From the impact on the automotive industry to the near-term pricing and margin pressure considerations of the high tech sector, coverage of the Japan disaster has been a mixed bag of targeted relevancy

March 21, 2011

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“The problem is that there’s so much uncertainty,” Mr. Toprak said. “The supply-chain problem is a much more dramatic one than what the automakers are portraying. Even if they were able to come online in two weeks, which I think is wishful thinking, there’s a couple hundred thousand units to make up already, and nobody […]

Posted in: Commentary

Probability Theory and Assessing the Impact of the Japan Disaster

March 16, 2011

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Global supply chains in the process industries are usually very large scale systems that can be comprised of up to hundreds of or even thousands of production facilities, distribution centers and customers. Due to competition in the global marketplace, process industries are facing increasing pressure to manage their supply chains so as to reduce costs […]

Posted in: Commentary

Cross platform compatibility and data extraction/sharing pre-dates ERP applications

March 15, 2011

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The following is today’s post from the Rosslyn Analytics Blog regarding their recent release of the RA.PID Extract for SAP solution which promises targeted, accurate one-click extraction in 60 seconds. Sometimes certain things remind you of just how long you have been around the high tech world such as when Rosslyn Analytics recently announced the […]

Posted in: Commentary

Supply Chains are indeed the ties that bind us all in a global economy

March 12, 2011

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Last June 23rd I can vividly recall the feelings I had when while sitting at my desk, our region was struck by what turned out to be a 5.0 magnitude earthquake.  With the epicenter a mere 25 kilometers from my office, the rolling build-up and corresponding shaking, was tantamount to a jet airplane flying through […]

Absence of Truth in Bidding Post Should Get Everyone in the Contracting Pews Standing Up and Shouting AMEN!

March 9, 2011

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IACCM research has revealed widespread concern about the integrity of the bidding and negotiation process.  Contracts and Legal practitioners recognize that this is the phase when foundations are laid for future claims and disputes. A recent survey suggests that failure to properly describe, understand or respond to requirements accounts for 40% of failed or troubled […]

Supply Chain Finance (Part 3): How A Misdirected Overemphasis On Process Undermines Best Value Purchasing

March 7, 2011

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In the previous installment in this series, I talked about the fact that it has became abundantly clear that addressing the challenges that vendors face when they decide to pursue government contracts, is not something that can be solved from the supplier side of the equation. For example, and citing the AMEX study results yet […]

Emancipating Your IT Department Through Web-Based Spend Intelligence

March 4, 2011

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Viador Business Intelligence, Reporting and Analytical solutions are entirely web-based and can be hosted in a local environment or in the Cloud.  We bring over 15 years of Business Intelligence and Analytics expertise to business reporting and analysis. from the Home Page of the Viador website References to Spend Intelligence seems to come up from every direction, every day […]

Supply Chain Finance (Part 2) Efficiency Over Financing: A 30 Year Public Sector Executive Provides His Take On Supply Chain Financing

March 2, 2011

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No, this is the “cost” of doing business with the government. B2G is NOT for everyone and there are no guarantees that after 19.5 months business will occur.  There are resources to help companies long the way, though: PTACs, SBDCs and SCORE are all excellent – see links below.  Like any market niche, there are […]

A CFO provides his perspective on the question of supply chain finance in the public sector

February 25, 2011

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A funny thing happened on the way to writing Part 2 of the planned series on Supply Chain Finance . . . a debate broke out. Of course I would prefer a good debate any day over the monologue associated with a single discourse. It is in this spirit of conversational exchange, that I am […]

When it comes to spend intelligence, the old axiom of you can’t manage what you can’t measure should be; you can’t manage what you can’t access (on a timely basis)

February 24, 2011

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Note: The following is an excerpt from today’s post on the Rosslyn Analytics Blog.  Use the following LINK to access the article in its entirety. If you can measure that of which you speak and can express it by a number, you know something of your subject; but if you cannot measure it, your knowledge […]