procurement

Procurement Pro procurement
Sourcing Strategies

Procurement vs. Sourcing: A Symbiotic Relationship

According to Kearney,  just two years ago, 30% of a service company’s revenue and at least 50% of a manufacturing company’s revenue was designated to procurement. And a recent sourcing and procurement report by SpendEdge highlighted forecasts for $16 billion growth in order fulfillment services by 2024. Many wrongfully think that sourcing and procurement are

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Sustainability

It’s Not Easy Buying Green

In electronics, being green is well-defined, although the definition continues to expand. Green electronics takes into consideration the materials used in the production of electric devices. For electronics to be sustainable they should be toxic chemical free, use recyclable parts, and be produced with a low carbon-emission footprint. Making devices is one thing, buying green

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Black & Grey Markets

Counterfeit!

According to the European Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the risk of counterfeit goods in the United States or in the EU is roughly one in twenty. The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) is said to uncover a mere 1% of counterfeit products brought into the country. When counterfeit goods are added

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Supply Chain Management

When Supply Chains Go Wrong

Supply chains should be resilient. The reality, however, is that many can be sent into a dangerous tailspin at the slightest provocation. A tailspin that can be difficult to recover. We’ve seen examples of both resilience and tailspins throughout history, caused by natural disasters, wars, trade policies and politics, pandemics, and even former late-night TV

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Supply Chain Management

5 Ways to Make Your Supply Chain More Resilient in 2021

The world we live in today is very different from what it was a year ago. We’ve been forced to find new ways to safely work and interact with other people and within our environments. Many companies have had to alter the way they do business to remain effective and still be safe. When it

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Industry Insights

Living in Interesting Times: Procurement 2020

We’re not even at the end of the first quarter of 2020 and already tariff wars seem to be the least of our problems. Even before the coronavirus started to disrupt supply chains, procurement analysts had identified several things to watch out for and necessary transformations that need to happen within the procurement world. Here

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Industry Insights

5 Things You Absolutely Need to Know About the Modern-Day Procurement Professional

If you were under the impression that procurement was merely about purchasing “things” and negotiation contracts, you were incredibly wrong. The procurement professional plays a critical and instrumental role in a company’s success. There are many misconceptions like this about the entire procurement process: from procurement 4.0 to modern slavery to cybersecurity. We had the

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Industry Insights

6 Warning Signs of a Bad Supplier

As supply chain and procurement professionals, you’re always looking for the “best” supplier. The ones that are going to communicate with you, offer great performance metrics, and, as an added bonus, some low prices.  You’ve probably read a lot about what you should be looking for in a supplier, but now it’s time to explore

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Industry Insights

What is a Last Time Buy and How Can it Work to Your Advantage?

Going once, going twice…. It can be a procurement professional’s worst dilemma: A trusted OEM partner announces a time-tested and often-used part is being discontinued. How many parts should you buy before the component reaches obsolescence? Should you consider other sources? The situation often leads to what is called a “last time buy.” But, exactly

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Supply Chain Management

How Is Procuring Services Different From Procuring Goods?

By Beatriz Alegria Securing intangible assets needs a different strategy than procuring physical goods. The increasing focus on reducing a company’s purchase spend has a significant impact on its sourcing strategies. However, in this day and age, most businesses no longer rely on just procuring the best goods at the best price to beat their

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