Category Archives: Miscellaneous

The Sourcing Innovation Source-to-Pay+ Mega Map!

Now slightly less useless than every other logo map that clogs your feeds!

1. Every vendor verified to still be operating as of 4 days ago!
Compare that to the maps that often have vendors / solutions that haven’t been in business / operating as a standalone entity in months on the day of release! (Or “best-of” lists that sometimes have vendors that haven’t existed in 4 years! the doctor has seen both — this year!)

2. Every vendor logo is clickable!
the doctor doesn’t know about you, but he finds it incredibly useless when all you get is a strange symbol with no explanation or a font so small that you would need an electron microscope to read it. So, to fix that, every logo is clickable so you can go to the site and at least figure out who the vendor is.

3. Every vendor is mapped to the closest standard category/categories!
Furthermore, every category has the standard definitions used by Sourcing Innovation and Spend Matters!
the doctor can’t make sense of random categories like “specialists” or “collaborative” or “innovative“, despises when maps follow this new age analyst/consultancy award trend and give you labels you just can’t use, and gets red in the face when two very distinct categories (like e-Sourcing and Marketplaces or Expenses and AP are merged into one). Now, the doctor will also readily admit that this means that not all vendors in a category are necessarily comparable on an apples-to-apples basis, but that was never the case anyway as most solutions in a category break down into subcategories and, for example, in Supplier Management (SXM) alone, you have a CORNED QUIP mash of solutions that could be focused on just a small subset of the (at least) ten different (primary) capabilities. (See the link on the sidebar that takes you to a post that indexes 90+ Supplier Management vendors across 10 key capabilities.)

Secure Download the PDF!  (or, use HTTP) [HTML]
(5.3M; Note that the Free Adobe Reader might choke on it; Preview on Mac or a Pro PDF application on Windows will work just fine)

“Shovelling Anthem”

If Redfoo grew up in the North and only did his songwriting in winter

Shovelling
Yeah
Woo!
Let’s go!

Shovelling is what we do today
Everybody just have a good time (Yeah)
And we gonna go get cold outside (Woo!)
Everybody just have a good time
Shovelling’s what we do ev’ryday (Oh!)
Everybody just have a good time (Come and move it, baby!)
And we gonna go get cold outside (Yeah)
We just wanna see you
Shovel!

In the street: Shovelling
Looking for your girl? She stuck in snow (Huh?)
Neck high ’cause the winds did blow
Booty moving weight when we on the block (Woo!)
Where the road? I gots to know!
Snow pants, warm toques, ’cause I’m oh so cold
Half-fluff, half-packed: it must go
Snowblower jammed, shovels, ho!

I’m shovelling through these drifts in slow mo
I got that backbreaking twist, knee high drifts, snow halo
We shovelling!, yeah, that’s the crew that I’m reppin’
In the search for the road, no Led in our Zeppelin (Hey!)

Shovelling is what we do today (Woo!)
Everybody just have a good time (Yeah)
And we gonna go get cold outside
Everybody just have a good time (Let’s go!)
Shovelling’s what we do ev’ryday
Everybody just have a good time (Come and move it, baby!)
And we gonna go get cold outside
We just wanna see you
Shovel!

Every day I’m Shovelin’ (Shovel)
Shovelin’, Shovelin’ (Shovel)

Get out fast and be the first one to clear your driveway bare
We get shovels, out we go, there’s a – chill in the air
One more lift for us (Another scoop!)
Hope our knees hold up (Another stoop!)
We just want the sight (It’s only fair!)
Black asphalt tonight (We know it’s there!)

Stand up, knees down, point your shovels to the ground
Stand up, knees down, point your shovels to the ground
Stand up, knees down, point your shovels to the ground (Woo!)
Point your shovels to the ground
Point your shovels to the ground (Let’s go!)
Stand up, stand up, stand up
Stand up, stand up, stand up
Stand up, stand up, stand up
Point your shovels to the ground
To the ground
Swing your shovels (Woo!)
Swing your shovels
Swing your shovels
Swing your shovels

Shovelling is what we do today (Swing your shovels, woo!)
Everybody just have a good time (Swing your shovels)
And we gonna go get cold outside (Swing your shovels)
Everybody just have a good, good, good time

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh (Swing your shovels)
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh (Come and move it, baby!)
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh (Swing your shovels)
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh (Swing your shovels)
Shovel!

Every day I’m shov-shovelin’
Lift them (shovels)
Lift them (yeah)
Lift them (woo!)
(Hands up)
Lift them (shovels)
Swing your shovels
Swing your shovels
Swing your shovels

Grading The Prophet on His Supply Chain Predictions …

Hopefully you’ve been paying attention over on LinkedIn as The Prophet has been sharing his predictions for the Procurement and Supply Chain space for the coming year as the vast majority are right on the money.

When the series is done, the doctor will discuss each prediction in more detail, but for now, he’ll just direct you to the articles so you can catch up before The Prophet completes the series and you miss possibly the best intelligence on what is coming your way in 2024 (and what you need to consider if you are going to be anywhere near prepared for it):

Current Grade: A!

An Ode to Anders …

This is the story of a guy
Who tried to buy and drowned in paperwork
And while overwhelmed in bureaucracy
He decided to step up
And Focus!

How many days in a year?
He woke up with hope, but he only found tears?
Vendors could be so insincere
Making their promises never for real
As long as he stood there waiting
Finding the holes in the piece-mealed silos
How many days disappeared?
While he dealt with bad software
So what’s one to do?

POs never fare as well the next day
And your hair never falls out quite the same way
Ev’ry day yet another thing goes astray

This is the story of a guy
Who tried to buy and drowned in paperwork
And while overwhelmed in bureacuracy
He decided to step up
And Focus!

Now how many buyers would stay
Just to put up with this every day and all day?
Now how did we wind up this way
Watching our mouths for the words that we say?
As long as we stand there waiting
Finding the holes in the piece-mealed silos
How do we get there today
When we’re waiting too long for the price of our blues?

POs never fare as well the next day
And your hair never falls out quite the same way
Ev’ry day yet another thing goes astray

This is the story of a guy
Who tried to buy and drowned in paperwork
And while overwhelmed in bureaucracy
He decided to step up
And Focus!

(sung to the tune of “Absolutely” by “Nine Days”)

An Ode to Suites …

No matter what you think you’ve done
You’ll find it’s not enough
No matter what you think you know
Buyers have it tough

It’s a given, startup law
Someone’s faster on the draw
No matter where you hide
They’re comin’ after you

Now matter how the race is run
It always ends the same
Your customers abandon you
For a newer SaaS play

You can shake it for a while
Live it up in style
No matter what you do
They’re comin’ after you

Shakedown, breakdown, takedown
Everybody wants into the crowded space
Breakdown, takedown, you’re ousted

Let down, your guard, honey
Just about the time you think that it’s alright
Breakdown, takedown, you’re ousted

This is a town where everyone
Is racing for the top
This is a place where second best
… will never do

It’s O.K. to want to shine
But once you step across that line
No matter where you hide
They’re comin’ after you

Shakedown, breakdown, takedown
Everybody wants into the crowded light
Breakdown, takedown, you’re ousted

Shakedown, breakdown, honey
Just about the time you think that it’s alright
Breakdown, takedown, you’re ousted