Author: Ravindran Damodaran Editor’s note: This article is part of the MyPurchasingCenter content archive. It was originally published in 2016 and appears here without revision. Not long ago the corpo...

Author: Vengat Narayanasamy Editor’s note: This article is part of the MyPurchasingCenter content archive. It was originally published in 2016 and appears here without revision.   Why do com...

Author: Nancy Jorgensen Editor’s note: This article is part of the MyPurchasingCenter content archive. It was originally published in 2015 and appears here without revision.   Microsoft Exce...

Author: Tinamarie Rintye, Former Project Analyst at Source One Management Services, a Corcentric Company, now the Manager of Distribution and E-commerce at Esteé Lauder Editor’s note: This a...

Author: Joe Payne, SVP Source-to-Pay at Corcentric Editor’s note: This article is part of the MyPurchasingCenter content archive. It was originally published in 2015 and appears here with minor t...

Editor's Note: There are all kinds of surprises waiting to be found in the MyPurchasingCenter archive, and this interview post is one of them. Joanna Martinez, is a good friend of mine and well known ...

The results are in for your RFP (Request for Proposal), now it’s time to pick the supplier(s), sign the contract, and place the orders (Woohoo!).  But, have you considered the next critical step ...

Most purchasing professionals have never heard of appreciative inquiry. It is a systematic discovery process to search for what is best or positive in an organization or its strengths. These strengths...

In 2015, MyPurchasingCenter talked to William Moore, Senior Vice President, Sales and Channel Development at SKF USA. Moore sees value in frank discussions between procurement and suppliers, especiall...

Go on. Be honest. You’ve read the slickly worded job description and sat through an interview listening to animated energetic, buzz words and you‘re very interested. But at the same time, haven’t you ...

Back in 2012, Chrysler Group allowed a modest-sized company to manage all of the chemicals and related supplies on a trial basis for one of its North American assembly plants. Like any Chrysler supplier, ChemicoMays had to prove itself on cost, quality and its capacity to deliver.

Procurement professionals are instrumental to the success of organizations. They are accountable for innumerable initiatives ranging from solicitation to evaluation of suppliers plus everything that falls in between. Procurement has a significant impact on the organization as a whole – congealing its spot at the management roundtable.

Procurement teams that use the Internet to research highly engineered components and then select a lower-priced alternative product may think they’re doing a good job, especially if they are measured on how well they manage cost. Yet they may unknowingly be putting their companies at risk.

Effective and efficient automation of Supply management and Procurement functions can yield fruitful results. Automation facilitates supply management and procurement professionals to make wise decisions through enhanced tools and visibility. It is definitely a reliable substitute for time consuming and costly manual tasks.

That’s the question Attorney Mark Grieco asked procurement and supply management professionals attending a member meeting of ISM-Greater Rhode Island at Banneker Industries in North Smithfield.

Connectivity is at the core of the modern business. Whether your organization is comprised of one small office with 10 people or a large multinational employing thousands, it is key to find the correct connectivity mix to support your business needs. 

Over the past two decades, procurement has made great strides in transitioning from a transactional, back-office function to a strategic, value-adding organization. However, the hard work is far from over. Procurement has fought to get a seat at the table with c-level executives, but now it’s time for procurement to prove that it deserves that seat and can keep it.

Procurement’s role in an organization touches across many departments, suppliers, countries, and competitors. This situation requires that procurement professionals possess excellent communication skills and the ability to quickly adapt to different cultures, perspectives and crises. 

There are times when “no” or “not interested” are positive words. If we contact a supplier and we find out that “no, we don’t owe money”, a “no” can sound lyrically poetic. If we are getting robo-called and the company finally understands that “do not call” means “not interested,” life is good and these words have served our purpose well. 

However, “no” or “not interested” are not our favorite words during a job search. Even if we decide that “this is not for me” and we don’t like the job, the team or the company, those words smart when we find out that the feeling is mutual.

Leaders of procurement teams at manufacturing and process companies are decisive. They know what they want in a supplier. They want a supplier with a similar culture and competitive quality, service a...