Metrics are a critical aspect of measuring the success of any business function. The importance of quantifying progress against goals and objectives cannot be overstated. Without a metrics program, un...

Procurement organizations often note one pursuit above all else: getting a seat at the table. I think we have coined this phrase more than any other in the procurement space in the last decade. If you...

Jack Welch once noted that the only two departments that drive revenue directly to the bottom line are sales and procurement.  He noted that the other departments were basically overhead. I would also include supply chain professionals in this revenue generating group.

Sustain Your Gains, by Michael McCarthy, is ultimately a guide to human behavior in the face of change. Although the initial sections of the book serve as a primer to Lean and Six Sigma methodologies,...

“The best operating strategies and metrics portfolios are built when companies translate business strategy into tactical plans.” (p. 47)

Supply Chain Metrics That Matter (Wiley, 2015) was written by Lora Cecere, founder of Supply Chain Insights and author of the Supply Chain Shaman blog. I am familiar with her work from the many webinars she has spoken on, as well as through the Supply Chain Index developed by her research firm.

It’s that time of year. Don’t shrink from the performance review process. It’s a time to reflect on the past year’s results, recognize accomplishments, and reset expectations with your staff for the u...

 Are you just joining us? We’re working our way through a series of posts on performance reviews and objective setting for the start of the New Year. Click here to read my recent posts on perform...

 This is the last in a series of posts on performance reviews and objective setting for the start of the New Year. Click here to read my recent posts on performance reviews from the manager’s and...

Last week I presented a webinar (hosted by Supply Chain Now Radio, APICS Atlanta, and Talent Stream) on Managing Your Metrics: Making Sure Your Metrics Deliver the Desired Results. The webinar is now available on demand, and you can access it here.

It’s been a good couple of weeks for research in procurement. Late last week, Proxima Group released their findings around how consumers perceive companies that find themselves entangled in supplier-related controversies. Then on Tuesday, Xchanging shared the first results from research they did with input from over 800 procurement decision-makers spread evently across the U.S., U.K., and mainland Europe.

While the complete research will be released one chapter at a time (starting with the New Role of Procurement), the high level findings suggest that the sources of procurement’s challenges aren’t what we previously thought.

“Crate training uses a dog's natural instincts as a den animal. A wild dog's den is his home, a place to sleep, hide from danger, and raise a family. The crate becomes your dog's den, an ideal spot to snooze or take refuge during a thunderstorm.”

– Humane Society

It is the worst question Procurement ever faces. C'mon – you know what question I'm talking about. That horrible, terrible question from Finance for which there is no good answer… If Procurement worke...

IBM's Institute for Business Value (IBV) just released the largest, most comprehensive Chief Procurement Officer Study ever conducted, with participation from 1,128 CPOs from organizations with annual revenue in excess of US$1 billion. According to the study, “Companies with high performing procurement organizations have profit margins 15 percent higher than the average company and 22 percent higher than those of companies with lower performing procurement organizations.”

The calendar continues to fill up, and this week I added events that are scheduled well into the month of July. There are 12 events taking place this week alone. Unlike other years, when things slowed down more for the July 4^th holiday, there will definitely be event recommendations for the week of June 29-July 3. In addition to the events listed below for this week, I’d like to recommend two longer term events:

When life hands you lemons… right? On the one hand, we’re all trapped in our homes with spouses, kids, and pets, trying to make sense of this new reality. On the other hand, I’ve never had so many pleasant, optimistic calls with colleagues in my whole life. This is and amazing and resilient community! Oh, and there are 12 webinars this week – 6 of which I added to the calendar yesterday.

If you are planning your schedule further ahead, I’m going to go big picture this week… I recommend going back to the office and sending your kids back to the school. Go to a store, meet a friend for lunch, HUG… shake hands… date TBA.

BTW: If you haven’t already, sign up for our mailing list to be sure you get my weekly recommendations in your Inbox each Monday.

This week started out looking kind of bleak, and then at the last minute there were several excellent additions to the events calendar. I’ve recommended what I see as the best below, but you can look at the full calendar to see what else is scheduled this week and into March.

If you are planning your webinar schedule further ahead, I recommend “Top 10 Supply Chain Risk Trends in 2020 – The Big Reveal” from Supply Chain Now and Resilience360 on March 5^th at 11am ET.

BTW: If you haven’t already, sign up for our mailing list to be sure you get my weekly recommendations in your Inbox each Monday.

I don’t mean to alarm anyone, but it is officially November. Knowing that there are only 8 weeks left in the year – even before serious cutouts for holidays – is much scarier than anything we saw last week for Halloween.

In addition to this week’s webinar recommendations, CFO Summit XXXVIII is taking place the 7^ththrough the 9^thin Irving Texas.

If you are looking for a longer term webinar recommendation, I have two for you. The first is an update: the AOP Live session scheduled for October 29^thhad to be rescheduled because the primary speaker, Joseph Yacura, and his family were evacuated from their home in California due to the massive wildfires out there. The Current State of Digital Readiness: Mastering the Supply Chain Data Challengewill now take place on November 20th. 

And we have a new AOP Live on the calendar, From Isolated Zero to Enterprise Hero: Best Practices for Managing Holistic Procurement Performance with Pierre Lapree and Jason Trieda will take place on November 12^th. Both events are live, broadcast with video and likely to lead to highly engaged discussions.

BTW: If you haven’t already, sign up for our mailing list to be sure you get my weekly recommendations in your Inbox each Monday.

This summer's webinar schedule seems to be feast or famine. There was only one event last week, while this week offers eight in three days.

If you are planning your webinar schedule beyond this week, I recommend “How Procurement Can Win the Hearts and Minds of Marketers” from Real Sourcing Network CEO Sandy Kane and a panel of marketing experts on September 26th. I realize that seems exceptionally far away, but as we trudge through the height of the summer heat, it is so appealing to think about attending an event in a lightweight sweater and while drinking a pumpkin spice latte.

BTW: If you haven’t already, sign up for our mailing list to be sure you get my weekly recommendations in your Inbox each Monday.

After last week’s craziness, we’re returning to a normal summer rate of procurement and supply chain webinars. As an FYI, I don’t currently have any events listed for the week after, most likely because of the July 4^th holiday in the US. Assuming that doesn’t change (especially at the last minute), there won’t be any webinar recommendations on July 1^st, bit I’ll pick right back up with them the week after.

If you are planning your webinar schedule beyond this week, I recommend ‘AI Driven Contract Management – Speed and Control CAN co-exist’ from IACCM and Ultria on July 9th at 2pm ET.

BTW: If you haven’t already, sign up for our mailing list to be sure you get my weekly recommendations in your Inbox each Monday.

As we turn the calendar to May, there are already 8 webinars and 3 conferences listed. If you are planning your webinar schedule beyond this week, I recommend ‘Procurement: The Forgotten Member of the Supply Chain Function’ hosted on June 19th by SCNRadio, TalentStream, and APICS Atlanta and presented by Jonathan M. Townsley, CPM Supply Chain Practitioner & Consultant.

BTW: If you haven’t already, sign up for our mailing list to be sure you get my weekly recommendations in your Inbox each Monday.