This week, each of my picks is pushing a boundary in some way – whether through more advanced approaches to risk, the collaborative frontier, or… well… running an ultramarathon to prepare for better category management. Click on the title of each event below to view the full description in the events calendar and to connect to their registration pages.
Leveraging Supplier Management Best Practices to Mitigate Risks (ISM)
September 22, 2pm EDT
I used to work with Sherry Gordon – a supplier management expert and a speaker on this event, and I don’t think anyone else is so focused on that specific subset of procurement. She will be joined by Swapnil Srivastav, Assistant Marketing Manager at MetricStream, to talk about the fundamental processes and practices companies can put in place to mitigate risk as well as more advanced approaches including robust governance and optimized analytics technology.
Procurement Gets Collaborative (SAP/Ariba)
September 24, 11am EDT
This panel offers up an amazing panel of speakers – including Edward Cone, Oxford Economics’ Deputy Director of Thought Leadership and Tim Thomas, Head of Procurement at JBS, one of the world’s largest meatpacking businesses. As collaborative supply relationships become more important to procurement and the enterprise as a whole, we need to be prepared with the processes and skill sets required for success. In this webinar, Oxford Economics will share the results of research, including how big data and supplier networks contribute to the collaborative trend.
September 24, 2pm EDT
Also on Thursday, Chris Eyerman, Senior Director of Program Management for Denali Sourcing Services, and an ultramarathon runner, will apply what he has learned in training and competing to being successful at category management. I looked up ultramarathons to see how long they are. While there is no fixed distance like the 26.2 mile traditional marathon, ultramarathons may be 30, 50 or 100 miles long. Category management couldn’t possibly be harder than that.
The Procurement Value Proposition The Rise of Supply Management (Zycus)
September 24, 7pm EDT (This event is scheduled for 9am AEST)
My last recommendation for the week is one that most people outside of Australia won’t attend live given its time, but the author and topic are well worth hearing. Gerard Chick co-authored the Procurement Value Proposition with Dr. Robert Handfield. It is one of the best written and most compelling books on procurement you can buy. If you think you can make it work – sign up for this webinar to hear Chick speak!