The seasonally-adjusted Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) declined to 46.2 index points in February 2019, down from 49.9 in January. “Despite the decline, the average recorded during the first two months of Quarter 1 of 2019 is slightly above the average seen in Quarter 4 of 2018”, noted the Bureau for Economic Research (BER) in its […]
February 2019 PMI down Read More »
Elaine Porteous clears up some common misconceptions about the ways in which procurement organisations can be structured as well as demystifies some of the associated jargon… Starting a new job can be both stressful and exhilarating. The people are different, the location is strange and the way they work is peculiar to that enterprise. There
Understanding the shape and cut of procurement organisations Read More »
The primary task of procurement is to provide the ‘right’ inputs for an organisation’s processes. The ‘right’ inputs are traditionally described as follows: – Inputs of the ‘right quality‘ – Delivered in the ‘right quantity‘ – To the ‘right place‘ – At the ‘right time‘ – For the ‘right price‘ These are often called the
The five rights of procurement Read More »
Blockchain hype has spread like wildfire… “But it’s time for a reality check”, says Bertrand Maltaverne, Solutions Consultant, who helps organisations to digitally transform their procurement practices. Don’t — Don’t — Don’t — Don’t believe the hype Don’t Believe the Hype is a song by Public Enemy that dates back to 1988 and (if loosely
Blockchain will not save the world (at least not this year…) Read More »
The seasonally-adjusted Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) edged lower to 49.9 index points in January 2019, down from 50.7 in December 2018. Despite the decline, the index remains 2 points above the average recorded in 2018, which suggests that manufacturing started the year on fairly solid footing. The performance of the PMI’s sub-components was more mixed,
January PMI points to solid start to 2019 Read More »
What better time to set and start tackling key objectives for 2019? Your New Year’s resolution should be to be better than best-in-class… “Achieving best-in-class performance won’t result in procurement becoming truly strategic and may actually hinder progress in the long term. So, don’t settle for best-in-class”, says Alex Saric, from source-to-pay suite provider Ivalua.
Your procurement resolution: don’t settle for best-in-class Read More »
Supply Management‘s Lucy Patchett takes a look at some of the key trends for 2019… Adaptability will be key to managing risk Procurement is operating in an uncertain environment, with negative impacts from Brexit, trade relations and general economic instability. Being ready to react to change efficiently will make all the difference. IHS Markit predicts
Procurement predictions for 2019 Read More »
In procurement analytics, there are two clear trends: 1. Data is the new oil. 2. Big data and advanced analytics, such as machine learning, deep learning and neural networks, definitely create new opportunities. The way we can automatically extract insights from vast amounts of data will both unearth new opportunities as well as move tasks
Walk the talk: machine learning and big data for procurement analytics Read More »
Douglas Boateng, Professor of Supply Chain Management (SCM) and a member of SmartProcurement’s editorial board, was presented with the first-ever Hewlett Packard (HP) lifetime SCM leadership achievement award in September. The award recognises Boateng’s role in educating policy makers, public officials and private-sector executives in Ghana about the powerful link between SCM and the United
Prof Douglas Boateng honoured with first-ever HP SCM achievement award Read More »
The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) remained virtually unchanged at a weak level of 43.2 points in September 2018. “The latest figure dashes any hope that the sharp PMI decline in August was a once-off occurrence”, said the Bureau for Economic Research (BER) in its monthly PMI report. The average level of the PMI in Q3
Unchanged PMI dashes hopes that August decline was temporary Read More »
