Tragedy in Bangladesh: A Case for Better Supplier Visibility

Authored by Pete Hodgkinson

An eight-story building which was home to several garment factories collapsed in Bangladesh last week, killing at least 87 people, and bringing back memories of the devastating factory fire from last November. Within the building were garment factories that supplied clothing to well-known brands including, Benetton, Primark and Matalan. 

Challenges of the Acronym Shuffle – NHS PCTs to CCGs

By Claire Sexton

During the last couple of months I have visited a number of my NHS customers to catch up on all of the latest changes that they are going through with the switch from PCTs to CCGs. NHS professionals across the country have spent the last 6 to 12 months working towards the deadline day of 1^st April 2013 when Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) would be no more and instead all commissioning activities would be transferred to the newly formed Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) and their supporting commissioning support providers.

Supply Chain Risk Factors Cause Major Disruptions

Authored by Pete Hodgkinson

Are you prepared for the unpredictable?

Procurement professionals manage risk every day, but a lot of risk factors are out of their control. Economic disruption, natural disasters and supplier bankruptcy can strike at any time. 

A new study reports that two thirds of businesses in the EMEA region have experienced disruption to their value chains in the past 12 months. The number is even higher (70 per cent) in the UK. Surprisingly though, only a quarter of organisations have performed a risk assessment on all elements of their supply chain. 

Mass Auto Recall Highlights Importance of Supplier Diversification

Authored by Claire Sexton

Last week, Japanese automakers, Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mazda announced that they are recalling 3.4 million vehicles sold around the world due to faulty airbag inflators.

So what’s the thread that ties these four automakers together? Their airbag supplier – Takata Corp. the automakers all purchase airbags from the suppliers in an effort to improve collective buying power, driving prices down.

Who Deserves More Training: Sales or Procurement?

Authored by Claire Sexton

If you haven’t been keeping up with Maggie Slowik’s updates about the Procurement Leaders Mini MBA series, you definitely should. In her latest post, she cited a remarkable statistic: “An experienced sales representative could get nearly four times as much training as their procurement counterparts.”

The March Services PMI Numbers: Three Positive Economic Signs

Authored by Mike Roberts

The latest Markit/CIPS Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) recorded a figure of 52.4, a slight increase from February’s score of 51.8. This reading was the best in seven months and has helped the UK bounce back from the brink of a triple dip recession.

March: Top Supply Chain and Procurement Headlines (Part 1)

Authored by Richard Hogg

It was another busy month in the supply chain and procurement worlds; here are two headlines that grabbed our attention in March. We will also share two additional headlines later in the week – and a few things to be on the lookout for in April.

Headline #1: CPOs search globally to fill the procurement talent gap

We first started to write about the procurement talent gap in January of last year – and still then, the topic is only gaining momentum in the industry.

Supply Chain Risk Management Tools

Authored by Mickey North Rizza

A recent survey from Deloitte of 600 global supply chain executives reveals a wide range of tools used to manage risk.  Of this list of technology tools, very few respondents use some of the top risk tools - only 36% report using predictive modelling and only 29% use risk sensing data, worst case scenario modelling and business simulation tools.  

In my own discussions with many Supply Chain leaders, I found one thread in common with the Deloitte risk management findings: Supply Chain risk management technology utilised in a silo does not deliver full value until it is coupled with additional data sources, advanced capabilities and applied to problems within the supply chain.  One executive told me technology tools are definitely enablers, but the linkage and pushing the technologies capabilities to solve the supply chain problems is where the rubber meets the road.