FOCUS

— April 12, 2006

Sourcing & Procurement

French Luxury Goods Retailer PPR Group Selects Perfect Commerce for On-Demand eProcurement
Perfect Commerce, an on-demand supplier relationship management solutions provider based in Kansas City, says that the PPR group, a French luxury goods retailer, has picked it to automate its e-procurement processes. PPR will utilize the PerfectProcure family of on-demand applications and The Open Supplier Network to improve e-procurement and enhance supplier services and support.
PPR launched its global e-procurement initiative in 2003 with a pilot phase within its FNAC subsidiary. Now PPR is launching the project, internally known as Welcome, within the Printemps and Conforama subsidiaries, and eventually will target more than 3,000 internal end users across the group.
“The Perfect Commerce solution will provide a boost to our corporate initiative,” says Emmanuel Fougere, FNAC chief indirect purchasing officer. “Perfect Commerce solutions and services will fix some existing procurement issues and increase the scope of our organization's managed purchasing families.”
Says Elisabeth Didier, Welcome project leader for PPR: “Perfect Commerce will provide our organization with improved supplier pricing, enhanced services and support and an easy-to-use application for greater functionality to gain the full benefit of the software and services.”
Perfect Commerce offers source-to-settle on-demand SRM solutions via The Open Supplier Network.
http://www.perfect.com.

Children's Clothes, Accessories Retailer Turns to Management Dynamics for Sourcing Help
The Children's Place, a leading specialty retailer of high-quality, value-priced clothing and accessories for children, has selected Management Dynamics' Private Supply Chain Network solution for trading partner connectivity and data quality management services to streamline its inbound supply chain.
The solution connects the retailer's internal order management system to a vast network of consolidators, third-party logistics providers, ocean carriers, air carriers, and motor carriers to facilitate communication of updated order and shipment status information. By synchronizing this logistics information in real time, The Children's Place expects to eliminate excess inventory, reduce supply variability and cut cycle times.
“Management Dynamics' experience and reputation for providing successful data management solutions was a critical decision factor in entering into this relationship,” says Frank Loewen, logistics director at The Children's Place.
“To improve competitiveness and keep up with ever-changing fashions, retailers need to collaborate more closely with their suppliers and integrate their supply chains from source to store,” says Jim Preuninger, CEO of Management Dynamics, East Rutherford, N.J. “The key to shorter cycles and improved logistics decisions is complete and high quality information from the supply chain.”
http://www.managementdynamics.com.

Aberdeen Group Invites You to Participate in Procurement, Supply Management Survey
In an effort to better understand end users' needs on procurement and supply management issues, Aberdeen Group is conducting a survey. Anyone involved in these areas may participate by logging on to the Aberdeen web site, www.aberdeen.com.
The survey is designed to evaluate supply management vendors in the areas of procurement/sourcing, contract management, supplier development and improvement, and invoice reconciliation and payment.
“We will use the information you provide to work with our community and report sponsors in forming the best fact-based research to help you and your organization improve the performance of your procurement functions and benchmark where your organization stacks up against others,” the research group says on its web site.
http://www.aberdeen.com.

Survey on Sourcing in Low-Cost Nations Available from eyeforprocurement
Eyeforprocurement and eyefortransport says that a survey conducted in March, called Sourcing in Low-Cost Countries, reveals a “number of issues that sometimes aren't apparent at the outset.” The report, based on information from a 100-plus respondents and complete with graphs and statistics, is available for download at:
http://www.eyeforprocurement.com/report.shtml
Much of the data gathered in the report will be discussed at the Sourcing in Low-Cost Countries conference, Sept. 25-27, 2006 in Chicago.
http://www.eyeforprocurement.com.

Capgemini, SAP Target Procurement Officers
Chief procurement officers face the following challenges, says Capgemini Consulting: achieving planned savings, quicker than ever; leveraging global spend more effectively; better managing the supplier base; standardizing an approach to category management; and, of course, getting the most from technology investments. The consultancy says it, in tandem with SAP, has a single solution that can address these challenges.
“By combining the robustness and in-depth analysis of the Capgemini sourcing methodology with the e-sourcing capability of SAP's supplier relationship management application, the solution speeds savings, standardization, compliance and best practice sourcing to the procurement function,” Capgemini says.
By integrating Capgemini's best practice sourcing methodology, tools and templates with mySAP SRM's project management, collaboration, spend analysis and e-tendering functionality, the solution addresses all e-sourcing requirements, the consultancy says.
Solution implementation is in two stages, beginning with the pilot, which can allow a “test drive” for up to 12 weeks. The second stage rollout allows users to deploy the solution behind their company firewall.
For additional information, contact ian.wilmot@capgemini.com.

IBM, Colgate-Palmolive in Procurement, Accounts Payable Services Partnership
IBM Global Services reports that it has been retained by Colgate-Palmolive Company to manage its procurement and accounts payable processes for Europe and North America. With approximately $3.2bn in indirect procurement spend, Colgate believes that improving the efficiency of these business processes could generate more than $30m annually in incremental after-tax savings by 2008, according to IBM.
The deal is the third significant procurement services contract for IBM in recent months, having concluded deals with Unilever and Solectron.
Relying on purchasing tools developed for its global
SAP systems, Colgate will oversee all global purchasing carried out both by internal Colgate procurement teams and IBM. This arrangement will provide Colgate the ability to deliver purchasing expertise to all its global locations.
"Colgate is uniquely positioned to benefit from this relationship with IBM, generating continued operating profit growth and investments in driving our growth," says Ian Cook, president and chief operating officer. "Combining Colgate and IBM resources will provide an extraordinary mechanism to increase the efficiency of our purchasing and accounts payable, allowing our subsidiaries to increase their focus on serving consumers and the trade."
http://www.ibm.com.

TradeStone's Suite Available for Apache Tomcat Users
TradeStone Software, which delivers sourcing, product lifecycle management and order management through its Unified Buying Process engine, says its TradeStone Suite can now be deployed on Apache Tomcat. This is in direct response to customer demand for TradeStone's software to run on low-cost and flexible platforms, the Gloucester, Mass.-based developer says, as both large and small companies run mission-critical applications on Apache Tomcat.
"The TradeStone vision for global sourcing has always meant creating a level playing field for all retailers, manufacturers and suppliers," says TradeStone CEO Sue Welch. "This means making our technology flexible enough to run on a multitude of Web platforms so it can easily and affordably fit in with the needs of clients worldwide."
Solution modules include Sourcing, Product, Logistics, Finance, Product Lifecycle Management and Unified Order Management. Together the solution “provides retailers with the technology infrastructure they need to manage all aspects of the purchasing process, from the concept design and planning refinement to publishing RFQs and selecting bids, from the initiation of an order through quality testing and production, to shipment and financial reconciliation, while providing a real-time view into each step.”
http://www.tradestonesoftware.com.

La Poste of France Uses Sourcing Platform from Verticalnet
Verticalnet, which provides on-demand supply management solutions, says that the French national mail and financial services company, La Poste, has deployed the Verticalnet XE Supply Management Solution Suite as its enterprise-wide sourcing platform.
La Poste is the third-largest postal service in the world, generating revenues of over 18bn euros per year. La Poste and its workforce of over 300,000 deliver more than 27 billion letters and parcels each year and offer financial services via more than 17,000 postal outlets in France. La Poste manages over 3.6bn euros annually in spend.
Prior to implementing the Verticalnet XE Supply Management Suite, La Poste was faced with the daunting task of standardizing procurement processes across a complex and decentralized buying organization. Verticalnet says it was chosen primarily for its large functional coverage, intuitive user interface and availability for local installation on its own data center.
The project was initially launched with a targeted scope focused on specific categories and locations. La Poste has expanded its spend coverage and has deployed multiple components of the Verticalnet XE Supply Management Suite for its entire external spend and all related buyers. As a result of the deployment of Verticalnet XE, 350 buyers across 50 business units in France are now able to leverage the collective organizational experience within La Poste to conduct tenders and manage suppliers to reduce both costs and the cycle time for sourcing processes.
The Verticalnet XE solution is designed to simplify the standardization of purchasing practices and processes, facilitate collaboration between buyers and suppliers and establish best practices throughout the organization.
http://www.verticalnet.com.


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