Category Archives: Miscellaneous

The Not-So-Wacky (Sourcing) Wiki

This is just a short post to remind you about the e-Sourcing Wiki [WayBackMachine] that I introduced to you last month in Veni, Vidi, Wiki. More content has been added, including a first draft of “Next Generation Sourcing: 21 Strategies to Innovate Sourcing” and an initial draft of “Center Led Purchasing” – and more is on the way in the near future. (An initial cut of wikis on Supplier Performance Management and Supply Risk Management are slated for the near future, as well as the e-RFx & Supplier Management and Next Generation e-Auctions in the Total Value Management Enablers series.)

Even though only seven wikis are available, it is already getting good coverage (which is not surprising since these first seven wikis constitute about 120 pages of content!), including a recent article in Supply & Demand Chain Executive. Furthermore, as pointed out in the article, even though Iasta has a hand in drafting a lot of the initial material (and the Total Value Management Enablers series in particular), in order to keep the site as vendor-neutral as possible, Iasta has lined up a number of top-tier supply chain departments at various universities to contribute content to eSourcingWiki. Furthermore, a significant portion of the content to-date has actually been drafted or edited by yours truly – and I can honestly tell you in this regard, I’m much more concerned about the content then I am on how it reflects on a particular provider’s solutions. (Furthermore, I think it important that every vendor have something to strive for, which, in Iasta’s case, includes fulfilling the eight innovative strategy for sourcing, “Guided Sourcing”, end-to-end, for starters.)

However, what really makes the site vendor neutral is you! This is a true wiki and any registered user can submit edits to existing wikis or define new wikis and new content designed to advanced the profession of supply and spend management and help their fellow sourcing professionals. So put on your thinking caps, grab your virtual writing instrument, and share the knowledge of your experience. Then it will truly be the community body of knowledge it is designed to be. Just imagine if a whitepaper on sourcing decision support was not written by a single vendor or analyst firm, but a collective body of the best minds in the market how good it could be.

Where’s My UI?

The title of a recent article on the “The Future of the Enterprise User Interface” by AMR’s Jim Murphy caught my attention. In it, he claims that the user interface (UI) will evolve into a pervasive layer for user interaction in the next five years, extending established enterprise systems to users in their work environments – wherever they happen to be and that it will be an intrinsic part of every company’s architecture while allowing end users a persistent, consistent, and personalized means of accessing, contributing, and delivering information across internal and external sources; structured and unstructured systems; and business, personal, and community services.

He then goes on to characterize the new UI, which will be:

  • Rich
    graphically intuitive
  • Pervasive
    consistent, reliable, secure access
  • Continuous
    users will be able to switch between access points and pick up where they left off
  • Contextual
    information and services will be presented based on context
  • Personalized
    users will have their own portals to publish and consume content and services
  • An Extension of Identity
    users will be able to establish a holistic sense of identity
  • Interface-Free
    interface tools will expand
  • Information Intelligent
    users will be able to use their native language to ask questions and get answers

Which is not only where interfaces are heading, but where they are today!

  • Microsoft is trying to do with Vista what Apple has been doing with the Mac OS X for years, and make interfaces usable
  • Most on-demand applications now provide a consistent, reliable, and secure service whose availability is only limited by availability of the underlying connection
  • Some leading on-demand applications and portals are including contextual sensitivity that remembers where the user was and returns the user to that point the next time she logs in
  • Some portals now push content based upon where the user is in the workflow
  • A host of free and low-cost platforms now exist on the web for users to publish and consume content and services
  • Leading web-sites now allow users to establish their own identify
  • Interface tools are expanding daily. Creating a web page is now child’s play. Back in the day, it was a monumental programming task.
  • Researchers are making tremendous progress in natural language interfaces.

In other words, although the title caught my eye, the article itself left something to be desired. In five years, the UI should progress well beyond where it is today. Now, I should point out that the article was focussed on the enterprise UI, and it is a fact that traditionally enterprise applications have significantly trailed consumer applications in user interface advancements, but with the recent surge in on-demand applications and the current push by many leading companies to move to web 2.0 “community” applications, I am of the belief that any software company that waits five years to upgrade its UI to these capabilities will not be around in five years. The new workforce is much more technically competent and used to a “networked” world. I don’t think they’ll wait five years for you to catch up. So, although I agree that the enterprise of the future will be rich, pervasive, continuous, contextual, personalized, an extension of identify, interface-free, and information intelligent, I believe that future will come much sooner than Mr. Murphy seems to imply.

McKinsey, Web 2.0, and India

Recently, the McKinsey Quarterly ran an interesting article on the results of their survey on “How Business are Using Web 2.0” technologies, which rely on user collaboration, including Web services, peer-to-peer networking, blogs, podcasts, and online social networks. They found that there was widespread careful interest in the trend, that most respondents expressed satisfaction with their investments to date and that they viewed Web 2.0 technologies as strategic, but that most companies were placing the greatest importance on the technologies that enable automation and networking.

When asked what their companies might have done differently during the past 5 years to make more effective investments in Web 2.0 technologies, in hindsight 42% of companies said they invested at the right time but should have invested more in internal capabilities, 24% said they should have invested sooner, and 18% would not have done anything differently. In other words, 84% have a strong belief in the value of Web 2.0 technologies.

The most popular bets that companies are using or planning to use are web services at 80%, collective intelligence at 48%, and peer-to-peer networking at 47%. Even though Web 2.0 is best known for blogs, podcasts, wikis, mash-ups, and RSS, most companies are more interested in the tools that connect all of the stakeholders together. This is backed up by the fact that the fourth most popular bet is social networking at 37%.

However, one of the most interesting points was that interest in Web 2.0 was highest in retail, and not high tech, and that investment interest in India significantly surpasses interest in China by 16%. Does this mean that forwarding thinking companies believe that Web 2.0 technology can be used to overcome many of the infrastructure short comings that plague India compared to China and put India on more even footing? I’m not sure, but it’s a very good question. Any thoughts?

EQ IQ

When on the Lean path of challenging the norm, eliminating waste, and searching for root-cause, business leaders must apply “Emotional Quotient” (EQ) skills to overcome roadblocks. … You need to identify, take ownership, solve and meet challenges head on when applying an emotionally intelligent response.

I didn’t get beyond the first paragraph of this article on The EQ Factor from Supply & Demand Chain Executive without thinking back to JB’s posts on Spend Matters [WayBackMachine] (“What is the Spend Manager Made Of?”* and “The Spend Management Talent Game”*) where he noted that a high EQ (high interpersonal skills) is one of the three key areas required to excel in Spend Management and that practitioners need to understand the world beyond them and possess general problem solving skills that go beyond functional – or even technology – knowledge. That’s probably what drew me in.

The article states that Emotional Intelligence (EI) can be defined as the innate dimension of intelligence responsible for our potential to manage opportunities when presented and manage relationships with others. EQ (like IQ, only with emotions) is the relative measure of a person’s healthy or unhealthy development of their innate EI and notes that while many leaders can comprehend tremendously intricate data, frequently those same leaders lack empathy, sabotage relationships, and ultimately fail to “rally the troops” and implement desired changes.

It then goes on to illustrate what EQ is by way of a Case Study called The EQ Blunder about a planning manager who is pessimistic, condescending, and challenging. But the specifics aren’t important, the points they specifics illustrate are.

The article notes that EQ can be learned by addressing the five critical skills that make up emotional intelligence through training and reinforcement. These skills are:

  • Self-Awareness
  • Mood Management
  • Self-Motivation
  • Empathy
  • Manage Relationships

A self-aware person gathers their thoughts and formulates a reply that includes an acknowledgment of the concern, followed by questions to gain clarification in an effort to build a complete, unambiguous, and mutual understanding of the facts and/or circumstances before formulating a response.

An individual who controls her mood is capable of self-management – of evaluating the situation and adapting appropriately. They look at the costs and benefits of the small actions as well as the large ones and align their actions with their attentions. They take the appropriate amount of time and give the right amount of attention to critical tasks in order to manage all the issues and act appropriately. They are optimistic, see beyond the present, and anticipate the future.

They are motivated, and take action because it feels rewarding to do so. They manage and sustain their energy levels and ensure that they are able to persevere through the challenges.

They are socially aware. They take ownership, accountability, see through the problem, ask questions, and do whatever is necessary to create change and improvements. They are empathic, in control of their body language, and sharing.

They can manage their relationships. They commit to worthy goals. They are compassionate. They are leaders.

* All posts prior to 2012 were removed in the Spend Matters site refresh in June, 2023.

It’s Coupa Time!

The Grunka Lunkas are still standing guard at the Coupa factory, so I have nothing significant to report yet … but I am told that the new enterprise version is almost ready and I will do everything I can to break the veil of secrecy as soon as possible.  On the bright side, I am told there are lots of cool new features to make you go “WOW”, so I’m betting it will be worth the wait.  In the meantime, if you’re daring, here’s a Coupa rap.

Apologies Jason (see “Why I’m Not a Poet”** on Spend Matters [WayBackMachine]), but I was dared* (sort-of).
(At least it’s not another oompa-loompa chant!
And hey, as Charles said on the Purchasing Certification Blog (now the Certitrek NLPA blog), it’s guaranteed that no one will ever confuse our blogs. )

(To the rap of “U Can’t Touch This” by MC Hammer.
Time to bring back those balloon pants!)

U-Can buy this!
U-Can buy this!
U-Can buy this!
U-Can buy this!

My, my, my, my Coupa hits you so hard
Makes you say Oh my Lord!
Thank you for blessing me
With an app that works so flawlessly
Feels good when you know you’re down
A superdope guru who slaps code down
And we’re known as such
And this is one app, uh, they can’t touch

I told you mister, they can’t touch this
Yeah, that’s how we codin’ and ya know,
U-Can buy this!
With a slick UI, U-Can buy this!
You know, let me bust the funky lyrics, U Can buy this!

Cool new app features
Built to satisfy all sorts of creatures
Knock you out of your seat
New tagging feature that can’t be beat
Grab your arm-rests, hold on
With order tracking features, your order’s never gone
Like this, Like that
Coupa’s on a mission, better fall back
Tell the world that we’re too much
And this is one app, uh, they can’t touch

Yo, I told you, they can’t touch this
Why you standing there man, ’cause U-Can buy this
Yo, sound the bell, school is in, sucker, U-Can buy this

It can link to your system
Punch-out power is what we’re giving ’em
Can’t negate
The only word is Coupa when you’re buying cor-por-ate
It’s hype and tight
With Ruby on Rails, system needs are slight
Now it’s time to learn
What it’s gonna take in the nought’s to burn
The hits legit
They can’t top us, they might as well quit

It’s all because you know
They can’t touch this … but …
U-Can buy this
Break it down!
Stop! Coupa time!

Go with the flow is what they say
Time to get with Coupa, stop livin’ in yesterday
Purchase at the speed of light
No-click Coupa buys will get your order right
This is it, it’s a winner
Get with this, make your processes thinner
Now move, click that mouse
Just takes a minute for you to not get loused

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, they can’t touch this
But man, U-Can buy this
You’ll probably get hype boy,
‘Cause you know U can, U can buy this
Ring the bell, schools’ back in, buy it now!
Stop! Coupa time!

U-Can buy this
U-Can buy this
U-Can buy this
Buy it now!
Stop! Coupa time!

Every time you see it, the app just gets slicker
It’s dope on the net and service doesn’t flicker
Now why would we ever stop coding it
With others makin’ products that just don’t hit
I toured around the world from London to the Bay
It’s Coupa – Go Coupa – OS Coupa – Yo Coupa
and the rest can go and play

U-Can buy this
U-Can buy this
U-Can buy this
Yeah, U-Can buy this
I told you, U-Can buy this
Too hype, U-Can buy this
Get on outta here, U can buy this!

* Not by Coupa, who, to the best of my knowledge, had no prior knowledge of this post.

** All posts prior to 2012 were removed in the Spend Matters site refresh in June, 2023.