Daily Archives: August 16, 2013

Is Your Financial Performance Lagging?

Even if it is not, you might want to consider BravoSolution‘s and Basware‘s upcoming webinar on Five Untapped Methods to Improve Financial Performance. Hosted by Mickey North Rizza, former Gartner and AMR Research Analyst with over two decades of supply chain experience, you know that this webinar taking place next Wednesday, August 21 @ 11:00 am PDT / 2:00 pm EDT is going to be filled with useful information.

All you have to do is look at the statistics. Research has demonstrated that leading companies that improve their Purchase to Pay processes find operational savings that can exceed 40% and that those who also implement end-to-end Source-to-Settle processes (with smartly linked Sourcing and Procurement) see an average 14.6% increase in operating margin and a 12.8% ROIC (Return on Capital Invested). Given the increasingly low returns in cash-based investments, pursuing this opportunity should be a top priority.

Which Ideas Should You Have Stolen in 2013? Part III

Back in January, Stores Magazine wrote an article on 20 Ideas Worth Stealing in 2013 that had some ideas worth stealing by your Supply Management and Marketing organizations. But were they all worth stealing?

These articles sounded good on the surface, and were also good when you dug in. SI would definitely recommend stealing these ideas if you haven’t already:

  • Engage the Whole Customer
    Don’t just focus on products or services – create a blend that meets the customer’s needs with a single solution. If necessary, create an optimized, servitized supply chain.
  • Bring Catalogs to Life
    Leading Supply Management organizations integrate catalogs into their e-Procurement systems in smart ways that allow buyers to find the contracted items that meets their needs and acquire them effortlessly and that help Sales and Marketing acquire the technological solutions that will give customers access to leading, virtual, catalog technology for the end consumer that will highlight the benefits and features of the products being sourced for sale.
  • Turn Pins into Purchases
    For an organizational user making a purchase of a contracted item through the e-Procurement catalog, it should be as easy as pinning a photo on Pinterest. Similarly, the shopping cart technology on the organization’s e-Commerce website should be as easy to use.
  • Reward Smart Choices
    It’s not short term savings that matter, but long term value generation. Spending a dollar today to save two tomorrow is just good sense if you want the organization to be around for the long-haul. Don’t be afraid to tell Wall Street where to go. Their short-term focus is doing irreparable harm to the economy.
  • Invest in the Community
    Invest in supply management organizations, research institutes, and educational programs that will train your staff and advance the state of the discipline as well as investing in sustainable community programs that will benefit your customers.
  • Location Apps, Location Apps, Location Apps
    At any given point in time, you need to know approximately where your product is. You need this visibility as you need to know as soon as possible that you are not going to get that shipment on time unless you take action. It’s pointless to provide a consumer with a mobile set and product tracking if you can’t even ship the product.

So, in the end, thirteen (13) of the ideas were quite good and may even stand the test of time. Get implementing!