Category Archives: Miscellaneous

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

Simplify to Succeed

BUY THE BOOK, published by Brown Dog Publishing, on Amazon UK (available in March 2022).

Want best practice advice on how to build and execute a Successful Strategic Sourcing Structuring? Bookmark Simplify to Succeed and read daily!

Garry Mansell is one of the true experts on global sourcing best practices (and where and when to apply technology). As a former Global Sourcing Leader for Mars, Garry has 15 years of real-world experience in the trenches that started before we had software, global trade agreements, and service providers to make it easy. Then, as Managing Director for Freight Traders, he headed one of the first businesses in the world to run online Tenders before merging into Trade Extensions and leading the development of one of the most advanced Strategic Sourcing Decision Optimization platforms, which was ultimately acquired by Coupa where Garry then headed the entire upstream Source-to-Contract function before semi-retiring to focus on modernizing CIPS, advising new startups (as a Board Member on multiple boards), and, hopefully, writing that book! (Hint, Hint!)

Check it out and find out the benefits of “smart money” (which applies to start up functions as well as start-up businesses), becoming a customer of choice (so you get your supply while your competition runs short), building the dream team (and how to do it — because you definitely don’t want to end up with the B-Team), and becoming a better buyer.

(Right now, Garry is penning the best free advice you can get multiple times a week.)

Dear Procurement, No Excuses! Carpe Diem Laetus!

We’ve said twice now that cloud-based solutions — and not just video conferencing applications like Zoom — can help turn your sofa or kitchen table into a mobile procurement command center, we meant it, and we’ve given you eight great examples of activities normally done (mostly) in person that you can do just as well (or better) from your home office, desk, sofa, or even bed.

And, as you guessed, it doesn’t stop there — because the capabilities of modern procurement platforms don’t stop there. However, today we’re going to focus on how to use everyday Procurement tools in creative ways to accomplish more tasks and increase your distributed, virtual productivity. If you examine each and every tool in your software arsenal, we guarantee you can find creative ways to put them to good use to not only maintain, but possibly even increase, overall levels of efficiency in this crisis.

More specifically, with creative application of tools that likely already exist in your Source-to-Contract arsenal, you can:

  • find out what your team is doing and what they want to do
  • manage and track processes and their efficiency to identify bottlenecks
  • track distributed assets AND skillsets
  • identify relevant information resources you didn’t know you have

How?

Check out the doctor‘s latest piece over on Spend Matters on how to apply traditional procurement technology in non-traditional, socially distanced ways over on Spend Matters.