Group purchasing organizations (GPO) are not a new concept and their popularity has risen and fallen with the performance of the economy.  However, there are limits to the success of group buying: The price received is only as good as the spend amounts of the participating members. GPOs remove the function of strategic sourcing in certain areas of Procurement, in turn losing internal expertise. The democratization of the Internet and information with the advent of …

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It is often stated that the commoditization of core technologies opens up opportunities for consolidating a firm’s supply base. People frequently point to the high-tech Machine Manufacturing Industry (MMI) as an example of this. MMI companies have sought to consolidate their supply base on the expectation that the increasing demand for modular product design in new product development makes it possible to reduce complexity in the supply network[1]. Complexity can be reduced by replacing several …

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Capgemini Consulting has a vision of “Procurement transformation through Innovation.” We define innovation as the successful implementation of creative ideas within an organization. The Procurement Assessment tool is one of several tools to help foster procurement creativity and innovation by identifying potential process gaps within an organization.  We understand that organizational leaders are tasked with growing top line revenue for their companies and realizing measurable cost efficiencies from operations.  We recognize that cash flow is …

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Traditionally the procurement and Finance & Control discipline (F&C) are tightly interwoven. This relationship becomes especially evident in dire economic times, when cost reduction is a top priority and – even more than usual – procurement is looked at to contribute to cost savings. Obviously Procurement has much more ground in common with F&C, both on a strategic and tactical level; for example the relationship between corporate and procurement strategy, supplier management, risk management, implementation …

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About every three to six months, I read about another new trend in supply chain – sometimes procurement or demand planning or logistics or related technologies.  The regularity of this rotation seems a bit peculiar as new buzz words and catch phrases make the rounds in industry reviews, software conventions and consulting organizations. Hosted vs. Behind the Firewall, Gain Share, Drive Innovation, Asymmetrical Thinking, Outsourced, Off shore, Near Shore, Best Shore, Jersey Shore and the …

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