Suppliers play a huge role in the operational capacity of a business. With a mutually healthy relationship, trusted suppliers can help a business satisfy customer needs, even in a pinch. However, businesses that source goods or services from questionable suppliers run a great risk of failing to meet their own obligations to customers. Such weak […]
Fix the weak links in the supply chain with vetting Read More »
Ensuring that the right quality of an item is ordered and delivered may seem like a fairly obvious responsibility. However, doing so in practice requires a fairly sophisticated understanding of market conditions and user requirements, which, like many organisations, municipal departments do not possess. “There is a higher probability of generating measurable savings if municipal
Municipal materials management may require a counter-intuitive purchasing approach Read More »
You’re preparing for a big negotiation with a group of key suppliers and you’re already anticipating a disastrous outcome. Perhaps you already know that the people you’re dealing with are difficult, or you’ve heard about their reputation. Or, maybe you know your own negotiation skills leave a lot to be desired when it comes to
6 ways to prevent a negotiation blow up Read More »
They say a picture tells a thousand words. How about a procurement meme? Okay, millennials. Strap yourselves in, because Hugo Britt, Content Manager at Procurious, is going to attempt to meme. Is meme even a verb? Perhaps not, but that isn’t going to stop him. For older readers who don’t really know (or care) what
Procurement in 7 memes Read More »
“What business strategy is all about is, in a word, competitive advantage. The sole purpose of strategic planning is to enable a company to gain, as efficiently as possible, a sustainable edge over its competitors. Corporate strategy thus implies an attempt to alter a company’s strength relative to that of its competitors in the most
Logistics: an opportunity for competitive advantage Read More »
Procurement fraud can be committed by employees acting alone or in collusion with suppliers. Fraudulent activities between suppliers and employees create a host of challenges for the business if allowed to continue under the radar. With this threat, the onus rests with organisations to create a culture where fraudulent activities are easily identified and dealt
When supplier-employee relationships cross the line Read More »
Just as digital supply chains bring rewards, they also bring dangers. Supply chain managers are always on the lookout for corruption, but in the digital age the clues are harder to spot, warns Dr Abdul Majid Mahomed, Head of Professional Body CIPS, SA. Digitalisation is the buzzword of the moment and the future of supply
Rewards of digital supply chains obscure dangers Read More »
The ambition of creating a developmental state to transform the Apartheid economy has been hamstrung by an inability to implement transformation policies; it is a situation exacerbated by a lack of skills, competencies and capacity; and the patronage of corrupt procurement practices. Prof. Marcus Ambe, from the University of South Africa’s School of Public and
5 pillars – a procurement blueprint for accelerating inclusive growth Read More »
‘Procurement irregularities’ has taken 3rd place on Corruption Watch SA’s Corruption Report 2017 (CRW2017). Coming in at 12% of the reported types of corruption, procurement irregularities trails bribery as the most common form of reported corruption (27% of cases). However, CRW2017 does not define ‘procurement irregularities’, which caused Xavier Greyling (MCIPS) to question if procurement
What is the true cost of unethical conduct? Read More »
Are performance clauses and outcomes-based contracts the answer? Dr Susan de Witt from the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town unpacks contract performance measurement in this month’s SmartProcurement For as long as we can remember – if a government or donor wanted a third-party implementer to teach 100 children in a
Contracts: Paying for what works Read More »
