Supplier Partnerships Archives - Page 11 of 12

Develop innovative SMEs to drive their sustainable competitive advantage

Leave a Comment / Enterprise Development, Preferential Procurement, Procurement Strategy, Supplier Management, Supplier Partnerships / Editor

“Innovation” has become synonymous with entrepreneurship, but in enterprise development (ED) initiatives it must be defined – and enabled – within the context of the individual participants on the ED programme as well as the procurement departments these businesses serve. If not, you run the risk of innovation becoming an onerous barrier to entry to […]

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Absa SME Index shows an improvement in self-employment levels

Leave a Comment / Change, Enterprise Development, Professional Development, Supplier Management, Supplier Partnerships / Editor

The Absa SME Index rose by 1.4 index points in the last quarter of 2012, up from its low of 92 reached in Q2 2012. Self-employment grew by 1.1% over the last quarter and 2% over the last year in South Africa. The index presents data extrapolated from Statistics South Africa’s information on various

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Closing SMEs’ business gaps gives them a way in to real procurement openings

Leave a Comment / Enterprise Development, SRM Supplier Relationship Management, Supplier Management, Supplier Partnerships / Editor

In order for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) to build capacity and lay a foundation that enables sustainability and, ultimately, profitability, it is critical that they are able to identify and close their organisational and operational gaps. While many enterprise development (ED) initiatives provide theory and training to assist with this process, most are

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Whitepaper: End-to-end supplier lifecycle management is the aim

Leave a Comment / SRM Supplier Relationship Management, Supplier Management, Supplier Partnerships / Editor

Supplier management, once considered a nonstrategic process, is now in the executive spotlight – and for good reason. To manage a global supply base and deal with mounting regulations, companies are moving beyond mere supplier rationalization toward strategic supplier management, Marlene de Jager, Account Executive LOB: Procurement for SAP Africa tells SmartProcurement. The goal is

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Absa proactively gets SMEs to link up with large companies

Leave a Comment / Enterprise Development, Supplier Management, Supplier Partnerships / Editor

Today’s investment in Enterprise Development is Tomorrow’s Secured Supply Absa Group, in collaboration with Supply Chain Network and Smart Procurement World, hosted the inaugural Enterprise Development Expo 2012, which aims at creating a significant platform for procurement, sourcing and supply management for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The event saw the public and business

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Enterprise development – where has entrepreneurial flair gone?

Leave a Comment / Procurement Strategy, Public Sector Procurement, Supplier Management, Supplier Partnerships / Editor

“Being black or a woman does not entitle you to 5% of a company’s procurement expenditure,” said Sisa Ntshona, Head of Enterprise Development (ED) at Absa, during an ED discussion at the 2012 Smart Procurement World Conference. “It still requires hard work. I miss entrepreneurial flair”. Ntshona added that developing customers is a big challenge

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Procurement’s cost focus will become a network growth focus

Leave a Comment / Procurement Strategy, SRM Supplier Relationship Management, Supplier Management, Supplier Partnerships / Editor

The last 10 to 15 years have seen intense inward cost focus. The coming 10 years will see attention turn to growth via digitally connected networks that empower buyers to discern, qualify, connect, and collaborate with suppliers, peers and partners. This is the consensus among Procurement Executives who responded to an Ariba survey on Procurement

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South Africa takes a larger role in global commerce through Ariba

Leave a Comment / Supplier Directories, Supplier Management, Supplier Partnerships, Supplier Selection / Editor

A report compiled by Ariba for SmartProcurement When it comes to global commerce, South Africa is fast becoming a key participant. In 2007, two local companies – TradeWorld and Quadrem, teamed up to create the largest eMarketplace in South Africa. Their aim was to help large multi-nationals and the local suppliers with whom they do

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Integrated supply – bye products, hello solutions

Leave a Comment / Supplier Management, Supplier Partnerships / Editor

Suppliers in the coming decade will continue to take on bigger pieces of things they already do for customers. Think of it as ‘integrated supply on steriods’ where suppliers step out of their comfort zones to drive customer performance. “I expect to see a lot more total solution-type relationships with suppliers, whether it’s an OEM,

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Collaboration will reign in Procurement’s future

Leave a Comment / SRM Supplier Relationship Management, Supplier Management, Supplier Partnerships / Editor

Organisations will dramatically increase their dependence on suppliers for products, services, manpower, expertise, and new ideas. This is the consensus reached in a report ‘VISION 2020: Ideas for Procurement in 2020 by Industry-Leading Procurement Executives’, which is the outcome of a dialogue between Ariba and leading procurement practitioners and influencers. Innovation comes from without 2020

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