Supply chain Relationships
What Buyer-Supplier Collaboration Looks Like in Real Life….
I had the privilege of facilitating and witnessing first hand a great example of what a true strategic partnership looks like recently, when a large pharmaceutical brand met with a large global Contract Drug Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) at their site. […]
Supply Chain Predictions for 2018: Real-Time, Innovation, Cognitive, Blockchain, Industry-Academic Partnerships, and Taking a Stand!
I had an opportunity to work on a number of exciting projects this past year, and in the process, spent a lot of time talking about digital supply chains with a lot of really informed people. Here are a few […]
SCRC Innovation and Social Responsibility Supply Index: A Critical Input to “Drucker Management Top 250 List”
Research by NC State Poole College Professor Robert Handfield, director of the Supply Chain Resource Cooperative based Poole College, and Yung-Yun Huang, a recent graduate of North Carolina State University’s interdisciplinary doctoral program in operations research, supplied two of the […]
The Legal Implications of Transport Visibility is NOT Good News for Truckers
Our prior post discussed the benefits and challenges of visibility in logistics. But WAIT! There’s more to it than just benefits. Carriers and shippers should also proceed carefully as they move into the era of visibility, and start asking the […]
Writing Good Contracts Matters a LOT!
I have been having a lot of interesting discussions recently with both procurement and legal executives who are increasingly concerned with the state of their contract management processes. This is occurring for several reasons. The exposure of many companies to […]
Managing Supply Chain Relationships with German Managers
Germany companies are becoming more commonplace in not just automotive supply chains (BMW, Bosch, Daimler), but in chemicals (BASF), pharmaceuticals (Bayer), industrial manufacturing (Siemens), and software (SAP). There are a lot of misperceptions on how to interact with German managers, […]
Can Sales and Procurement Ever be BFF's?
The relationship between sales and procurement has always been a contentious one, and the idea of a friendship evolving between the two functions is laughable in the minds of many managers I’ve met with. The issue at the core of […]
Procurement Leaders Blog Post: Cross-Functional Teaming is Easier Said Then Done
Continuing my reporting of the Procurement Leaders meeting in Miami, I sat in on a very interesting session that included three professionals from very different walks of life: Captain Harry Thetford – Defense Logistics Agency Robin Shahani – CPO, TD […]
Procurement Leaders '17: Supplier enabled innovation is a foundation for procurement's strategic repositioning
I had the opportunity to sit in on a number of sessions at Procurement Leaders American Congress 2017 in Miami this week. Despite the snowstorms that prevented many from making it down, there was a full house at the opening […]
How does procurement evaluate outsource providers?
In the RFQ process, procurement should ideally be transparent about answering this question. Too often, however, the sales team at suppliers providing the bid have to “guess” at what they think will be important. The Request for Quote process, if […]