Commentary | Procurement Insights

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No Deal: Why The Procurement World Has Gone Silent

February 17, 2016

“Oh, gotcha. But are the deals not happening or are they just not being announced? With SaaS, you can switch so easily, so why would you bother announcing who you’ve implemented this year/month/week? I think ease of switching has made win news go the way of press releases. It would be like announcing where you decided […]

Does PayStream Report on Coupa Really Matter . . . To Anyone?

February 1, 2016

Editor Disclaimer: Before anyone – okay Coupa – thinks that I am picking on them, I want to state that the reference to them in this post is purely a matter of timing. Had I received a press release about the PayStream report featuring another vendor, we would be talking about them right now. In short, the vendor […]

How does Wall Street and Venture Capitalist money influence service provider transparency?

January 27, 2016

I have been getting a lot of interesting feedback regarding my last post about Zycus. In one discussion, I had expressed my surprise regarding how frank they were about the market, the competition, where they are weak, and where they are strong. I could not help but wonder why they were so open. The response I received was […]

Referring to themselves as the last of the great independents, Zycus call was unexpected and interesting

January 26, 2016

I must admit that I was a little surprised when I received an e-mail from Zycus indicating that they wanted to talk with me to provide an update on their company. It is not because I am not a good conversationalist. I think that I can be an interesting, delightful, and perhaps even entertaining contributor to any […]

Why a vendor’s values are more important than their technology

January 20, 2016

As reader interest continues to shift from technical specifications and Magic Quadrant ratings, to focus instead on real performance indicators such as assessing the people and values behind a company, covering our industry requires an entirely different set of skills than it did in the past. Given the increasing level of comfort and competency that today’s […]

But You Can’t Say That, or Why Do I Write What I Write?

January 15, 2016

Someone recently asked me why I write what I write? My initial response was to say something reminiscent of the sentiments expressed by George Leigh Mallory regarding why he climbed Mount Everest . . . because it is there. In short, I write because I love to write. However – and this is just my viewpoint, […]

A Quick Thought: Has the Top 30 Under 30 Gone MIA?

January 13, 2016

I was, like many in our industry, delighted when ThomasNet and ISM teamed up to launch the Annual Top 30 Under 30 program. I even did a radio segment on it shortly after the campaign was launched in early 2014. By focusing on a group of 30 “rising”supply chain stars who, as the name suggests, […]

Musings For A New Year: Do vendors have to make it in the U.S. to be successful?

January 12, 2016

Editor’s Note: The following are musings from a mind with too much caffeine, a computer, and observational inclinations. As such, beyond what is plainly written, there is an underlying message. Do you know what it is? If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere . . . – Lyrics from the song New York, New […]

For the majority of procurement professionals, does technology really matter?

November 25, 2015

Or to put it in a less eloquent and more direct fashion . . . just shut up and deliver, and in the process enable me to do a better job without my having to hear and think about you.