Reading the various business travel magazines, a hot topic that seemingly hasn’t been resolved is how to alleviate the cost risk of unexpected credit card interest charges that are levied against a company for late payment. And it’s not that corporations are avoiding paying their suppliers, rather, it’s accounts payable departments’ checks and balances and […]
How high are your travel credit card interest charges? Read More »
Without an expenditure management facility in its arsenal a Travel Management Company (TMC) can only provide a client organisation with post-travel recommendations to improve its travel policy, rendering the ability to manage wasteful or excessive expenditure (read budget control) relatively ineffective, Tracey Shaw of Traveluxion tells SmartProcurement. Clients expect a TMC to roll out cost
Managing a travel budget – who is expending how much and when? Read More »
The art of penny pinching – not spending money unnecessarily, rather than being cheap – is a sound policy for any corporation in tough economic times. From a travel perspective that means casting an eye over your corporate procurement policies because it is largely with forward planning that there are substantial savings to be made,
Planning will pinch your travel penny Read More »
Managing an organisation’s operational environment normally involves an ‘unholy alliance’ between facilities management (FM), procurement and the users of the buildings, with pressure coming from finance to reduce costs. A common comment from many of Purchasing Index’s (PI’s) clients is that FM is a thankless task – users never thank you for getting it right
What to look for in outsourced Facilities Management Read More »
Many companies have achieved savings of 20% – 40% through implementing a managed print service (MPS). Consequently, the concept is growing in popularity on a global scale and locally in many procurement departments. Billy Bell, of Managed Print Services at DataCentrix, defines the relationship at a high level and some of the aspects that need
New MPS trend allows procurement to bank up to 40% Read More »
In short, Yes. A new higher cost profile has been placed under many commodities, says John Mothersole of economic analysis and forecasting organisation IHS. “Volatility has increased significantly – and is likely a permanent feature of supply chains,” says Mothersole. This raises the need to not only track commodity prices, but also the corresponding factors
Is the commodity price environment today different from the past? Read More »
Traditional ways for a corporate business traveller to book a trip are changing dramatically and rapidly. There are so many more choices and tools available than ever before, via more innovative sources and channels, Ross Kata noted at a recent ITMSA travel forum. “The trend is now towards business self-service, which has accelerated owing to
Business travel procurement – the future is arriving fast Read More »
Context The procurement function of a large South African facilities management specialist was underperforming – the function was characterised by inadequate risk mitigation and limited strategic influence. Concurrently, the facility manager’s primary client, one of the South Africa’s major telecommunications service providers, contractually raised the facility manager’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The context demanded wholesale
Case Study: Sourcing success through restructuring the procurement function Read More »
South African organisations have enjoyed declining domestic air ticket prices over the last 24 months on routes between Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. However, there are further savings to be made, Karen van Staden of benchmarking organisation Purchasing Index (PI) tells SmartProcurement. Over the last couple of years costs for domestic airlines have risen dramatically
Further domestic air ticket savings possible Read More »
Facilities services are to a great extent outsourced to specialist companies who do the work or subcontract it to other companies, while the client organisation manages the facilities management (FM) arrangements. In some cases the whole of FM has been outsourced. Over the last 11 years Purchasing Index (PI) has benchmarked many aspects of FM
Getting the most from outsourced facilities management Read More »
