PMI continues recovery - manufacturing likely to add to Q4 GDP growth
The Kagiso PMI picked up some momentum in November, rising by 1.1 index points to 51.6.November was the fourth consecutive month of gains for the PMI, but the index remains below the level of 54.2 reached before the widespread factory sector strikes in July.
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Open road tolling - logistics costs to rise by up to 15%
While there may be some uncertainty over the dates on which the tolling of Gauteng highways will begin under the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Plan (GFIP), the cost of refurbishing the roads makes it a certainty that the tolling will go ahead.
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Competitive advantage - full expenditure, risk and performance visibility
Ready access to accurate, timely, structured internal and external business intelligence will create unprecedented abilities to synthesize info in support of decision making, envisions a report on Ideas for Procurement in 2020, the outcome of a dialogue between Ariba and leading procurement practitioners.
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Procurement priorities - are we hot or cold?
Following on from last month’s Sustainable Procurement exploration by Abrie de Swardt, IMPERIAL Logistics Marketing Director, SmartProcurement asked him to delve deeper into procurement priorities – especially when it comes to adding tangible value within the value chain.
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Changing procurement skill sets key trend till 2020
In imagining the future of Procurement, one needs to think broad, deep, global industry expertise. Finely tuned business acumen. Sales, marketing, communications, performance management, and networking.
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Consumer Protection Act - don't underestimate its effect on purchasing and supply
“On April 1, 2011 the scale swung in favour of the consumer…are you ready for that?” Braam Botha, attorney, consultant and former Lecturer at NMMU Business School asked during a recent business seminar.“From the response of the audience, it was clear that the majority of business people were certainly not ready,” Botha told SmartProcurement.
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A new supply management emerges
After a big wave of procurement outsourcing, a different animal will be left standing.This is the consensus reached in a report ‘VISION 2020: Ideas for Procurement in 2020 by Industry-Leading Procurement Executives’, the outcome of a dialogue between Ariba and leading procurement practitioners and influencers.
Posted by Editor at 5:30 AM | Comments (0)
Procurement in 2020 won't exist in its current state
The procurement function as we know it will no longer exist in 2020.This is the consensus reached in a report ‘VSION 2020: Ideas for Procurement in 2020 by Industry-Leading Procurement Executives’, the outcome of a dialogue between Ariba and leading procurement practitioners and influencers.
Its main points make for interesting reading…
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Market Intelligence - information to assist the modern procurement professional
Alan Low of Purchasing Index (PI) tells SmartProcurement that the world of commerce is an ever more challenging place for Procurement professionals:
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Warehousing in China? Challenges to consider
This month SmartProcurement publishes the second article in a series considering China’s warehousing options, as presented in a report by C.H. Robinson Worldwide. This month considers the challenges of warehousing in the world’s second largest economy.
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Procurement transformation: more than squeezing suppliers' margins
Transferring pressure onto your suppliers’ margins is not sustainable in the long-term. In fact, it is the shortest route to supply disruption as you will risk supplier failure, Duncan Jones, Principal Analyst for Forrester Research, told supply chain leaders at SAP and SmartProcurement’s CPO Forum early in March.
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Red flags that your suppliers may be facing difficult times
The recession has made it clear that organisations of all sizes in all geographies face the possibility of going out of business, which would have a ripple effect both upstream and downstream.In a perfect world, relationships with suppliers would be truly collaborative, with the supplier communicating well in advance of failure or disruption. But in the real world, companies need a process and checklist to include in their supplier qualification and audit programmes.
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Developing Standard Bank's procurement purpose - an investment in people
In a bid to elevate the status of its procurement function from a transaction focused back office into one considered to be a value enabler for its business units, Standard Bank South Africa (SBSA) is creating a talent nursery, using a defined procurement competency framework to underpin the career progression path of its people, Meshern Govender, the bank’s CPO, told delegates at the SmartProcurement World Conference.
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The contents of an ethical purchasing policy
Several SmartProcurement World 2010 speakers discussed the high levels of corruption exposed daily throughout the African continent - South Africa itself being the victim of many improper business practises within all sectors of the national economy. It was widely agreed that organisations need to reform their policy and procedure handbooks to ensure that positive steps are taken to reverse this continent-wide trend.
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Managing production costs could mean a 15% higher price/earnings ratio
Organisations that reduce costs by managing the production cost of goods sold and not by cutting overheads had a price/earnings ratio 15% higher than their peers, reports performance advisory company Corporate Executive Board (CEB).“Organisations therefore need commitment from their suppliers for sustainable and rewarding cost savings,” Douglas MacGregor, MD of supplier service benchmarking company SuppDex, tells SmartProcurement.
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The economies of distance
The distance your bed linen treks to be laundered is part and parcel of bushveld logistics. Glynn O’Leary, CEO of Transfrontier Parks Destinations (TFPD), tells SmartProcurement about the peculiarities of a bushveld supply chain.
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Utilising Technology for Effective Collaboration
The concept of collaboration is not new, however it has traditionally occurred between related companies with strong single leadership that offer each other a privileged right to use certain products, services and personnel. The development of technology has enabled organizations to expand their ability to collaborate beyond the traditional supply chain and into collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment, David Carney, a senior procurement specialist at Volition Consulting Services, tells SmartProcurement.
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Innovate with off-the-shelf technology
Innovation doesn’t have to come with a high price tag any more. With a little bit of technical savvy and some consumer-level wireless technology it is possible to create a paperless environment and speed up the distribution of work assignments to warehouse workers and other operations staff, Lloyd Mather, a Toronto-based logistics consultant specialising in facilities planning, materials handling and storage systems design and implementation, tells SmartProcurement.
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Justifying the resources required to operate a Procurement Function effectively
The justification of the resources required for the Procurement Function to operate effectively and efficiently depends on a number of factors, Ronald Mlalazi (MCIPS), Ed ucation Manager at Commerce Edge Academy, tells SmartProcurement.
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Procurement function one of most important drivers of future business success
The procurement function has a significant role to play in an organisation’s future business success in the global market, far beyond its past role of simple order processing, said Gerd Kerkhoff, CEO of Kerkhoff Consulting, tells SmartProcurement.
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Understanding the Purchasing Environment
Procurement practitioners will only add sustainable value to an organisation’s bottom-line if they understand the environment in which they operate, Ronald Mlalazi (MCIPS), Edu cation Manager at Commerce Edge Academy, tells SmartProcurement.
Posted by Editor at 12:02 AM | Comments (0)
Print management: managed delivery just as important
When considering print management as a solution, organisations tend to focus on the Procurement aspect of the solution: the system itself and the savings it can bring. Consequently, a Print Management supplier is often assessed on the quality, functionality, user-interface and reporting capability of the system that it is using.However, while Procurement is an important aspect, another leg on which a great Print Management service stands is ‘managed delivery’, Trevor Bennett, Divisional Managing Director of Outsourced Communications for Integrated Communications Agency, Ince tells SmartProcurement.
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Scoring the human role in 'lean' implementation
A fundamental aspect of lean manufacturing practice is the notion that human resources are vital to the success of production. In an effort to improve the ability of organisations to track and manage human capital employed within lean manufacturing in an engineering environment, UNISA School of Business Leadership Master’s student Collin Moopanar has researched the development of a tool to track human capital performance to complement the Balanced Scorecard report popular with Executive Management.
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Applying recognised P2P best practice offers improved business performance
In times of recession, it is widely accepted that companies need to tighten belts and closely control expenditure. However, no organisation can function without steady and efficient supplies of the goods, raw materials and services which are necessary for value creation. A possible solution for improved company performance therefore lies in an optimised ‘procure to pay’ (P2P) process which eliminates waste, reduces administrative overload, rules out the potential for fraud and provides for the efficient sourcing of necessary inputs at optimal cost.
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Uncovering huge savings possibilities in operational procurement
There's never been a more important time for procurement to identify and direct their organisations to realise potential cost savings effectively, both within current spending and also when assessing new ventures.
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Procurement's image problem
The Procurement profession has a serious image problem. Most South African organisations, whether corporate or government, still do not see the profession as a strategically important function...
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Improving supply chain processes and activity steps through Process Mapping - Part 2
This month, SmartProcurement editorial board member Dr. Douglas Boateng (FIoD, FCILT, FCMI, FIBC, FIOM), CEO of PanAvest International, presents the second part of his discussion on the application of process mapping to improve the performance of supply chain processes.
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What will your supply chains resemble in ten years' time? Part 2
If an organisation wants to be competitive in the next decade, let alone a significant market participant, then its supply chains had better evolve.
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Managing the transition to Strategic Procurement
When an organisation elevates the strategic role of the Procurement function it is important that change management plays a pivotal role in aligning employees to new policies, processes and systems. In managing a transition it is important that an organisation‘s key asset people, drive the new strategy forward as its success or failure hinges on them, Thapelo Petje, Independent Supply Chain Consultant, tells SmartProcurement.
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Africa ready to take advantage of e-marketplaces
PanAvest International and Development Corporation has signed an exclusive agreement to promote and market the ProcServe suite of trading management and eMarketplace solutions in Africa, Dr. Douglas Boateng, PanAvest CEO, has revealed to SmartProcurement.
Posted by Editor at 1:50 AM | Comments (0)
Improving supply chain processes and activity steps through Process Mapping
This month, SmartProcurement editorial board member, Dr. Douglas Boateng (FIoD, FCILT, FCMI, FIBC, FIOM), CEO of PanAvest International, discusses the application of process mapping to improve the performance of supply chain processes.
Posted by Editor at 1:20 AM | Comments (0)
ABSA scoops IPSA Award - 'Best Process Improvement'
An Absa project, The Absa Purchasing Hub, has been acclaimed at the recent Institute of Purchasing and Supply South Africa (IPSA) awards dinner in the category of ‘Best Process improvement’.
'BEST PROCESS IMPROVEMENT'
Absa Purchasing Hub project owner Peter Alkema (right), and project superviser Junaid Nomani (left) at the awards evening
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Sourcing and procurement operating models offer sustainable cost reductions
As the economy slides into the downturn cycle, organisations are switching focus from growth strategies to cost management and risk management to protect their bottom line. Many companies have exhausted short-term tactical cost reductions and are now looking for more radical and sustainable sourcing and procurement (S&P) operating models, Ged Mackell of Deloitte Consulting tells SmartProcurement.
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'Supplier enablement' is a key component for successful procurement processes in South Africa
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This article appeared in the May newsletter with certain technical inaccuracies. SmartProcurement apologises for the error and would like to thank Quadrem for bringing the mistake to our attention and permitting us to re-print the article with the necessary corrections.The outsourced management of suppliers is of special significance in South Africa as a component of a successful procurement / tender process in the market place, Catherine Hills, Quadrem’s Client Services Director, told SmartProcurement in a recent interview.
Posted by Editor at 6:42 AM | Comments (0)
A case study for centralised purchasing - World Class Operational Procurement
Part 10 of a ten-part series that examines key operational aspects of the so-called “Purchase to Pay” value chain
by Independent Contributor, Peter Alkema – Head: Purchase to Pay at Absa
During 2008 at a large South African bank, a purchasing hub was set up to centrally process and support all ordering from the bank’s branches with a skilled SAP SRM team that is accessible through a single, easy to remember number.
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World Class Operational Procurement: Where's my stuff?
Part 8 of a ten-part series that examines key operational aspects of the so-called “Purchase to Pay” value chain
by Independent Contributor, Peter Alkema – Head: Purchase to Pay at ABSA
"The request was authorised, the Purchasing Order (PO) was created and communicated to the supplier, and now the goods or services are expected to be delivered...."
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World Class Operational Procurement: Three-way matching vs. two-way matching
Part 7 of a ten-part series that examines key operational aspects of the so-called “Purchase to Pay” value chain
by Independent Contributor, Peter Alkema – Head: Purchase to Pay at ABSA
Paper, paper, paper - still remains one of the most pervasive raw materials of the modern day office, which has still not been eradicated by the advent of modern technologies and supposedly integrated systems.
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World Class Operational Procurement: Committing the Funds - Anatomy of a Purchase Order
Part 5 of a ten-part series that examines key operational aspects of the so-called “Purchase to Pay” value chain
by Independent Contributor, Peter Alkema – Head: Purchase to Pay at ABSA
“Until such time as a Purchase Order (PO) is created by the customer and received by the supplier, no legally binding purchase process has been initiated,” Peter Alkema, Head: Purchase to Pay, ABSA, told SmartProcurement. Although there are generally agreed principles for POs (it could be written by hand or generated by a purchasing system), it must at least display certain header and line item information. In most cases it will have been created at the end of an approval workflow that began with the creation of a shopping cart (see Part 2).
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World Class Operational Procurement: Effective Requests & Approvals processes
Part 3 of a ten-part series that examines key operational aspects of the so-called "Purchase to Pay" value chain
by Independent Contributor, Peter Alkema - Head: Purchase to Pay at ABSA
Posted by StaffWriter at 10:45 AM | Comments (0)
