16 March 2016

5 rules for procurement to follow in business relationships

Leave a Comment / Strategic Sourcing, Supplier Partnerships, Supply Chain Management SCM / Editor

Modern procurement is about reaching out, collaborating and working together to allow innovation. Both the goverment and the business sectors, even suppliers, can achieve better results if they work together to drive and improve procurement process in their organisations. Speaking at the 3rd Smart Procurement World Conference Western Cape, Tennesse University Professor in Supply […]

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Cost cutting returns to No.1 priority for CPOs

Leave a Comment / Sourcing Strategy, Strategic Sourcing, Supply Chain Management SCM / Editor

Last years’ top priority, elevating the role of procurement to a trusted advisor, pushed to second place, reports Supply Management. Procurement departments are facing a challenge to balance cost reduction with the desire to become better strategic partners because operating budgets and staffing will increase only slightly this year, according to research. The Hackett

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Purchasing and supplier selection fails to support SMME growth in Africa

Leave a Comment / Supplier Partnerships, Supplier Selection, Supply Chain Management SCM / Editor

A recent study has found that although procurement is globally recognised as playing an essential role in local and regional-wide industrialisation, current purchasing and supplier selection practices do little to support SMME growth on the continent. The study found that while over 55% of African-government expenditure went towards purchasing and procurement of goods and

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Purchasing commodities to achieve more than BEE compliance

Leave a Comment / BEE, Category Management, Print / Document, Professional Development / Editor

The BEE Codes have been top of mind since the beginning of 2016, unfortunately it is for the wrong reasons. Recent headline-grabbing stories of unprecedented racial tension have revealed a greater need to intensify efforts to achieve real transformation in South Africa. Despite being seen as a complex technological commodity, the provision of printers

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Commerciality and the outlook of CPOs in uncertain times

Leave a Comment / Change, Commentary, Procurement Strategy, Professional Development, Supply Chain Management SCM / Editor

“In these tough times, procurement and supply chain functions need to be agile to take care of the opportunities that present themselves, said Clive Govender, former head of Supply Chain for Anglo American Platinum at the Smart Procurement World Western Cape Conference. There is considerable uncertainty in South Africa’s immediate future: economically, commodity prices

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SA’s economic pressures require increased procurement controls

Leave a Comment / Commentary, Legal / Contract / Editor

The continued pressure on South Africa’s economic landscape requires procurement professionals to keep tight control on procurement processes. “There is a danger of taking shortcuts, even in procurement”, said Professor Jannie Rossouw of Wits University. There is pressure at all levels, said Rossouw, speaking at the Smart Procurement World Western Cape Conference. Owed to the

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PPPFA : #80/20PrinciplesMustFall

Leave a Comment / BEE, Compliance / Legal, Preferential Procurement / Editor

South Africa currently faces many problems and government must stop applying quick fixes and actually investigate the root of the problem and address it. This was the consensus at a Smart Procurement World Western Cape panel discussion. “PPPFA must not fall, but the principles of 80/20 and 90/10 must fall, simply because the framework

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Drive to buy local stalled by ‘tardy’ Treasury

Leave a Comment / Public Sector Procurement, Sourcing Strategy / Editor

Business Day – The government’s localisation drive had been delayed by a lack of Treasury approval for designations recommended by the Department of Trade and Industry, its director-general Lionel October said on Wednesday. The government’s procurement budget is about R500-billion a year and it has set a 75% target for local procurement. One of

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February PMI above 2015’s Q4 average

Leave a Comment / Commentary, PMI / Editor

South Africa’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) increased to 47.1 index points in February 2016, up from 43.5 in January. The highest level since October 2015, the index is now above the average recorded in 2015’s fourth quarter (Q4) of 45.6 index points.

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