You simply can’t escape it – Pokémon Go is a giant phenomenon! First, let me be upfront with you. I have not played the game and I really don’t know much about Pokémon other than Pikachu. That being said I, like most of you, have been surrounded by those playing it just about everywhere I go. And, it got me thinking – as we do…
My aging parents receive in-home care. And I just got word today that one of their aides will not be returning as she is no longer an employee of the agency that provided her. I breathed a sigh of relief. I have witnessed very few people who were as bad at their jobs as this woman was. The interesting part…
I hope that you have enjoyed the article “The Vendor Onboarding Process, Simplified.” In discussing the supplier onboarding process in the article, I suggested that you identify a limited number of categories of suppliers, each with their own documentation requirements. I also directed you to this post to learn about a six-step process for determining your categories. Well, here is that…
At the heart of any successful sourcing initiative is the RFP – Request For Proposal. RFP’s are used to leverage competition in the supply base, attaining market-bottom pricing from the best suppliers available. Unfortunately, in this hyperspeed business world replete with Tweet-length communications, AutoFill, and over-reliance on what can be easily found online, many procurement professionals have become too lazy…
I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed for the Supply Chain Expert Community powered by Kinaxis. In the interview, I shared some observations on how procurement talent management is changing and who is succeeding with the latest methods. To read or listen to the interview, go to https://community.kinaxis.com/people/dustinmattison1974/blog/2016/07/18/procurement-talent-management For an even more in-depth education about modern procurement talent management trends, check…
Here at the Next Level Purchasing Association, we continue to pile on the value for those who enroll in the SPSM Certification Program and maintain their SPSM’s. We have just added a Contract Termination Letter Sample to the NLPA Library. If you ever have a supplier relationship that doesn’t work out so well and don’t know what to say when…
Special thanks to Source One Management Services for this guest post The Verizon Business strike that started on April 13, 2016 may now be over. But that does not make it old news for Verizon customers. The strike has caused many problems for all people involved including Verizon’s current and future customers, and of course Verizon Business. The list of…
I hope that you have enjoyed the article “A Sole Source Supplier Negotiation Strategy.” In the article, I mentioned that a series of questions is at the center of good sole source vendor negotiation strategies. And I provided examples of the types of questions you can ask. While it’s obviously important to ask those types of questions, it is just…
I recently had a lengthy email conversation with a certified SPSM, who first earned that most prestigious of procurement qualifications several years ago. He had benefitted from the SPSM Certification in a number of ways, but there was one instance where the benefit felt rather dramatic. This individual is a procurement leader for one business unit in a conglomerate of business units. So, when…