By Mira Ristovich, Founder of MRC, a consulting firm that assists with various end-to-end projects, and Senior Associate at Bespoke Group Africa, an organisation dedicated to the strategic procurement outsourcing of projects. Two decades after I began my work in procurement (I was involved in business performance management and measurement prior to joining the procurement […]
Is not spending, a saving? Read More »
We watch The Apprentice and see the ‘lambs to the slaughter’ negotiating. Not helped by their bravado and arrogance: ‘I’m a shark in business’. Cue the next clip of the poor apprentice being taken limb from limb by a shopkeeper who won’t give him 5p off a bottle of champagne. Negotiating looks hard and can
5 negotiation tactics that will get you a better deal Read More »
Editors note: We thought it might be useful to procurement professionals to get some INSIDE INFORMATION FROM THE OTHER SIDE. This article is written by a consultancy specialising in advising sales people to deal with procurement. Enjoy!: “It has been said over the past couple of years that procurement departments are becoming increasingly powerful. They
Sales perspective: 5 tips on how to deal with procurement 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 »
One of the primary components of any procurement function’s strategy is, or should be, to ensure that the company has an optimised vendor base. This is aimed at achieving a more cost effective and high-quality supply chain. Most companies therefore go through a vendor rationalisation process at some stage and continually review vendor categories to
Vendor database optimisation: Are you doing it right? Read More »
It is important to do business with the right vendors if you want you want to stay on the right side of the law while ensuring that the business’ needs are met. With hundreds of suppliers offering relevant products and services, the vendor selection process can appear strenuous and time consuming. However, if done the
6 steps to maintain a successful vendor selection process Read More »
What ‘procurement masters’ are doing and how they are benefitting An Accenture study involving more than 125 chief procurement officers observed a profile of how high performers in risk management operate. The study identified “procurement masters” in organisations that save at least ten times as much as it costs them to operate their procurement organisations.
High-performance procurement risk management Read More »
The public sector’s struggle to recover irregular expenditure is hamstrung by inconsistent laws. Public-sector specialist Helen Venter unpacks the problem in this month’s SmartProcurement. For the past three years, the Auditor General of South Africa has complained about the lack of consequence management against accountable officials for incurring irregular or fruitless and wasteful expenditure. The
Inconsistent laws a public-sector headache when recovering irregular expenditure Read More »
In order to optimise vendor ecosystems, companies consider various types of vendor-related information to determine which vendors are best suited to their supply chains. Companies, typically, limit this to information that is directly linked to quality, performance and price KPIs. “However, an often-neglected, yet very important, element in the optimisation ‘equation’ is vendor company risk”,
The key processes and activities involved in contract management are fundamental to making sure you and your suppliers know your responsibilities under an agreement and that everyone meets those obligations. Eman Abouzeid (CSCP, CIPS), a procurement and supply chain professional with global experience, explores the benefits of having effective contract management in your procurement department,
Leveraging effective contract management in procurement departments Read More »
