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Bid Ops hosts virtual event with insight into the role of artificial intelligence in procurement sourcing
April 13, 2021 | Sally Ehrmann
Among the many trends happening in procurement today, artificial intelligence and machine learning are two of the biggest topics. A recent industry conference, Bid Ops’ Optimal AI event, brought professionals together to discuss the often confusing, but definitely complementary, role that AI can play in a procurement process. Edmund Zagorin, Founder and CEO of Bid…
How supplier collaboration can lead to growth and sustainability
April 13, 2021 | Spend Matters Brand Studio
Enterprises large and small are realizing the extended gains to be had from collaboration, both with suppliers and partners, to bring an opportunity to drive synergies. Those might come from joint initiatives on R&D, expanding business reach that is not possible within their own confines, or working to optimize costs for the consumer. It is…
The duality in leading others: Trust optimism in trying times
April 12, 2021 | Guest Contributor
Spend Matters welcomes this guest post from Daryl Hammett, Amazon Web Services’ Global Head of LM and Operations. Duality continues to teach us that every aspect of life is created from a balanced interaction of competing forces. Yet these forces are not just antithetical; they are interdependent of one another. One such concept that we…
How to make the case for procurement technology investment: Expert practitioners share their tips
April 8, 2021 | Carina Kuhl
Spend Matters SolutionMap offers a helpful benchmark when a company is ready to identify a procurement technology provider to support its procurement business processes, and our new TechMatch℠ tool can get you a shortlist fast. But before you get to this point, you must successfully make the case for investment within your organization, and that’s…
Ivalua NOW — Covid has changed companies’ boundaries: More opportunities for procurement
April 6, 2021 | Nancy Clinton
Ivalua NOW wasn’t all about Ivalua – they had some excellent sessions on a variety of topical issues, one of which took our eye. Natacha Tréhan PhD, Professor in Purchasing Management from the University of Grenoble Alpes, gave an informed and thoughtful presentation on the contribution of procurement to economic renewal. She believes “we can…
Ivalua NOW Europe 2021 — Payments overview and innovation showcase
March 25, 2021 | Nancy Clinton
We attended Ivalua NOW Virtual this week — a compendium of the procurement and supply chain issues of the day explained, explored and delivered by some inspirational speakers from industry and academia. Ivalua is the suite provider with French roots and based in California. Topics ranged from the restoration of growth following the business disruption…
Putting the spotlight on supplier diversity conversations
March 11, 2021 | Guest Contributor
Kevin Frechette, CEO and co-Founder of Fairmarkit, puts the spotlight on supplier diversity conversations. "Last year, diversity and inclusion rightfully rose to the forefront of conversations across the US. In the corporate world, we saw a lot of performative activism, from empty commitments on social media to obligatory statements in the press, but we also encountered real…
Procurement trends: Cleaning robots en route, and on the payments front, there’s crypto currencies
February 25, 2021 | Sally Ehrmann
Hundreds of thousands of attendees around the world gathered for the virtual Web Summit, the world’s largest technology conference that brings together leaders from all kinds of industries. From big-name investors like Mark Cuban to sports stars and movie stars, the topics covered were varied. However, there was a lot of conversation around technology, artificial…
If you’re not digitally transforming, you’re dying. (6 reasons to go digital now)
February 4, 2021 | Guest Contributor
Let’s say your organization is already using digital for marketing and e-commerce, but you are not truly “digitally driven.” Maybe you provide customers with a good app — but it’s really just an add-on. You’re not aggressively creating products and experiences that take full advantage of the potential of digital. You can’t honestly say you’re…
Spend Friends podcast discusses the human side of supplier innovation
January 14, 2021 | Sally Ehrmann
Despite its focus on technology, procurement innovation will shift the industry's attention to more of the human-centric side of doing business — specifically in supplier innovation, said Clive Heal, an innovator and keynote speaker at CRH Innovation. Heal joined Spend Matters and CIPS in the second episode of the video podcast Spend Friends. It's a…
After this college freshman spent his COVID quarantine building a $200 million PPE supply chain, he’s ready for more
January 7, 2021 | Sally Ehrmann
The whole world went into overdrive in the spring and summer to ensure proper supplies of key disease-fighting products. And although the world is shifting into a new procurement issue — the mass vaccination effort — PPE is still being relied upon to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. Since Jack Yuan's company’s inception in…
2021 Procurement and Supply Chain Predictions from the market — SAP (part 2)
January 7, 2021 | Nancy Clinton
Last year at the end of December 2019, we ran a series of predictions about procurement and supply chain trends for 2020 from expert tech and service providers in the market. But who could have foreseen what happened in 2020! This year, the market again provides its predictions for the next 12 months, using learnings…

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Public Sector Services: What a ‘Person Year’ is and Other Work-Hour Quirks for Government Contracting : Steve Williams said : I recently observed a spreadsheet that used 2030 as the hours to divide the salary to get an hourly ...

Incremental to exponential: 5 overlooked benefits of procurement automation : Michael Shaw said : Good summary. Great points, Alan....

Modernizing the healthcare supply chain in the coronavirus era : Jam Saeed Ahmed said : yes, investments in advanced manufacturing capabilities make it easier to build products in the Unit...

'Sell me this procure-to-pay solution' : Thierry Jaffry said : I truly agree with Mark's analysis. And I would add a couple of things from the SI point of view: mo...

What Really Drives Valuation For Technology Companies These Days? : Pranav Trivedi said : Interesting read indeed !...