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Procurement decisions don’t fail inside procurement. They fail when real-world conditions hit them. That’s what we assess.
Buyers Meeting Points’ 2012 Pro To Know Kelly Barner becomes a regular PI contributing columnist
April 16, 2012
I am pleased to welcome Buyers Meeting Points’ Kelly Barner as a regular contributing columnist to the Procurement Insights Blog. Kelly recently received the well deserved honor of being a 2012 Supply & Demand Chain Executive ‘Pro to Know’ for her (and partner Cindy Allen-Murphy’s) incredible work in both informing and empowering procurement professionals the […]
Posted in: Commentary, Guest Posting
Relational Outsourcing and The Role of Service Level Agreements (Part 2)
April 11, 2012
I could not agree with you more Jon. However, i would like to describe how service and service levels are viewed in a relational model. First let’s remember that one of the 6 attributes of “Relational” is “Alignment”. For those who are still using traditional project management practices to manage relationships, “Alignment” means that no […]
Posted in: Commentary, Outsourcing & Shared Services
Relational Outsourcing and The Role of Service Level Agreements (Part 1)
April 4, 2012
This study extends the view that formal contracts and relational governance function as complements rather than as substitutes. We investigate how specific characteristics of service level agreements (SLAs) impact relational governance in information technology outsourcing relationships. from the Abstract of the study The Role of Service Level Agreements in Relational Management of Information Technology Outsourcing: […]
Posted in: Commentary, Outsourcing & Shared Services
Never make a pretty woman your wife, or why charismatic leaders are overrated
March 30, 2012
NOTE: While a post on leadership is not what you would call a procurement topic along the same lines of one written about spend management or strategic outsourcing, it nonetheless has a very important impact on an organization including those of us who have occupied the hallowed offices of a purchasing department. For this reason […]
Posted in: Commentary
With the announcement of powerful, social network-oriented updates will critical mainstream pundits finally see WhyAbe as something more than a small offering from a boutique firm?
March 28, 2012
New enhancements benefit both the buying community and the suppliers that service them. The free site just added new ways for its users to benefit from registering. Buyers may now increase the exposure of their event by sharing it via social media links plugins to sites like Facebook, Google, Twitter, and more. Suppliers can use […]
Posted in: Commentary
Does the ISM acquisition of ADR send a warning shot over the bow of traditional consulting firms that a new model is on the near horizon?
March 27, 2012
In my preparation for my interview with ADR International’s Bill Michel, who’s company was recently acquired by ISM – well actually the association’s newly established for-profit company called ISM Services, I could not help but wonder if this marked the beginning of a new era. Specifically, if the ISM move finally represented the acknowledgement of […]
Posted in: Commentary, PI Window on Business (Show)
3 years to the date I first took to the virtual airwaves of Blog Talk Radio . . . boy does time really fly!
March 26, 2012
It is amazing at how quickly time flies . . . 3 years ago today I aired my very first episode on Blog Talk Radio . . . Closing in on my 500th show, I have a many memories upon which to reflect having had the great privilege of sharing the virtual airwaves with some […]
Posted in: Commentary, PI Window on Business (Show)
Relational Outsourcing: Contracting Will Never Be The Same!
March 22, 2012
When I was asked to review a new seminar on outsourcing contracting I have to admit that the “been there – done that” sentiment almost immediately came to mind. It is not that I am naturally cynical it is just that so many seminars relating to the contracting process seem to advocate a dot the […]
Posted in: Commentary, Outsourcing & Shared Services
Is the traditional association dead? Not if you’re proactively evolving your curriculum like ISM!
March 19, 2012
On the 28th of March I will have an opportunity to talk with ADR International’s Bill Michel about his organization recently being acquired by the Institute for Supply Management or ISM. For those of you who have followed both this blog and the PI Window on Business Show on Blog Talk Radio, you know that […]
Posted in: Commentary, PI Window on Business (Show)
Procurement Insights 
Confessions of a Real-World Procurement Professional by Kelly Barner
April 16, 2012
4
I will start my contributions to Procurement Insights by laying the truth right out in the open: I am terrible at math. But that confession is just the beginning. In college I took advanced music theory to avoid calculus, and I got my MBA by learning just enough about finance and accounting to get through […]