On this last working day of the year – Next Level Purchasing’s offices will be closed December 31 through January 3 – it is a good time to reflect on a very productive year here at Next Level Purchasing. As I look back at 2010, here are the ways that we helped bring more professionalism to the procurement space: In…
Imagine a company leader saying the following: “We’re not interested in learning about the features of the new version of Outlook because we don’t use email at our company.” or “We don’t pay attention to interest rates because our company doesn’t use banks. We keep all of our money in a safe in the basement.” or “We don’t need any…
For the final installment of PurchTips this year, I’ve put together a “Best of PurchTips 2010” article. Whether you are a new subscriber and missed earlier editions or you’re a long-time subscriber interested in refreshing your memory on the valuable things you’ve already learned, I think that there are several articles on ethics, negotiation, supplier selection, and more that are…
Continuing an annual tradition that I started on this blog in 2007, allow me to share a video excerpt from Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer and then explain how it relates to the purchasing profession. So what does a video clip from Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer have to do with purchasing? You knew I’d tell you, didn’t you? You see,…
Today’s installment of Whitepaper Wednesday is written by Erick Opdenbosch, SPSM. Please help me welcome back Erick for his second contribution to the Purchasing Certification Blog! Welcome to another installment of Whitepaper Wednesday here on the Purchasing Certification Blog. Today, I will be reviewing a whitepaper entitled “Contract Management in the Cloud: The Contract Management Impact of Moving into the…
Every month, Next Level Purchasing recognizes a purchasing professional who has made impressive progress in learning more about his/her field. We are excited to announce that the Dedicated Purchasing Student of the Month for December 2010 is… Divya Menon, a Global Sourcing Procurement Officer for Standard Chartered Bank in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Divya completed all six Senior Professional in…
My attention was drawn to an article on dealnews.com entitled “20 Things That Will Be More Expensive in 2011.” Now, I fully expected the article to be written for consumers, but I thought I may also find some tidbits that would be revealing for the corporate purchaser as well. And I believe I did. Here are three categories mentioned in…
Today, I received the most recent edition of CFO magazine in the mail. I was disappointed at the headline on the cover: LET’S TURN THIS THING AROUND – How to kick-start 2011 with new strategies for: Capital raising Top-line growth Career development Technology And more No mention of procurement. =( The article represented by this headline also didn’t mention procurement.…
I hope that you have enjoyed the article “Using Collaboration In Negotiation: 3 Steps.” Collaboration in negotiation can work wonders. But there is an important prerequisite to unlocking this highly effective approach to negotiating a mutually satisfactory – or win-win – deal. What is that prerequisite? It’s the willingness to collaborate from both parties. It’s usually the buyer that gets…
One of the more popular free educational resources that we offer on our website is our Purchasing & Supply Management Podcast Series. Currently, we have over two dozen podcasts available for your listening pleasure on topics ranging from supply chain technology to office supplies sourcing to writing a purchasing resume and more. I believe that it would take nearly an…