Companies shifting manufacturing from China back to the U.S.? That's old news. Given the recent economic setbacks in the Chinese economy, however, you have to wonder whether the trend will continue.
We've passed the mid-year mark, which means that the budgeting process is upon us. For CPOs and procurement managers, this isn't exactly a high point of the year - few enjoy taking an annual break from the work at hand to focus on the budget. And of course there is added pressure to finalize strategic plans that align with an effective budget.
The global automotive electronics control unit management market is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 6.3 percent from 2014 to 2020, meaning that the market's 2013 value of $28.6bn and should reach a net worth of $43.7bn by 2020.
At the Smarter Commerce Global Summit, IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a study that says companies with high-performing procurement organizations are driving better bottom line results, according to an IBM study. These organizations report profit margins of 7.12 percent as compared to just 5.83 percent for companies with low-performing procurement organizations. Also, companies with top-performing procurement organizations report profit margins 15 percent higher than the average company - and 22 percent higher margins than companies with low-performing procurement organizations.
Many manufacturing and distribution companies are wrestling with the enormous challenge of Big Data, trying to turn mountains of data into actionable information. And while some companies curse the landslide of data overwhelming their organizations, others look to capitalize on what they realize is an opportunity to better understand their customers, suppliers and costs. But the challenge is more nuanced than sculpting a huge collection of unwieldy data.
