Book Excerpt: The Purchasing Professional’s Guide to the Trends, Methodologies and Technologies that are Changing Business Forever

December 11, 2007

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After considerable prompting from my agent and publisher as well as the many professionals who have attended my conferences over the past year, I am pleased to announce that the first in a series of books and tutorials based on my extensive research and experiences will be available in early 2008. Titled “The Purchasing Professional’s […]

Posted in: News & Updates

Microsoft Acquires SAP? (A Commentary)

December 5, 2007

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In her December 3rd posting in Information Week, Mary Hayes Weier reported a rumor in which Microsoft was in the process of moving toward acquiring SAP.  The markets as Ms. Weier put it “felt strongly enough about the rumor that they drove up SAP’s stock by nearly 2%.”  She went on to say that “there […]

Posted in: Commentary

Is Cisco Really Driving 21st Century Supply Chain Innovation?

December 3, 2007

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Earlier this year, World Trade Magazine’s Neil Shister wrote an article titled “The 21st Century Supply Chain: Cisco Builds a Supply Chain.” Beside the article itself, what I found particularly interesting was his adjunct sidebar interview with Cisco’s Vice President, Worldwide Manufacturing Angel Mendez. Mr. Mendez, who Mr. Shister referred to as a “bona fide […]

Posted in: Procurement Trends

The Continuing Dangers of Vendor Rationalization

November 27, 2007

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As mentioned in my previous post, the feedback I receive from procurement professionals who attend my conferences never fail to make an impact in terms of the grassroots challenges they face on a daily basis. Often times, it is the adherence to long held beliefs and strategies that undermine their efforts to deliver maximum value […]

Posted in: Procurement Trends

How leadership repeatedly under-mines their most valuable procurement asset

November 20, 2007

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At a recent conference in which my Dangerous Supply Chain Myths seminar was introduced to a new audience, I was related a story that was both compelling and disconcerting.  Compelling in that it clearly demonstrated a lack of stakeholder collaboration, disconcerting in that it is an occurrence that is played over and over again within […]

Reader Question: Is a strong small business sector important to the stability and growth of a nation’s economy?

November 10, 2007

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In a word yes! And the critical role that public sector (government) policy plays in terms of being the primary link between successful domestic engagement and effective international cluster development cannot be underestimated. From a domestic engagement perspective, public sector procurement practices are leading to an erosion of the overall supply base. This escalating level […]

Two New Seminars from Procurement Insights

November 1, 2007

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(Conference No. 1) Developing a Dynamic Public Sector Supply Base This seminar examines in detail the critical elements that public sector policy plays in terms of being the primary link between successful Domestic Engagement and effective International Cluster Development. From a domestic engagement perspective, public sector procurement practices are leading to an erosion of the […]

Posted in: News & Updates

Can present day PWGSC woes be traced back to a 1995 article on the General Services Administration in the U.S.?

October 26, 2007

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“Of all the agencies and departments that have been discussed for privatization this year, the GSA would be one of the easiest to privatize.  Its many services are available from the private sector, whose more successful firms offer a blueprint for how a privatized GSA could survive and thrive in a competitive environment.  Moreover, because […]

Yes Virginia Revisited! Why some e-procurement initiatives succeed and others don’t! *(A Summit Simulpost)

October 23, 2007

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In a recent post that appeared in my Procurement Insights Blog titled The Ariba Interviews: Re-engineering the Future of On-Demand, (https://procureinsights.wordpress.com/) I reviewed a series of interviews I had with a senior executive from Ariba as well as members from the company’s PR firm. Of the considerable feedback I received as a result of the […]

The Privatization of PWGSC: Are Taxpayer Dollars Funding Private Sector Empire Building Within The Government Bureaucracy?

October 16, 2007

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You know the old story about peeling back the onion.  While the title to today’s post may seem a tad fantastic it is not out of the realm of possibility, at least from an operational perspective.  After all just ask the private insurance companies in Manitoba what they thought both before and after that provincial […]