The Industry News Category

Finance departments are struggling to manage risk, a recent report from Dun & Bradstreet finds, and many finance leaders “believe their own efforts to manage, monitor and predict risk pose a moderate to high risk to their businesses.” In order to find out how today’s finance leaders are managing risk and what their future risk management plans look like, earlier this year Dun & Bradstreet commissioned a study of approximately 1,100 finance professionals, the vast majority of whom were based in the U.S.

Although disruption may be a popular buzzword in boardrooms, one of the more striking features of business today — especially in healthcare — is the entrenchment of the established order. So, when a relative youngster like the Global Healthcare Exchange (GHX) quickly finds its way into “the club" (and is changing the way business is conducted), it's notable. Having successfully planted itself as a connector and enabler of business between increasingly supersized health systems and an even more powerful supply side, GHX has done just that. 

There was one word that loomed over the proceedings at The Right Place/Supply Chain Management Council's Commodity Trends 2019 Outlook event Wednesday in Grand Rapids, Michigan: Tariffs. From the multiple expert presentations to numerous audience questions and comments on the topic, it didn’t take much to pinpoint the effects of tariffs as a recurring theme of the half-day conference, at which MetalMiner Executive Editor Lisa Reisman presented our 2019 metals outlook. Indeed, the current onslaught of tariffs — including those implemented under Sections 201, 232 and 301 of U.S. trade law — seemed to be one of the primary concerns on everyone’s minds.

Spend Matters is on the ground in Santa Clara, California, today for the 2018 Cognitive Sourcing Summit. Hosted by LevaData, an emerging provider of e-sourcing software, the event, now in its second year, brings together leading procurement professionals to examine trends in strategic sourcing, with an emphasis on how artificial intelligence and machine learning are changing the way organizations approach this foundational process. While LevaData plans to expand upon several of the themes it first explored at its inaugural Congnitive Sourcing Summit, in October 2017, we will also be looking to hear about the latest updates to the vendor’s platform, as well as the results of some relevant research about procurement’s readiness to effectively use AI-powered technology.

The old way of sourcing and managing contingent workforce and services is on its way out, that much is certain. Compared with the first MSP offerings from the 1990s, the number of options for engaging external workers and their work outputs has expanded considerably, making the task of choosing the right kind of program or solution partner for a business all the more difficult. To get a sense of where the industry has been and where it might be going, we sat down with Brandon Moreno, president of EverHive, for a quick Q&A on the state of contingent workforce programs and MSPs.

Now that the early hype around blockchain has died down, what do executives around the world really think about the distributed ledger technology that promises to transform everything from ingredient tracking to banking? To find out, researchers from Deloitte recently surveyed 1,053 senior executives in seven countries (Canada, China, France, Germany, Mexico, the U.K. and the U.S.) who are familiar with blockchain and with their companies’ blockchain investment plans. All respondents represent companies with at least $500 million in annual revenue.

Coupa recently announced it had acquired the technology assets of DCR Workforce, a leading provider of contingent workforce/services (CW/S) procurement software. By so doing, Coupa has taken a giant leap forward in providing its clients a comprehensive platform that will now include the option of industrial-strength CW/S sourcing and management capabilities.

For many organizations, CW/S spend (including temporary staffing, independent contract workers and a broad range of categories of services provided by external suppliers) represents a considerable portion of external spend (including good and materials). And much of this spend — particularly outside of temporary staffing — is unmanaged today, in terms of procurement or HR’s ability to fully influence and orchestrate it.

In this Spend Matters PRO series, we take an in-depth look at what the acquisition of DCR means for Coupa and DCR, as well as to their customers. In Part 1 of this series, we look at what Coupa is getting by acquiring DCR, in terms of both business strategy and DCR’s specific capabilities. Based on DCR’s footprint, we also segment the competitive landscape into six primary competitor types.

Part 2 will consider DCR’s strengths and weaknesses within the competitive CW/S market. Subsequent PRO briefs will examine customer recommendations, competitive landscape implications and related considerations.

The coveted top-right corner of each SolutionMap represents the best performers in each procurement software category. Labeled as Value Leaders, these companies demonstrate the best balance of customer satisfaction and technical capability as judged by the Spend Matters analyst team. For the Q3 2018 SolutionMap, released Tuesday with newly added vendors and debut maps for Contingent Workforce and Services, here are the Value Leaders across all categories.

Coupa announced Tuesday it had acquired the technology assets of DCR Workforce, a Boca Raton, Florida-based vendor management system (VMS) provider, according to a press release. Coming on the heels of Labor Day, Coupa could not have picked a more appropriate holiday week to expand its services procurement and labor footprint. DCR’s software enables businesses to source and manage contingent workforce and services. The DCR solution will now be marketed as Coupa Contingent Workforce, part of Coupa’s broader platform.

For the buyers and category managers out there, especially those of you deep in the weeds of buying and managing commodities, here’s a quick rundown of news and thoughts from particular commodity markets. From price movements to policy decisions, our MetalMiner editors scour the landscape for what mattered this week.

Having officially launched myConnXion yesterday, our team is thrilled to invite buyers and suppliers to connect. A key factor behind our innovative technology lies in the ability to integrate the process into your current sourcing strategy. We mobilize supply chains to compete faster and better in today’s global economy. Many procurement teams are deeply entrenched in legacy enterprise software and business processes, which are often not enough to manage today’s data type and quality, supplier relationships and business risks. Having a supply chain capable of movement and adaptability has become vital to the success of an organization’s business operation. Adding velocity to your supply chain starts with sustainable sourcing.

Concord, a provider of contract management software, announced in a press release Thursday morning that it has achieved a 300% year-on-year revenue growth, in addition to doubling its enterprise customer base over the past 12 months. The fast-growing CLM company has seen brisk market adoption of its solution, with more than 180,000 companies currently on the Concord platform. Find and compare contract management software companies: Check out the Q2 2018 CLM SolutionMap. In the past 12 months alone, Concord has added more than 150 new customers, including Kickstarter, Spark NZ, Altria, Newell Brands and Rent the Runway.