Challenges in the permanent recruitment procurement process
At the dawning of the next decade and as the recession in South Africa begins to gradually fade away, many organizations may tentatively consider appointing more staff. The recruitment market changed from a scarcity of skills on the open market in early 2008 into a relative glut during 2009, with many people sitting tight in their current jobs waiting for an improvement in the economy. Alan Low of Purchasing Index (PI) discusses the challenges the permanent recruitment procurement process faces in this month's SmartProcurement.
Posted by Editor at 9:40 AM
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.
Posted by Editor at 9:20 AM
Outsourcing Procurement funded on a shared savings basis
The services offered by Outsourced Purchasing Service Providers, and their subsequent fees, warrant the scrutiny of a competent Purchasing Manager before an organisation contracts itself to a savings proposition, Wally Johnson, Chairperson of Purchasing Index (PI) UK, tells SmartProcurement.
Posted by Editor at 10:20 AM
Procurement Organisations can now turn headcount on and off
Hot on the heels of last months article concerning Interim Contracts, Purchasing SA (PSA), a specialised Purchasing Consultancy based in Kwa-Zulu Natal, announced that it is launching a new Interim Management Service. This service will provide highly-skilled purchasing executives for hands-on assignments over a wide range of industries across South Africa.
Posted by Editor at 7:45 AM
Events Procurement: The professionals are the answer, but transparency is key
“The events and conference industry has grown in leaps and bounds in South Africa over the past few years. In light of this, organisations will, at some point, need the services of an Events or Conferencing Company who can assist with services ranging from conceptualisation, design, and marketing to operations,” Lou-Marie Radyn, Managing Director of Red Shack Events, told SmartProcurement.
Posted by Editor at 7:15 AM
Quadrem delivers African market new services powered by SAP® Software
Quadrem has signed a global Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) agreement with SAP AG. The organisations will work together to help customers reduce the cost and complexity of implementing and operating integrated electronic sourcing, procurement, invoicing, and contract management processes. In addition, Quadrem's BPO services have qualified as ‘powered by SAP’.
Posted by Editor at 9:45 AM
Hiring some new talent? Check them out properly first...
"Unfortunately it is a fact that organisations are exposed to certain financial and other employee-related risks, many of which occur within the procurement area. Risks to be seriously considered are 'white-collar' fraud, IT integrity and identity theft, workplace violence and unethical conduct in all its forms", Elaine Porteous, Branch Manager - Interim and Executive Search - of Tech-Pro Personnel, told SmartProcurement.
Posted by Editor at 7:30 AM
Automating and / or outsourcing external print services
“External print services will usually be categorised as indirect spend, unless your organisation itself is in print or publishing, in which case, it would fall into the direct spend category”, Gary Davies, Managing Director of Print Outsource International (POINT), told SmartProcurement.
Posted by StaffWriter at 8:40 AM
Overcoming business barriers with China and gaining savings
One of the key strategies in Strategic Cost Management is the option of sourcing your 'direct' or even 'indirect' commodities from Low Cost Countries (LCC’s). This would be done due to various factors, but primarily because LCC’s are sometimes in substantially more price competitive positions than organisations at home. Several countries are now classified as an LCC, but by far the most well-known and attractive, is China.
Posted by Editor at 8:20 AM
Outsourcing Management of Print can lead to 30% cost savings
"The world-wide trend in commodity spend management is to either appoint speciality managers internally, or to outsource the spend to a credible third party service provider", Gary Davies, Managing Director of Print Outsource International (POINT), told SmartProcurement in a recent interview. In the industry, this specialist outsourced service is neatly captioned "Print Management". Furthermore, it is necessary to make the distinction that these services are normally engaged in managing the organisation's 'external' print requirements, i.e. where you send the jobs out and do not process it internally, using your own resources.
Posted by StaffWriter at 11:45 AM