For me, reading a book about entrepreneurship is an odd experience. I did start and run my own business, and now I am a Partner at Art of Procurement… but none of it was on purpose. I typically operat...

Companies spend millions developing and implementing new technology and processes to enable more effective MRO supply chain management practices. The goal is to better manage the flow of spare parts w...

“In many cities of the country there’s a fear of the streets especially if there’s disorder and things are in disarray. In many organizations there is a fear of management. No small part of this is du...

“We are rarely totally engaged or present. We are digitally distracted. And, as I said earlier, on an ongoing basis we have tuned out what’s happening around us.”  - Julienne B. Ryan, p. 22  ...

My first recommendation on Emotional Intelligence is for procurement and supply chain professionals to benchmark their own personal emotional intelligence aptitude. I used the book Emotional Intellige...

Editor's Note: There are all kinds of surprises waiting to be found in the MyPurchasingCenter archive, and this interview post is one of them. Joanna Martinez, is a good friend of mine and well known ...

“The funny thing about truth is you cannot change it. When something is true, it is true.”  - Dan Andrew, p. 20 First Trust: Your Guide from Rags to Riches for an Abundant Life and Career by Dani...

Procurement and supply chain professionals must be aware of and strive to improve their emotional intelligence. It has a key impact in negotiations. Soft skills are becoming more important - even in the digital age.

Most purchasing professionals have never heard of appreciative inquiry. It is a systematic discovery process to search for what is best or positive in an organization or its strengths. These strengths...

In 2015, MyPurchasingCenter talked to William Moore, Senior Vice President, Sales and Channel Development at SKF USA. Moore sees value in frank discussions between procurement and suppliers, especiall...

Go on. Be honest. You’ve read the slickly worded job description and sat through an interview listening to animated energetic, buzz words and you‘re very interested. But at the same time, haven’t you ...

Since I stepped back from running Spend Matters Europe at the end of 2018, I have had more time for cycling and my bass guitar (although if you heard me, you might not be convinced that I’ve improved ...

Running a procurement or supply chain organization poses unique leadership challenges. These organizations are constantly “fighting fires,” handling unique crises, and influencing a broad network of people - internally and externally.

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.

This content was made possible by a collaboration with SAP Procurement Strategic management of contract and contingent workforce resources will be essential to business recovery in the aftermath ...

Why do organizations continue to use high priced consultants and consulting firms instead of their own talented employees? Before I answer this, I must confess that I am an experienced consultant having worked for both small and large consulting firms.

This content was published on the MyComplianceOffice blog on June 30, 2020 “Most corporate purchasing is slow, opaque, and downright onerous—fueled by a broader objective to control spending.” A....

Over the past two decades, procurement has made great strides in transitioning from a transactional, back-office function to a strategic, value-adding organization. However, the hard work is far from over. Procurement has fought to get a seat at the table with c-level executives, but now it’s time for procurement to prove that it deserves that seat and can keep it.

Procurement’s role in an organization touches across many departments, suppliers, countries, and competitors. This situation requires that procurement professionals possess excellent communication skills and the ability to quickly adapt to different cultures, perspectives and crises. 

There are times when “no” or “not interested” are positive words. If we contact a supplier and we find out that “no, we don’t owe money”, a “no” can sound lyrically poetic. If we are getting robo-called and the company finally understands that “do not call” means “not interested,” life is good and these words have served our purpose well. 

However, “no” or “not interested” are not our favorite words during a job search. Even if we decide that “this is not for me” and we don’t like the job, the team or the company, those words smart when we find out that the feeling is mutual.