Now that software as a service and the broader cloud computing concept have gained widespread recognition and acceptance, it will be interesting to see whether online marketplaces will become a preferred method for acquiring these on-demand resources.
An effective procurement process begins with having all spend under control, including money spent on logistics and transportation, says Nick Seiersen, president and CEO of Seiersen Enterprise. Overall, such a process should ensure that the right suppliers provide the right products or services on the right terms, he says.
Few phrases are generating more buzz in the business world today than cloud computing. This concept has been rapidly embraced by companies in every industry because of the obvious opportunities to save money and other valuable resources. In fact, Forrester Research projects that the global cloud computing industry will grow from $40.7bn in 2010 to more than $241bn by 2020.
MeadWestvaco, a global packaging solutions provider, has identified a number of new markets in which it sees the potential for profitable growth, says Brian McClure, director of global procurement and supply chain. As the company moves into these new markets, it is faced with a lot of decisions about whether to make or buy goods and services.
Earlier this year, Oregon's Caroline Inglis nearly earned a place in history as the first golfer to win her state's fourth consecutive championship, beating her closest competitor by nine strokes. Unfortunately, an innocent mistake she made after the final hole - signing a scorecard her partner had incorrectly filled out - earned her a disqualification instead.
There are many opportunities to recapture value from returned products and, in the process, strengthen customer relations, says Jeff Jorgensen, vice president of supply chain execution at Spinnaker, a global supply chain and execution company.
Advances in voice technology have made the productivity and accuracy benefits of voice-directed applications much more widely available, without extensive and expensive software implementation, says Mark Engemann, Southeast regional account manager at Wavelink.
The manufacturer of numerous items, ranging from sewing machines to multifunctional copiers, Brother found paper-based tracking of shipments from Asia to its U.S. destinations was simply inadequate. It made the smart move to a SaaS-based tracking and monitoring solution.
A civil-engineering firm finds that the right approach to sales and operations planning helps it bridge volatile market conditions and take advantage of opportunities.
The U.S. has been shipping application development work offshore for years, but cloud computing may help make America a data center services exporter. Some countries may not like that.