Emerging Issues in Supply Chain

Oct 20, 2015

NC State's Poole College of Management JUMPS in the rankings – and we need your support!

Bloomberg Businessweek released its MBA rankings today, placing the Jenkins MBA at number 29 among full-time MBA programs in the United States. This ranking is a notable jump from number 54 just… 

Oct 12, 2015

Change Management in Moving from Tactical to Strategic Sourcing

I had the opportunity to host a panel of Chief Procurement Officers at the Zycus Horizons 2015 meeting on October 5, 2015, on the subject of the journey organizations take… 

Oct 4, 2015

Five Predictions (About Prediction) that Every Procurement Professional Should Consider

I am speaking at the Zycus Horizons conference this week, being held at the Reynolds Plantation in Georgia.  As part of the conference, I’m delivering a talk on five predictions… 

Sep 24, 2015

A Diverse Supply Base Isn't About Procurement…It's A Leadership Issue!

I was recently involved in a survey of best practices in establishing a diverse supply base.  The most important and common method for driving diversity objectives in the survey (in… 

Sep 18, 2015

Sustainable Supply Chains Requires Effective Supply Management Capabilities!

Globalization has created the emergence of sophisticated supplier networks, creating management challenges as exposure to volatility and complexity of global sourcing has emerged.  While Western organizations have met short-term cost… 

Aug 24, 2015

New Student Projects Suggest Greater Focus on Analytics

Every fall, Betty Minton and Bill Collins (my trusted and capable student project advisors) and I play a game of musical chairs.  The challenge involves matching a group of bright,… 

Aug 1, 2015

Needed: An Analytics Platform to Support the New Face of Procurement Transformation

As organizations continue to discuss the notion of procurement value transformation, there is a noticeable gap between the stated intentions of organizations to pursue value, and their actions as they… 

Jul 22, 2015

Legal Experts Need to be Front and Center in Negotiating Software Contracts

I had the opportunity to engage in a negotiation seminar with a large insurance company last week, and had the team work on a software contract role play.  In the… 

Jun 30, 2015

The State of Strategic Supply Management in the Canadian Oil Industry

I visited Calgary, Alberta this week, and found it to be an odd environment indeed! Oil has leveled off at $60/bbl, major companies have all gone through major budget cuts, have cut headcount… 

Jun 24, 2015

The American Red Cross: A New SCRC Partner Company Engages the Influence Model!

I had the opportunity to visit with the American Red Cross in Charlotte, NC yesterday, and held a negotiation workshop with the supply chain directors and managers.  This was at…