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Procurement decisions don’t fail inside procurement. They fail when real-world conditions hit them. That’s what we assess.
Analyst’s pessimistic prediction regarding SAP prompts the question . . . Are ERP Vendors down for the count?!
November 18, 2010
“On that note, it’s time to take a battering ram to European business software giant SAP, it seems. “SAP will continue to battle it out on the sales front, but the reality is that business intelligence (from the Business Objects acquisition) is the feeding tube keeping the old man alive,” it snipes. “As customers contemplate […]
As 23rd Annual Virginia Forum 2010 comes to a close, three Commonwealth buyers offer their view on the conference
November 18, 2010
Once again, and as a testimony to the power of social media, we were able to quickly traverse the virtual airwaves to connect with three Commonwealth of Virginia buyers who were kind enough to provide their unique perspectives on this year’s Forum and the emerging trends in the world of public sector procurement. This is […]
Centralized Buying and Staff Reductions at The Heart of Whitehall Plan
November 16, 2010
What stands out the most to me based on a preliminary review of the Cabinet Office’s “plans to slash administration costs, including procurement operations, by £100 million in 2013-14,” is that the approach from a purchasing standpoint is at once a courageous acknowledgment of the need to make hard and even unpopular decisions, tempered by […]
Has the ERP-world finally come down to this . . . An Ariba For Dummies?!
November 16, 2010
“How’s your business’s commerce health? Need some improving? Businesses must tap flexible solutions that enable them to access the resources they need as they need them to collaborate more efficiently and effectively with their trading partners. This little book helps you assess your business commerce health and then introduces a new approach to making things […]
Posted in: Commentary
2008 Post on Bridging the Communications Gap Between Finance and Purchasing is Now a Generational Reality
November 16, 2010
Note: The following post will be reprinted in the Corporate United Q4, 2010 “A Word From Our Partner” newsletter column When I first started investigating the obvious communication gap between the financing and purchasing departments within organizations in 2008, there were telltale indicators that such a breakdown existed. The most ominous was the fact that […]
Posted in: Commentary, Procurement Trends
With SaaS-Sprawl Fear Tactics Falling on Deaf Ears and Continuing Lawsuits 2010 is a Year most ERP Vendors Would Probably Like to Forget! Yet Few in the Industry Tell the Story?
November 14, 2010
I have on many occasions wondered why over the years, there has been little if any coverage on the continuing (and still growing list of) failures on the part of ERP-centric initiatives to deliver results given the seemingly inexhaustible number of case references that have appeared in a variety of mediums including television news. Like […]
Posted in: Commentary, Procurement Trends
23rd Annual Virginia Forum delivers insights into one of the few public sector success stories
November 14, 2010
Editor’s Note: While a somewhat severe allergic reaction has caused me to forgo my Virginia keynote on Monday, the PI Window on Business will still be on-site (thanks to our sponsor), to provide time delayed coverage of seven live sessions. Even though restricted to bed, I will also be providing daily coverage with blog posts, […]
North Carolina Ariba-based Procurement Program Tanks: Department of National Defence Deja Vu?
November 10, 2010
I remember when I did my research of the North Carolina At Your Service procurement platform in 2004 for a white paper that was published in early 2005. Based upon Ariba technology (is it just me or is Ariba turning-up like the proverbial bad penny of failed initiatives?), what impressed me the most had nothing […]
Posted in: Commentary
TomorrowNow Lawsuit Underlines the Fact that to SAP and Oracle, Customers are Nothing More than Chess Pieces in A Wall Street Game
November 9, 2010
TomorrowNow was founded in December 1998 by Andrew Nelson and Seth Ravin, to provide upgrade and technical service to PeopleSoft licensees with large, complex environments. In March 2002, the company changed its business to focus on providing third-party maintenance and support service to companies licensing enterprise software. In January, 2005, TomorrowNow was purchased by SAP […]
Procurement Insights 
Busch and Hansen’s Shared Views on Ariba Dummies Book is Bad News for the Much Maligned Vendor
November 19, 2010
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It is safe to say that both Jason Busch and I have not always seen eye-to-eye. In fact one might even suggest that our “spirited” exchanges have been more reflective of cantankerous old men (not that either of us is old), trading barbs across an unbridgeable gulf of opposing views. It is not a matter […]