5 December 2012

CPOs with board ambitions must aim to become Chief Supply Chain Officers

Leave a Comment / Procurement Leaders, Procurement Strategy, Professional Development / Editor

Without doubt, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and other C-Suite organisational leaders (Chief Financial, Operating, Information, Marketing Officers) recognise the strategic value in procurement. However, the global dilemma these decision-makers face is whether current Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) are equipped with the right strategic and board-level skills to officially be admitted into their high-level discussion […]

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Absa proactively gets SMEs to link up with large companies

Leave a Comment / Enterprise Development, Supplier Management, Supplier Partnerships / Editor

Today’s investment in Enterprise Development is Tomorrow’s Secured Supply Absa Group, in collaboration with Supply Chain Network and Smart Procurement World, hosted the inaugural Enterprise Development Expo 2012, which aims at creating a significant platform for procurement, sourcing and supply management for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The event saw the public and business

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Top 5 global procurement trends are not practised as they should be

Leave a Comment / Procurement Strategy / Editor

The way procurement and supply chain professionals are currently ‘trending’ leaves a great deal to be desired, Ian Russell, Head of Commercial at SAB Miller, told delegates at November’s Smart Procurement World conference… What should be the top five global trends in procurement, according to Russell? Holistic, value-based cost management. Talent nurturing and development.

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Travel and expense management solutions: RFI Questions answered

Leave a Comment / Category Management, Spend Analysis, Technology, Travel / Editor

For as long as Shirley Le Roux, MD of TraveluXion, has been involved in travel management services she has been cognisant of the battle within organisations around Corporate Travel management. In this months’ SmartProcurement Le Roux explains that the battle is finding a workable balance when procuring travel, a balance that ensures that all the

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Managing supplier relationships through electronic business networks

Leave a Comment / Supplier Directories, Supplier Management / Editor

Business networks have opened the door to a new way of collaborating. Mega-shifts in how technology is delivered, accessed and used have created this new era of sharing knowledge and improved collaboration. Consequently, more and more companies across the globe are connecting to business networks to manage their trading relationships, Vanessa Burger, Services Director

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Enterprise development – where has entrepreneurial flair gone?

Leave a Comment / Procurement Strategy, Public Sector Procurement, Supplier Management, Supplier Partnerships / Editor

“Being black or a woman does not entitle you to 5% of a company’s procurement expenditure,” said Sisa Ntshona, Head of Enterprise Development (ED) at Absa, during an ED discussion at the 2012 Smart Procurement World Conference. “It still requires hard work. I miss entrepreneurial flair”. Ntshona added that developing customers is a big challenge

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Research study – supplier selection criteria in a B2B procurement environment

Leave a Comment / Supplier Management, Supplier Selection / Editor

Selecting a supplier is one of the most nerve wracking, but crucial activities an organisation must undertake. Your suppliers will be delivering your direct purchases, those that you use to produce the products you sell, and your indirect purchases, those that keep your business running effectively. When you select a potential supplier, you are

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PMI improves but still points to manufacturing contraction

Shocking trade deficit reminds us why local content has been designated in certain industries

Leave a Comment / News, Preferential Procurement, Procurement Strategy, Public Sector Procurement / Editor

A deficit of R21.2-billion was recorded on South Africa’s trade account in October‚ following a R13.8-billion deficit in September‚ according to SARS trade figures released in November. The deficit, at its worst level in several years, reminds us why the public sector took the decision to increase the utilisation of local content in manufactured products

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