Afternoon Coffee: Services sector expands, but slower; PRO recap — ProcureWise, CW/S Hot List, procurement & business transformation (Part 8), Workday Strategic Sourcing (formerly Scout RFP)

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The services sector of the U.S. economy expanded in November but not as much as in October, the Institute of Supply Management reports in its monthly assessment. The purchasing managers index (PMI) for services registered 55.9 last month, and it was 56.6 in October. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, which the services sector has done for six straight months and all but two of the last 130 months.

ISM weighs the sentiments from leaders in an array of industries. Several sample quotes focused on the coronavirus disruption and the U.S. election:

• Accommodation & Food Services — "Conflicting national, regional and local guidelines/requirements for COVID-19 issues are becoming increasingly difficult to navigate, leading to a lot of just in time (JIT)-type purchases."
• Finance & Insurance — "Uncertainty related to the U.S. election is resulting in additional cybersecurity needs."
• Management of Companies & Support Services — "Business activity is inconsistent. Businesses that reopened are closing for a second time, leading to interruptions in the supply chain."

No Commodities Roundup today

Commodities Roundup, the news compilation from our sister website MetalMiner, is off today, but check out MetalMiner’s Week in Review column to catch up on the latest developments.

Here’s what our analysts covered this week

This week, Spend Matters’ analysts Andrew Karpie, Magnus Bergfors and Pierre Mitchell wrote about contingent workforce issues and vendors, strategic sourcing, and a practitioner’s guide as  procurement helps business leaders transform their companies.

Our PRO subscribers can read the full articles, but all readers can see the lengthy intros that frame the issues being discussed. This week:

• Workday Strategic Sourcing (formerly Scout RFP): Vendor Analysis, Part 1 — Background, Solution Overview, Strengths/Weaknesses, Tech Selection Tips
• Beyond Spend Influence: Enabling Procurement’s Emerging Roles in Business Transformation (Part 8) — Beyond Continuous Improvement
• The Contingent Workforce and Services (CW/S) Insiders’ Hot List: December 2020
• ProcureWise: Vendor Analysis — Solution Overview, Roadmap, Competitors & Market, Customer Feedback, Commentary

Read more about a PRO membership.

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