Category Archives: Miscellaneous

Is Your SRM in a State of Flux? Maybe You Should Find Out!

Earlier this year we introduced you to State of Flux, a provider of Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) software and services, and the initiators of the SRM Research Report which we highlighted in our 3-part series that highlighted why you should focus on essentials, plan against the pillars, and be a customer of choice.

SRM is very important because supply chain success is ultimately dependent on your supply base. Your organization can have the best marketing and packaging in the world, but if the supply base delivers products that are rubbish, your organization’s brand reputation is tainted, and the damage can well exceed even double-digit savings identified during the sourcing phase.

But it’s not easy to effectively manage supplier relationships because SRM is more than just performance monitoring and corrective action management, it’s also nurturing, development, and partnership. Furthermore, effective SRM requires quite a bit of work to get a proper framework in place (as reinforced by Sigi Osagie’s recent Procurement Mojo), which will need to be implemented while keeping the ten essentials in mind that were highlighted in State of Flux’s 2014 SRM Report (and summarized in our post on the essentials).

And it’s even harder to find out how well you are doing until, of course, a major disruption or disaster occurs when a shipment doesn’t arrive or, even worse, arrives with a 10%+ defect rate (because, otherwise, it seems like everything is hunky-dory even when the relationship is spiralling out of control). But there is a way — you can proactively participate in the 2015 State of Flux SRM Research Report and get the full results ahead of the market. You can measure yourself against your peers, find out where the market is, and get the first insights into new best practices.

You have until June 26, 2015 to complete the SRM Survey, which, this year, is focused on helping you get executive sponsorship and support for SRM. Executive sponsorship is critical because SRM needs to be viewed as an organization enabler for the required transition management program to be adopted and enforced.

While this survey will take 45 minutes of your time, the reward is infinitely more valuable than the cost. This year’s publication was one of the most comprehensive compendiums of SRM insight ever produced with 216 pages of data, results, and expert interpretation. Imagine the value that will be yours, for free, as a participant in the seventh annual study.

So, follow the hyperlink and take the 2015 SRM Survey today. Given the depth of the work consistently produced by State of Flux compared to the average analyst report, you won’t regret it!


Where is Procurement Headed?

Will Procurement ever graduate from the status of misfit toy to that of
one eyed one horned flying purple people eater?

Procurement is still the back room function in many organizations. The early achievers adopted new technology and new processes in the early to mid noughts. The leaders adopted new technology and new processes from the late noughts to the early teens. But the laggards are still on the fence. And not just because they are laggards — but because their organizations are laggards and not giving them the respect and support they deserve.

Let’s face it, with the vast majority of Procurement organizations not having a seat at the table, they are still being treated as a misfit toy. Graduating to the status of one eyed one horned flying purple people eater would be a grand accomplishment — if they could get there.

But first they need to be a rockin’ band. But in order to rock, they need instruments. Technology, which they don’t get budget for, processes, that they haven’t been trained on, and knowledge, that they don’t even know they need. And even if they could get the tools, processes, and knowledge that they needed, they still need to learn how to play in sync.

We’ll start with the second issue first. In order to learn to play in sync, they need training. Training that they never got, even when training was a top procurement survey issue for almost five years in a row. But this is not only hurting Procurement, it’s hurting the organization. Because if Procurement had the training, they would not only know how to play in sync, but they would have the knowledge. In particular, the knowledge they need to not only obtain great savings, and value, for the organization, but the knowledge they need to institute better processes, identify better technology, and convince the organization of the proper steps to achieve savings success.

Good training not only provides knowledge to execute, but knowledge to educate, and knowledge to entice the rest of the organization to follow your lead.

So if your Procurement organization wants to excel, it has to get training. If it can’t get it by hook (by getting it in the budget), then it has to get it by crook (PO now and take the consequences when the invoice come in later), or if there are no other options, with the personal check book (and replace the funds with the bonus you’ll get when the savings materialize). And only then will Procurement be a band of one eyed one horned flying purple people eaters.

Coupa = 1B? the doctor is still shell-shocked!

the doctor is still so flabbergasted that he does not know what else to write! So, in honour of their amazing, unprecedented, achievement, the doctor is reposting the classic first single from the Coupa EP: Davie and the Coupa Factory, which was originally released on March 24, 2007.

Oompa Loompa Doom-pa-dee-do
I’m building a great product for you!
Oompa Loompa Doom-pa-dah-dee
If you are wise download it for free.

What do you get when you go open source?
Straying away from the Oracle course
Where you are going terribly flat
What do you think will come of that?

I don’t like the look of it

Oompa Loompa Doom-pa-dee-dar
If you are willing, you will go far
You will live in happiness too
Like the Oompa Loompa Doom-pa-dee-do

Oompa Loompa Doom-pa-dee-do
I have a great product for you
Oompa Loompa Doom-pa-dee-dee
If you are wise you’ll take a look-see

Oracle’s fine when you have lots of cash
It stores all your data and caches it fast
But when you’re cash-strapped, you’re hung out to dry
To watch the vultures circ’ling high

Up in the dark’ning skies

Oompa Loompa doom-pa-dee-dar
But now there’s Coupa, you can go far
You will buy in happiness too
Like the Oompa-Loompa doom-pa-dee-do

Oompa Loompa Doom-pa-dee-do
I have a great product for you
Oompa Loompa Doom-pa-dee-derd
If you are wise, you will spread the word

Ask who they’ll blame when your spend is off track?
Deep in the red and there’s no turning back
Contracts alone will never be enough
If your software’s not up to snuff

And doesn’t track your stuff

Oompa Loompa doom-pa-dee-dar
But now there’s Coupa, you can go far
You will buy in happiness too
Like the Oompa-Loompa doom-pa-dee-do

Oompa Loompa Doom-pa-dee-do
I have a great product for you
Oompa Loompa Doom-pa-dee-derd
If you are wise, you’ll buy enterprise

Recquisitions with a click of the mouse
No more mistakes for accounting to delouse
One click receipts when the order arrives
Invoice matching that always jives

You’ll have no … you’ll have no … you’ll have no regrets

Oompa Loompa doom-pa-dee-dar
But now there’s Coupa, you can go far
You will buy in happiness too
Like the Oompa-Loompa doom-pa-dee-do