L. Gordon Crovitz recently wrote a ‘Commentary’ piece for the Wall Street Journal in which he simultaneously tackled the pervasive problem of fake news and announced the coming launch of his new company, NewsGuard.

The premise of the NewsGuard value proposition is interesting – Crovitz detailed the challenges caused by what has become a ‘news supply chain’. In many cases, we don’t get our news directly from the publisher, like we did in the olden days of newspapers. Instead we get news from another platform that is probably not dedicated to news: Google, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. This obscures our awareness of the actual source and increases the risk of reading and sharing fake news.

In August 2017, Hurricane Harvey struck a significant blow to the Houston, Texas metro area, home to the sixth largest import terminal in the world as well as all of the shipping lanes in the Gulf Coa...

Look out! Full week ahead! There are ten webinars in four days, and SIG is hosting their Spring Summit in Washington D.C. from the 26th through the 29th (be sure to seek out Phil Ideson if you’re going). If you like to plan further ahead, I recommend  “Trade Wars & Supply Chains: Measuring and Managing the Impact” from Supply & Demand Chain Executive and Resilinc on April 26th at 1pm ET. Click on the title of each recommended webinar below to view the full description and register.

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Earlier this month we ran a collaborative piece by Jeanette Jones (Cottrill Research) and I on the alleged manipulation of agricultural data in the chicken supply chain. You can read that post here.

Right after I started researching for the chicken story, I came across yet another great example of why we all have to be so cautious when we cite the source of a piece of information – only this time the main culprit is: PEPPA PIG.

As we officially enter spring, my recommended webinar topics are taking a fresh new focus. The birds are signing, plants are pushing their way into the sun, and procurement is thinking big – digital transformation, the financial supply chain, and innovation. If you like to plan further ahead, I recommend “How Artificial Intelligence will (and won’t) change Procurement and Contracting” from Determine and Forrester on March 27th. Click on the title of each recommended webinar below to view the full description and register.

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After a slow couple of weeks, the calendar is once again buzzing with activities. In addition to the webinars recommended below, ProcureCon Pharma is happening in Zurich on the 13th through the 15th and Procurement Leaders’ World Procurement Congress is happening in London on March 15-16. If you like to plan further ahead, I recommend “Applying B2C Strategies to Corporate Procurement” from BuyerQuest on March 28th. Click on the title of each recommended webinar below to view the full description and register.

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When working with transformation advisory clients, we often talk about the role of procurement and the need to change how they are perceived within the organization. Changing stakeholder perceptions i...

Just like last week, this week is light and webinars – and all of the events we have to chose from are on the same day! Next week the pace picks back up, with a number of webinars and two live events already scheduled. If you are interested in a ‘long shot’ webinar worth considering, I recommend “The New Corporate Cash Environment: Understanding Impacts On Financial Supply Chain & Cash Management” from SAPAriba on March 20th at 11am ET. Click on the title of each recommended webinar below to view the full description and register.

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I recently covered a fascinating story of present-day industry intrigue… centering around allegations by food distributors Sysco and USFoods that chicken producers (including Tyson and Perdue) have be...

This is a sleepy week after last week’s flurry of webinars and conferences. If you are interested in a ‘long shot’ webinar worth considering, I recommend “Artificial Intelligence - Changing the Landscape of Due Diligence and Monitoring” from ISM and LexisNexis on March 8th at 2pm ET. Click on the title of each recommended webinar below to view the full description and register.

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In addition to the virtual procurement and supply chain events taking place this week, ProcureCon Indirect East is running in Amelia Island, FL from the 20th through the 22nd. If you are interested in a ‘long shot’ webinar worth considering, I recommend “De-risking the international back-office during an acquisition” from SIG and TMF Group being offered on March 22nd at 1pm ET. Click on the title of each recommended webinar below to view the full description and register.

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Love is in the air this week… or is that the smell of something else ‘sweet’? If you are interested in a ‘long shot’ event worth considering, I (humbly) recommend the event I am presenting on March 13th as part of BravoSolution’s 2018 Real World Procurement series: Breaking Through the Tech Hype. You can read a preview of what I’ll discuss here… DO NOT EAT!. Click on the title of each recommended webinar below to view the full description and register.

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In addition to this week’s webinars - and it is a busy week with 10 to choose from! - Odesma is hosting GDPR ‘Open Houses’ on Feb. 6th and 8th at their offices in London. If you are interested in a ‘long shot’ event worth considering, I recommend ‘What is Intelligent Automation and Why Should You Care?’ from IRPA on February 20th. Click on the title of each recommended webinar below to view the full description and register.

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My recommendations for this week are below, but if you’d like a ‘long shot’ event worth considering, I recommend ‘Insights on Improving Business Spend Management in 2018’ from Coupa and CFO.com on February 23rd at 12n ET. Click on the title of each recommended webinar below to view the full description and register.

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In addition to the virtual events being held this week, ProcureCon Facilities is meeting in Ft. Lauderdale, FL (how nice for them…) on Monday and Tuesday. My recommendations for this week are below, but if you’d like a ‘long shot’ event worth considering, I recommend ‘How to Drive High Performance’ from SIG and Mike Staver on February 6th. Click on the title of each recommended webinar below to view the full description and register.

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Picture this: your organization needs to create a multi-year contract covering critical components for its manufacturing process. Because of the technical nature of those components, management reques...

Another week, and another ten new webinars are added to our calendar for January and February. My recommendations for this week are below, but if you’d like a ‘long shot’ event worth considering, I recommend ‘How Much Data Accuracy is Enough?’ from S&DCE, Oliver Wight, and the SAS Institute on January 31st. Click on the title of each recommended webinar below to view the full description and register.

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“We can spot an Expensive Sentence by its impact. Expensive Sentences limit information. They end conversations. They create urgency and isolation. They reduce options. They steal choice.” (p. xviii) ...

Have you ever wondered why your savings projections supersede the realized savings? Have you ever been challenged by your finance department to validate the projected cost savings one year into an agr...

Happy New Year! We’re off and running – I added 11 new webinars to the calendar in January and February this weekend. Of all the new year’s resolutions, Ardent Partners’ were apparently the most resolute! They aren’t missing a beat, and as a result they dominate this week’s recommendations. Click on the title of each recommended webinar below to view the full description and register.

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