Information technology Archives - Page 3 of 3

What is procurement’s future in the 4th Industrial Revolution?

Leave a Comment / e-Procurement, Information technology, Spend Analysis, Supply Chain Management SCM, Technology, Tools / Editor

The fourth Industrial Revolution, characterised by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the Iines between the physical, digital and biological spheres, builds on the digital revolution (known as the Third Industrial Revolution) that has been occurring since the 1950’s, said the World Economic Forum. ‘4IR’ has seen the emergence of technologies in procurement, […]

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Why your organisation should benchmark

Leave a Comment / Benchmarking, Information technology / Editor

Organisations seeking to become leaner and more efficient can’t manage what they don’t measure. “Over the 15 years that I have been benchmarking SA organisations I have seen very little evidence that there is any direct relationship between how much organisations procure and the prices they pay. Rather, it is better-informed organisations that pay

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Buying Telecommunications? Avoid long-term agreements

Leave a Comment / Benchmarking, Commentary, Information technology, Spend Analysis, Tools & Tips, Top Stories / Editor

Dramatic changes expected in the South African telephony market over the next few years mean buyers of telephony and IT services (fixed line and mobile) should avoid long-term agreements with their current service provider(s), keep on top of market offerings and understand the changing need of the businesses they serve, says Purchasing Index’s (PI)

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The ‘Millennials’ workforce will change the supply chain (Part 1)

Leave a Comment / Change, e-Procurement, Information technology, Sourcing Strategy, Technology, Tools / Editor

While on a search around the web, Richard Downs, Director, Solutions Marketing – EMEA, Ariba, an SAP Company, came across a statistic which made him ponder how traditional business challenges will change in the future: 75% of the workforce in 2025 will be ‘Millennials’. In part one of two, Downs wonders how traditional procurement

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Procurement’s image problem

Leave a Comment / Information technology, Procurement Strategy, Sourcing Strategy, Supplier Management, Supply Chain Management SCM, Technology / StaffWriter

The Procurement profession has a serious image problem. Most South African organisations, whether corporate or government, still do not see the profession as a strategically important function… “How many Procurement professionals report directly to the CEO? Only two out of over 70!” Dr. Douglas Boateng, CEO of Panavest International, was responding to a show of

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Does single source supply give customers leverage?

Leave a Comment / Information technology, Print / Document, Smart Sourcing, Sourcing Strategy / StaffWriter

During the Apartheid era, organisations often grew by purchasing or amalgamating with their competitors. As a result, in the 1990s, when organisations had access to the world stage, South Africa had and still has many industries that are controlled by monopolies or duopolies. Whilst most organisations believe that increased competition amongst their suppliers to be

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PC pricing – New opportunities

Leave a Comment / Benchmarking, Information technology / Editor

“The supply of Personal Computers (PCs) remains a competitive market, particularly as sales volumes in South Africa may hold up better in 2009 than in other parts of the world, such as Europe and America. One can therefore expect suppliers to be particularly keen to increase market share in this sector. Purchasing Index (PI) continues

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Effective & Efficient IT Procurement… more than hard bargaining.

Leave a Comment / Information technology, Procurement Strategy / StaffWriter

“Organisations spend up to 90% of their Information Technology (IT) budgets on external providers, but sometimes fail to get true value for their spend. This scenario makes the procurement process a critical area in IT as it is essential for organisations to get consistent value for their spent monies”, Deon Basson, MD of 2interact, told

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Transforming procurement in a strong IT environment: Hardware, Software, Services and Telecomunications case studies

Leave a Comment / Information technology, Procurement Strategy, Sourcing Strategy / bernievn

"How does the procurement function get its hands on the company’s IT spend?" is a key question in many large organisations. It turns out that getting the mandate is only the start of the game. Getting a strong IT function to support and implement the proposed procurement strategies is a different kettle of fish. Here

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SmartTelephony – The costs of business communications are in steady decline

Leave a Comment / Information technology, Sourcing Strategy, Technology / StaffWriter

The world of Business Communications has fast become the focal point of several converging technologies that are racing to fill the worldwide need for cost efficiency and higher productivity. Piet Henning, a communications expert told delegates at a recent Smart Procurement breakfast that: “South Africa is an anomaly in that it is required to serve

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