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!