“Seven months ago, ‘procurement’ was just a word – now it’s more important to me than ever,” admits Itumeleng Phake – Tumi – the owner of start-up business, the Zenzele Fitness Group, in this month’s SmartProcurement. Explaining his newfound appreciation for tapping into the right supplier networks and the importance of Zenzele’s positioning in […]
Case study: an SMME’s schooling in procurement’s importance Read More »
With significant changes to B-BBEE legislation fast approaching, there are simply not enough small, black-owned suppliers that can perform to corporate standards. This scarcity is a headache for procurement professionals looking to achieve under increasingly stringent enterprise development (ED) and supplier development (SD) categories without compromising service levels. Considering that there is world-class talent
5 Dimensions of innovative supplier development partnerships Read More »
Being an entrepreneurial supplier is exhilarating, but at times challenging. In fact, supply relationship managers involved in enterprise development may have sleepless nights wondering if their small or self-employed suppliers may be considering throwing in the towel because their businesses are not working. Don Pitsoe, Business Mentor at The Hope Factory offers 10 words
People fail, not suppliers… Read More »
Outside of their own organisations’ enterprise development initiatives, procurement departments across SA can offer numerous avenues for incubated entrepreneurs to access the country’s industry through agreements with various incubators. An incubation model cannot stop once an entrepreneur’s skills gaps have been ‘treated’ – the model must give entrepreneurs a means of accessing industry at
Procurement SA + Ed incubators = entrepreneurs accessing industry Read More »
A substantial prospect exists within the South African small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) market to create buying organisations for specific industries that would make it possible for SMEs to obtain cost-of-sale inputs at bulk rates and to use the marketing resources of an established ‘wholesaler’, Sean Krige of ED organisation The Hope Factory tells
Bulk procurement allows SMEs to add value in their sectors Read More »
As the world embraces ‘green’ initiatives, products and services, South Africa is implementing renewable energy, green building practises and environmental regulation to lessen the impact on our environment and precious resources. This opens doors for suppliers to turn their operations “green” and provide services that comply with current standards and that enhance corporate responsibility,
Why ‘green building’ is vital to your supply chain Read More »
Massmart and Absa have partnered to assist a black-owned milling company to expand its operations and create 40 permanent jobs. Lethabo Milling, a participant in the Massmart Supplier Development Programme, acquired a mill in Ventersburg, Free State, and will receive an order from Massmart to produce 10 000 tons of Massmart’s house brand Econo Super
Massmart and Absa join forces to support black entrepreneurs Read More »
South African corporations’ ability to collaborate with their SME business partners on supply chain innovation was in the spotlight recently at the Procurement Leader Awards of the Second World Procurement Congress. Anglo American and Johannesburg-based Aurik Business Incubator were the only SA organisations named as finalists in the categories ‘External Collaboration Award’, ‘CSR Award’
World procurement congress lists SA supply chain collaboration as finalist Read More »
While “entrepreneurship” is often assumed to be directly related to “passion”, this is not necessarily the case. With an increasing number of individuals choosing to step into the entrepreneurial space as a means of financial survival, buyers need to have clarity about the driving force behind their SME suppliers. If it’s all just about
Is your small supplier an entrepreneur or an opportunist? Read More »
A Letter of Credit (LC) is extensively used as a payment method around the world: LCs account for almost 20 to 30% of global payment volumes and account for 48% of the export trade mix and 47% of import trade mix. However, between 2011 and 2012 there was a drop in commercial LCs from
Remove supplier payment delays – shift from Letters of Credit to open account trading Read More »
