a real interest in reducing these delays. According to research commissioned by ecommerce technology maker GXS, 84 per cent of businesses it surveyed had experienced ERP roll-out delays due to integration issues with suppliers and partners.

via software.silicon.com

Reducing Outsourced Manufacturing Cost and Risk at Tellabs

Discover how Tellabs, a leading telecommunications OEM, partnered with Bristlecone to implement SAP BusinessObjects Spend Performance Management - integrating spend analytics into the quoting process and gaining timely, accurate insight into global spend by supplier and commodity. Tellabs is leveraging this insight to project future quarterly and annual spend, reduce costs and spend, align sourcing strategies, and ensure contract compliance.

http://bit.ly/YNYVe

How Strategic is Your Sourcing?

Strategic Sourcing is one of the most misused procurement labels in the industry today.  There are an endless number of purchasing activities, which are lumped under this title, but very few should actually be considered as Strategic Sourcing.

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A Smart Way to Save Money

When looking for ways to trim costs and maximize every dollar, procurement is an area that requires careful attention. This is, after all, where you are investing hard earned dollars for products and services that you must have to keep your organization running. That's buying everything from paper clips to professional services.

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Ten Steps to Lower Procurement Costs in Life Sciences

Regardless of the economic conditions, companies that can quickly respond and take action to stay in the game ultimately emerge as market leaders.  Now more than ever, the next generation of pharmaceutical and biotechnology leaders is being tested.  Organizations that manage their cost structures and position themselves for growth can gain significant market share as the economy improves and the U.S. healthcare reform program evolves.

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Social SciencesEconomics and Cost Analysis Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Globalization and Security

Globalization-the integration of the political, economic and cultural activities of geographically and/or nationally separated peoples-is not a discernible event or challenge, is not new, but it is accelerating. More importantly, globalization is largely irresistible. Thus, globalization is not a policy option, but a fact to which policymakers must adapt. Globalization has accelerated as a result of many positive factors, the most notable of which include: the collapse of communism and the end of the Cold War; the spread of capitalism and free trade; more rapid and global capital flows and more liberal financial markets; the liberalization of communications; international academic and scientific collaboration; and faster and more efficient forms of transportation. At the core of accelerated global integration-at once its principal cause and consequence-is the information revolution, which is knocking down once-formidable barriers of physical distance, blurring national boundaries and creating cross-border communities of all types.

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By Controlling Project-Based Indirect Spending Companies Can Net Significant Savings

Hackett's study looked at how effectively procurement organizations manage and control non-recurring project-based indirect supplier expenditures in IT-Telecom, HR, Sales & Marketing, Finance & Corporate Services, and Capital Equipment & Services. The study, which polled both procurement organizations and also the budget owning functions, found that project-based spending represents up to 35% of all the total procurement spending, and is often not well supported by the sourcing resources or processes of purchasing departments. In fact, the process is managed by dedicated sourcing professionals with specialized expertise only 17% of the time.

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The Purchasing Chessboard (Book)

The Purchasing Chessboard: 64 Methods to Reduce Cost and Increase Value with Suppliers ISBN: 3540887245 ISBN-13: 9783540887249

Companies concerned about supply chain risk

Managing supply chain risk is an escalating concern among executives who say they do not have the proper tools for the job, a study by IBM ...

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Managing Costs Top Concern, Says 'State Of The Practice' Study

To manage that spend, nearly three-quarters of respondent companies employ just one or two people for all travel management and procurement responsibilities ...

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Aberdeen's Annual Supply Chain Management Summit

April 2-3, 2009 in San Francisco, CA

The theme "Leveraging Supply Chain Processes for Market Leadership" with speakers to address the pressures that supply chain executives are facing in an increasingly global and dynamic trade environment including the need to leverage SCM for competitive advantage in the market, the need to align supply chain strategies with the goals and objectives of the business, the need to use innovation to drive down costs and improve visibility and responsiveness, the need to align the physical and financial supply chains, and the need to drive sustainable and responsible SCM operations.

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