Essential skills for modern procurement teams By Privesan Naidoo Technological advances in the procurement industry will result in automating even the most complicated processes in the near future, which will save time and free up resources to unlock new opportunities. With these advances there will be less emphasis on hard skills, but there will be […]
Adapt to survive and thrive Read More »
Procurement is under immense pressure to transform and reinvent itself. The role of the Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) and their teams in the future will look very different to how it looks today. Matthias Gutzmann, Founder of Digital Procurement World, chatted to some procurement leaders and the conversations that ensued suggest that CPOs are at
By Ingrid du Buisson South Africa currently ranks 61st out of 137 countries within the 2017/2018 Global Competitive Index (World Economic Forum, 2017). One of the Index’s main critiques against the country is its inadequately educated workforce, which re-affirms the critical role of education and skills development. It is imperative that the country ensures efficient
A framework for developing SCM professionals Read More »
By Abby Vige How do you build and nurture high-performing teams?Recently, I realised that my management brand is being built whilst I’m busy planning how I want to be a better manager. In other words, it’s the small daily interactions of how I show up in the world that count, not the long-term plans yet
What makes a high-performing procurement team? Read More »
Global directional-level corporate and policy decision-making corridors are going through unprecedented changes. These dramatic shifts have been largely influenced by the increasing importance that boardroom executives attach to supply chain management. Today, the skills and knowledge of supply chain management professionals are increasingly being utilised, with forward-thinking executives and policy makers now officially accepting the
From the backroom to the boardroom: the rise of the Chief SCM Officer Read More »
The Millennial Generation represents one of the greatest potential influences and challenges to managing talent in the next year or two. Hackett’s 2016 Procurement Key Issues study revealed that talent management remains one of the top-three critical or major areas of focus for virtually all procurement organisations. The two perennial favourites, category management and strategic
Planning procurement’s response to the Millennial Generation Read More »
Smart Procurement World is bringing its regional conference to the Free State. Partnering with the Free State Department of Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (DESTEA) has enabled Smart Procurement World to take its procurement and supply chain indaba into its fourth South African province. Since beginning in Gauteng in 2009, Smart Procurement
Free State welcomes Smart Procurement World Read More »
South Africa currently ranks 61st out of 137 countries within the 2017/2018 Global Competitive Index (World Economic Forum, 2017). One of the Index’s main critiques against the country is its inadequately educated workforce, which re-affirms the critical role of education and skills development. It is imperative that the country ensures efficient and effective skills development
Creating a framework for developing SCM professionals Read More »
‘Professionalisation!’ has long been the war cry of procurement practitioners across the globe, and not less so in South Africa, where corruption is rife and procurement is often seen as the root of all evil – the home of the so-called ‘tenderpreneur’. But what does this mean? Professionalisation is seen as a social process by
The distinction between direct and indirect procurement was traditionally made in the context of manufacturing businesses. However, procurement disciplines have evolved more widely into the non-manufacturing sector and, accordingly, the distinction between direct and indirect procurement has broadened. In this month’s SmartProcurement, Eman Abouzeid (CSCP, CIPS), a procurement and supply chain professional with global experience,
Why is the difference between direct and indirect procurement important? Read More »
