Daily Archives: January 3, 2013

Basware’s Record Growth: Analysis Beyond the Reported Numbers

Peter Smith - May 3, 2013 3:09 PM | Categories: Commentary

Analysing company financial reports is something that skilled analysts build whole careers around, and it’s therefore risky taking on that role for Spend Matters (even if we do perhaps understand more about the underlying markets and products of companies in our sector than a general analyst might). But if you like numbers, as I do, it’s fascinating to try and get beyond the headlines and the PR presentation of the data, which of course always tries to balance the need for honesty in the presentation of the finances with the desire to look good to investors, customers, and even staff. [...]

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Audiophilia: Finding the Best Amplification to Match Your Taste and Budget

William Busch - May 3, 2013 1:26 PM | Categories: Commentary

Imagine having the opportunity to sit in an acoustically perfect concert hall, listen to a piece of music performed while it’s recorded on the finest recording equipment, and then have the recorded playback sound nearly identical. This is what audiophile obsession is all about. It’s also a process that the famous speaker/designer Jon Dahlquist employed back in the 70′s, but we’ll save that discussion for another post. Having discussed vinyl  playback in my two previous posts (here and here) – generally agreed to be the finest reproduction media – let’s also leave a discussion of CD players for another day [...]

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Syria Purchases Dell Equipment, Rat Sold As Lamb in China, Dow Reaches 15,000, YouTube Displacing TV?

Sydney Lazarus - May 3, 2013 11:12 AM | Categories: Industry News

Despite strict trade sanctions, the Syrian government has purchased large amounts of Dell computer equipment through a Dubai-based distributor. Police in China uncover a crime ring that has sold $1.6 million worth of rat, fox and mink meat disguised as lamb over the past four years in the Shanghai area. A new report showing an increasing employment rate has led stocks to reach new highs, with the Dow climbing above 15,000 early Friday morning. Will YouTube displace broadcast television? According to the CEO of the video hosting service, it already has.

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Wedding Planning: Procuring “The” Dress

Sheena Moore - May 3, 2013 9:17 AM | Categories: Commentary

This post is part of an ongoing series about “procuring” a wedding, Spend Matters-style. See previous posts here: Wedding Planning: Spend Matters Style Procuring the Perfect Chicago Wedding Venue Wedding Planning: Venue, Menu, Hotel Blocks, Stationary, Oh My! …and thank you so much for all of your advice and congratulations so far! Oh, the wedding dress. I didn’t think I’d spend what I spent. But before we get to that, here’s some background: I was going to get some minor alterations (shortening to cocktail length and then cutting the sleeves off) to my grandmother’s gorgeous lace wedding dress from 1955, [...]

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ISM: Righting the Ship (and the Upcoming Membership Organization Tidal Wave)

Jason Busch - May 3, 2013 6:54 AM | Categories: Commentary

waves Thomas Kase, Pierre Mitchell and I collectively descended on Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) annual event this week, formally known as the 98th Annual International Supply Management Conference & Educational Exhibit. In evolving its platform and mission under the new leadership of Tom Derry, ISM feels like it’s making early progress based on Pierre’s observations. The opportunity that Tom Derry faces in evolving the vision and services for ISM may seem common to any national mission-driven organization. It goes without saying that an organization like ISM must strive to not only set educational, learning and credentialing standards for an industry, [...]

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Procurement Inertia: When Did You Last Run Through the Seven Steps?

Thomas Kase - May 3, 2013 5:04 AM | Categories: Commentary

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Don’t wait for the consultants to come in and kick you past your inertia. If you stay vigilant by revisiting your spend on a regular basis and looking at what you can source more competitively, you might even be able to find line items you no longer need. No point in buying spare parts for a production line that is being phased out, right? You also need to understand the revenue model and customer base of your key suppliers. Looking forward is a challenge in all organizations, and it is tempting to come up with ways to address challenges from [...]

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Procurement Services Market Landscape: The Continuum of Procurement Services

Pierre Mitchell - April 3, 2013 3:03 PM | Categories: Commentary

In Part 1 and Part 2 of this research series, we discussed some of the drivers surrounding how procurement services are increasingly consumed in the market. In this next installment, we will evaluate the market itself and the spectrum of service types/sectors within it. Defining a market is not a one-dimensional activity. Markets are segmented along multiple variables, which we discussed in the previously mentioned research, but there are a few key dimensions worth exploring. We will not look at the traditional dimensions such as spend magnitude, market complexity, business impact, level of market fragmentation, etc. We assume that the practitioner has a fairly [...]

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T-Mobile’s New Data Plans: Radical, They Aren’t

Guest Post - April 3, 2013 1:42 PM | Categories: Commentary

Spend Matters welcomes a guest post from Matt West of NPI, a spend management consultancy, focused on eliminating overspending on IT, telecom and shipping. Last week, Galen Gruman at InfoWorld took a swing at T-Mobile’s self-described “radical” new data plans, which do little to cut customer costs and increase pricing competition. But he didn’t stop there. None of the big four wireless carriers was spared from Gruman’s scrutiny as shown in the following excerpt: Clearly, the competition among four carriers has done nothing to spur meaningful innovation, whether in technology or in business approaches. In fact, it has made the [...]

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New iPhone In Production, Cell Phone Turns 40, Verizon Dispels Merger Rumors, Dumpster-Sourced Cafe

Sydney Lazarus - April 3, 2013 11:36 AM | Categories: Industry News

Could the iPhone 6 be here this summer? Apple, Inc. is starting production on a “refreshed” iPhone, similar in size and shape to the iPhone 5, in preparation for a possible summer product launch. Meanwhile, the cell phone turns 40 today. The first call made on a cell phone, the 2.5-pound Motorola DynaTAC, took place on this day in 1973. Verizon dispels rumors that it may merge with or buy the U.K. company Vodafone Group. Speculation over the possible merger had increased Vodafone’s stock prices by 6%. A Tufts University student plans to open in Somerville, Mass. an underground restaurant [...]

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Nordic Naturals’ 250%+ Price Premium

Jason Busch - April 3, 2013 10:02 AM | Categories: Commentary

I recently read a short story in Environmental Leader and shared my thoughts on the increasingly widespread top-line impact of sustainable supply chain practices, beyond simply regulatory compliance requirements. This topic got me thinking about how our household has begun to make retail and food decisions based on the advertised traceability of various items. For example, I know we’re paying a significant premium for the Nordic Naturals fish oil supplements our kids take, but the company claims traceability for metals down to the lot level. It’s worth it to us. In the case of Nordic Naturals, my calculation is that [...]

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From CrowdSourcing to CrowdSelling (Part 2)

Pierre Mitchell - April 3, 2013 7:29 AM | Categories: Commentary

In Part 1 of this post, we defined “CrowdSelling,” which is using your extended supply base to help you grow the top line. Yet, even just from a process standpoint, one of the easiest ways to do that is to use an SRM program and supplier survey to ask suppliers about any low hanging fruit that you can pick to create more revenue, more spend and associated spend improvements, and more competitive advantage brought to you by your friendly neighborhood procurement organization. Suppliers can be very useful in: Finding new market segments for your current products Helping you develop and [...]

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IBM Emptoris Version 10: Supplier Management and Virtual Supply Master Technology (Part 1)

Jason Busch - April 3, 2013 6:19 AM | Categories: Technology

carrying-boxes The Spend Matters team recently caught up with members of the IBM Emptoris product, technology and marketing teams to get a detailed demonstration and overview of some of the latest capabilities contained in IBM Emptoris Strategic Supply Management Version 10 (launched in December of 2012). The release is important for a number of reasons: It comes when there is an increasing willingness among users of sourcing, spend visibility, contract management and related solutions to evaluate their options given a combination of consolidation and new innovation in the market Compared to the time prior to the acquisition, IBM Emptoris have been [...]

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How to Outsource: Stop Pointing Fingers and Resolve Problems Together

Guest Post - January 3, 2013 12:01 PM | Categories: Commentary

Spend Matters welcomes a guest post from Vantage Partners. Click for Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5 of this series on managing performance in offshoring relationships. Practice joint contribution instead of blaming When performance issues arise in outsourcing relationships, the customer often defaults to blaming its provider, especially when the outsourcer is on the other side of the world. When your provider is a faceless voice on the phone, or just someone you exchange emails with, it is easy to forget they are people, with their own business needs and pressures. Pointing the finger at [...]

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Afternoon Coffee: iPhone 5S, Electricity Use Down, Fixing Apple Maps, Obesity Woes

Sheena Moore - January 3, 2013 10:01 AM | Categories: Industry News

The latest supply chain rumors… Apple supply chain says iPhone 5S (6) will come in a range of colors and screen sizes — The two-different-screen-sizes tidbit is a little harder to get your head around. According to Brian White, an analyst at Topeka Capital Markets who cites Chinese supply chain connections, the iPhone 5S will have two screen sizes — though he doesn’t elaborate on what those screen sizes will be. High demand…less electricity. U.S. Electricity Use on Wane — For decades, electricity use was viewed as a barometer of economic growth, but the link has become less clear cut [...]

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2013 Commodity Forecasting: Cost and Supply Management Intersections

Jason Busch - January 3, 2013 7:01 AM | Categories: Industry News

Last week, Spend Matters featured a recap of metals-focused commodity management strategies for 2012 (here and here), including offering a forward look into what companies should be considering and forecasting for 2013. Yet what should we make of general commodity management and related trends going into next year? A recent Bloomberg summary captures a number of salient concepts we should take under careful consideration as we plan our overall commodity management strategies going into next year. For one, it’s important to keep in mind that “investors almost doubled purchases of commodities” in 2013. While there are various schools of thought [...]

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Is Washington Finally Serious about Sourcing and Procurement? (Part 2)

Jason Busch - January 3, 2013 4:01 AM | Categories: Commentary

While continued ramblings over the Fiscal Cliff “deal” continue to dominate the talks in Washington, it appears that strategic sourcing is finally getting its due. We commend the Obama administration and specifically Deputy Director for Management Jeffrey Zients for outlining a new sourcing charter in a recent memorandum to departments and agencies. These recommendations include the establishment of a “new Strategic Sourcing Leadership Council” (SSLC) with sitting members from a range of different areas of government including the Departments of Defense (DOD), Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs, the General Services Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space [...]

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