One of the largest obstacles preventing supplier growth, especially for SMMEs, is the lack of funding from traditional sources. With restrictions to finance, suppliers may be forced to pay high interest rates with local money lenders or approach banks to discount invoices. However, a financing alternative lies in a multi-bank supply chain finance platform, […]
Buyers, use your credit worthiness to support your SMMEs Read More »
The phrase “the customer is king” is well known, you don’t hear words like this when procurement people talk about suppliers. It is no coincidence that companies that really value their customers also treat their suppliers well. Influencing and persuasion skills are competencies that both procurement executives and their stakeholders need to develop to
Treat suppliers as if they are customers – be nice Read More »
The on-going sustainable development of black-owned small, medium and micro enterprises (BSMMEs) is imperative to secure the future economic growth of South Africa. We have seen how past actions have limited what should be a free-market economy and left BSMMEs facing a number of challenges when it comes to getting a business off the
Drivers supporting procurement from black-owned SMMEs outweigh constraints Read More »
Seven small businesses recently celebrated their graduation from the Property Point enterprise development programme. The ceremony marked the end of their two-year partnership with Growthpoint’s enterprise development initiative and the start of the next phase of their entrepreneurial path. With most of these businesses already Growthpoint suppliers, Shawn Theunissen, head of Property Point and
SME class of 2014 “procurement-ready” Read More »
The New Codes is arguably the most hotly anticipated piece of legislation released in 2013. Industry experts gave delegates at the Smart Procurement World Western Cape Conference some insights into what the New Codes mean for industry, the economy and your organisation. “Panic is an appropriate description of how the market is reacting. The
Panic around the New BEE Codes will subside Read More »
The amended broad-based black economic empowerment codes of good practice can still create advantages for businesses if approached with a proper long-term strategy and commitment from the industry and government departments. How multinationals and other organisations can view the new Codes as a competitive advantage and engage in supplier and corporate collaboration will be
EVENT: Next level BEE supplier development – collaborating across industry sectors Read More »
With many SMEs gearing themselves towards a February financial year end, the next two months will offer entrepreneurs the ideal time to objectively analyse their own and their business’ performance and growth. In order to position one’s SME for success, however, it is critical that owners understand exactly how their companies make money, as
Position your SMEs for success through defining business models Read More »
The man who introduced the concept of transaction costs recently passed away at the age of 102. Interestingly, his 70-year-old theory explains organisations’ vertical integration in the first half of the 20th century and their contradictory aggressive outsourcing more recently. But how is the lower transaction cost offered by the Internet revising the theory?
Reducing transaction costs – the end of the firm? Read More »
Historically, relationships between supply chain partners have ranged from distant to adversarial, with organisations focused primarily on pushing costs up- or downstream, at the expense of their relationships. However, increasingly supply chain collaboration is ‘no longer seen as losing control, but gaining intelligence, capabilities and resources’.¹ Defined by Monczka, Trent and Handfield as, “the
Adversarial supply chains have no place in the future Read More »
With economic growth remaining a priority for South Africa, corporate involvement in enterprise development (ED) is proving a critical means of scaling-up SMEs and setting them on a path towards becoming potential private equity candidates, says Shawn Theunissen, head of CSR at Growthpoint Properties and Property Point (Growthpoint Properties’ enterprise development programme), in this
Increasing need for big business to consult to entrepreneurs Read More »
