SCM Features

Nov 18, 2004

Getting your arms around your spend

An area of increasing importance by different companies is the need to establish a clear picture of their spend analysis. The “as-is” assessment is three-fold. First, a local spend analysis…

Nov 11, 2004

Benefits and Risks of Single Sourcing

For many companies, sourcing decisions can be some of the most strategic in the organization. Single sourcing has become increasingly practiced today. The decision to sole source an item, particularly…

Nov 4, 2004

Collaboration in the Energy Industry: A Case Study of Suncor Energy

A successful exploration and development drilling program requires strong performance from a multi-disciplinary team as well as active participation and support from many suppliers and contractors. The Suncor Foothills Drilling-Asset…

Oct 27, 2004

The SCOR Model for Supply Chain Strategic Decisions

The supply chain operations reference model (SCOR) is a management tool used to address, improve, and communicate supply chain management decisions within a company and with suppliers and customers of…

Oct 14, 2004

What is Evaluated Receipt Settlement?

Evaluated Receipt Settlement (ERS) is a procedure for the automatic settlement of goods receipts. It was pioneered by General Motors (GM) to save the company time and money (1). Major…

Oct 4, 2004

The Evolving World of E-Sourcing

A recent white paper by the Gartner Group provides an assessment of e-procurement and strategic sourcing software providers. The authors of this article note that “Strategic sourcing applications have traditionally…

Sep 28, 2004

Supply Chain Disruptions

Weather causes many disruptions and disasters around the world. Hurricanes, floods, heat waves, and earthquakes cause large scale disasters where people need assistance. An efficient, planned supply chain is critical…

Sep 22, 2004

Ethics and Supply Management in a Global Environment

Many executives I speak with today discuss the challenges associated with global sourcing, particularly in areas where customs and ethical issues differ. One story related to me recently by an…

Sep 1, 2004

Trends and Services Offered in the 3PL Industry

The third party logistics (3PL) provider industry is expanding as global companies are realizing the cost savings of outsourcing their logistics services (1). The 3PL market grew by 6.9 percent…

Aug 25, 2004

Supply Market Intelligence: The Key to Strategic Sourcing

“In the Tom Cruise film, Minority Report, the Department of Crime Prevention collected data in various fashions about crimes and murders that were going to happen. They pieced this together,…