Category Management Archives - Page 8 of 17

On-demand strategic sourcing and category management services

Leave a Comment / Category Management, Service Outsourcing, Strategic Sourcing / Editor

As sourcing becomes increasingly responsible for supplier relationship and contract management, personnel are often stretched too thin across multiple categories and suppliers to effectively manage expenditure. Furthermore, headcount within procurement groups typically grows at a rate insufficient to meet those increasing demands. Utilising the internal procurement organisation in collaboration with third-party support can lead […]

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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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Call to participate in a SA workspace management benchmark service

Leave a Comment / Benchmarking, Facilities Management Services FMS / Editor

Many organisations are seeking ways to fit more staff into less office space, while maintaining a conducive and more productive work environment. Disparate business unit requirements may also complicate central planning of the workspace – some divisions may require hot-desking and allow work-from-home, while others want all staff in the office permanently, working together

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2014 Trends in South African logistics

Leave a Comment / Commentary, Logistics, Service Outsourcing, Top Stories / Editor

The CSIR’s 10th Annual State of Logistics Survey for South Africa¹, released in May 2014, highlights progress made and areas for improvement in South African logistics. The survey’s results mirror Tech-Pro’s experiences in this increasingly specialised area of supply chain management, Tech-Pro tells SmartProcurement. Subtitled ‘Bold Steps Forward’, the survey emphasises the growing importance

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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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SA Logistics must make bold steps to drive costs down

Leave a Comment / Category Management, Change, Commentary, Logistics, Service Outsourcing, Top Stories / Editor

Increased fuel price still biggest cost driver Rising costs and the global economic situation spell out increased competition and tighter margins in the logistics industry. Driving down the cost of logistics and making South Africa more competitive will require no less than bold steps forward, finds the 10th State of Logistics Survey. Published by the

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Value for Money trumps low cost when assessing logistics partners

Leave a Comment / Logistics, Service Outsourcing, Top Stories / Editor

Research in the Courier and Express Parcel (CEP) industry shows that brands choosing a delivery partner consider reliability, efficiency and accuracy of data before cost. “You get what you pay for.” South African businesses seeking CEP partners are familiar with this maxim, according to a benchmark research report prepared by independent research specialists TerraNova.

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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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Current procurement methods do not support mini budget’s austere measures

Leave a Comment / Commentary, e-Procurement, Procurement Strategy, Smart Sourcing, Technology, Tools, Travel / Editor

Many of the key items subject to austere measures under Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s mini budget fall under the Travel and Expense (T&E) portfolio. While these cost-cutting measures are a step in the right direction to curb excessive spending, Tracey Shaw, of travel technology company TraveluXion, wonders how they will be implemented in practice

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Why does Travel & Expense procurement still favour manual processes?

Leave a Comment / Strategic Sourcing, Technology, Travel / Editor

Shirley Le Roux, MD of TraveluXion, wonders why there has been such a slow uptake of effective technology by travel procurement professionals, particularly considering that they work in complex environments across multiple locations and across multiple Travel Management Company (TMC) partners, in this month’s SmartProcurement. Every edition of Travel Buyer (formerly Business Traveller) contains

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Category Management