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Procurement decisions don’t fail inside procurement. They fail when real-world conditions hit them. That’s what we assess.
Bridging the disconnect between finance and purchasing (Part 4): Determining true economic performance through real-time production logistics
September 16, 2011
“It is equally important to measure the allocation of financial resources that look beyond standard capital investment analysis tools such as time value of money, rate of return, salvage value, and so on, and take into account the ongoing value to the equity stakeholders in securing this investment. Economic Value Add (EVA), a financial analysis […]
Posted in: Commentary, Finances
Bridging the disconnect between finance and purchasing (Part 3): EPS and the Swinging Pendulum of Responsibility
September 14, 2011
Now comes the fun part. The changes which are possible – based on what I’ve described so far, are identified in blue in the next figure. Revenues are shown to increase 3%, purchased goods and services costs (as a % of revenues) are reduced from 60% to 55%, and SG&A expenses as a % of […]
Posted in: Commentary, Finances
Bridging the disconnect between finance and purchasing (Part 2): Leveraging purchasing to improve ROIC
September 13, 2011
What’s really cool is that software leviathans are awakening to the promise of these treasures and developing increasingly powerful IT solutions that leverage the Internet to multiply the savings potential and add speed. And the reason extremely few companies are doing well? Poor executive leadership. from the book Straight to the Bottom Line: An Executive’s […]
Posted in: Commentary, Finances
The Origins and Evolution of a Paradigm Shift in Spend Management Technology – Jon Hansen on the Coupa Cabana
September 12, 2011
In addition to this week’s series on bridging the disconnect between finance and purchasing – which started today with the post Don’t sweat the small stuff? Why industry experts point to Indirect Material Spend as an important reservoir of untapped savings!, I also have a second series running over on the Coupa Cabana Blog regarding the […]
Posted in: Commentary
Don’t sweat the small stuff? Why industry experts point to Indirect Material Spend as an important reservoir of untapped savings!
September 12, 2011
With regard to costs, the conventional wisdom is that procurement should focus principally on the “big ticket” areas of spend, such as raw materials and energy. And, you certainly should devote attention to raw materials and energy – not just to reduce costs, but also to reduce volatility through better risk management. But, if you […]
Posted in: Commentary, Finances
Fiscal realities and Government contracting (Part 4): Supplier cause and effect
September 9, 2011
It is a funny thing that as a writer when you put the virtual pen to paper you never really know what will or will not strike a note with your readers. All you can truly hope is that your passion for the subject matter coupled with sound research practices will prove worthy of consideration […]
Fiscal realities and Government contracting (Part 3): Compliance over Value?
September 8, 2011
Government contracting must be conducted in a manner that will: stand the test of public scrutiny and reflect fairness in the spending of public funds; respect operational requirements; support long-term industrial and regional development and other appropriate national objectives, including aboriginal economic development; and comply with the government’s obligations under the trade agreements. from the […]
Fiscal realities and Government contracting (Part 2): Understanding the purchasing connection
September 8, 2011
The drop in real estate values and its impact on property taxes is easy to envision. But that’s just part of the problem. Deeper seated is linkage between housing construction, and the many ways that home sales and building activity affect state and local government revenues. from the November 2010 Governing magazine article “The Housing […]
With postmaster general Patrick R. Donahoe’s somewhat desperate plea to congress to bail out the listing and outdated agency, what impact does the USPS’ precarious financial situation have on supplier relations?
September 5, 2011
The United States Postal Service is a federal agency, like the other 125 agencies that make up the federal government; so by definition it operates at a deficit. It is partially funded by proceeds from the sale of mail delivery and associated services but it is also funded in the millions through the OMB for […]
Procurement Insights 
Okay, Technically this isn’t a “business” purchasing story but . . .
September 19, 2011
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I have to admit that perhaps having past the half century mark a couple of years ago, I may not get enough bran in my diet but . . . the following is an article I had posted in the 49th Parallel Forum blog earlier today and I just had to share it with my […]