Globalization and evolving social, economic and regulatory trends have elevated corporate competition to a new level altogether. For procurement departments in particular, cutting costs, doing more with less, and running agile operations are the new standards for success.
With their operating budget expected to grow by just 2.7 percent this year, procurement leaders are focusing their transformation efforts on cultivating procurement's role as a trusted advisor, investing in next-generation training and development, and harnessing big data.
For most business leaders, it's difficult to make any decision without letting bottom line bias come into play. Globalization, in addition to evolving social, economic and regulatory trends, has elevated corporate competition to a new playing field altogether. For procurement departments in particular, cutting costs, doing more with less, and running agile operations are the new standards for success.
When it comes to public sector procurement, the federal government is the big kahuna, over $500bn-a-year large. Yet, when it comes to managing this massive amount of taxpayer dollars, there's really no one in charge to direct how best the feds can spend and manage this money.
In 2004, a group of forward-thinking fashion and athletic brands with restricted substances lists (RSL), featuring such major players as Adidas, C&A, Gap, Levi's, Marks & Spencer and Nike, formed an industry working group with the aim of reducing the use and impact of harmful substances in the apparel and footwear supply chain.
The food supply chain has been a hot topic recently, with the horsemeat scandal creating a whirlwind of interest in an area which before had ticked along without very much attention at all.
Automotive suppliers are struggling to keep up with increased production, according to a new survey, raising serious concerns among purchasing executives.
Energy consumption in the U.S. manufacturing sector decreased by 17 percent from 2002 to 2010, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. It notes that manufacturing gross output decreased by only three percent over the same period.
