Top Posts of 2016 … From the Archives!

Before we countdown the top posts of the year, let’s start by counting down the top twenty viewed posts from the archives. We’re doing this because, believe it or not, the top eleven posts of the year, based on direct page-views (as most visits are homepage views, not direct page-views) were from the archives, going all the way back to 2006! This is because SI posts, which focus on education and not entertainment, truly do stand the test of time!

Runner Up:

The Z-Score … or ZZZ-Score

20. Vendor Day Reprise!

19. Blogger Relations Part II: Fire Your PR Company!

18. It Took 40 Years But BPOs (Bank Payment Obligations) are now Truly SWIFT!

17. Common Negotiation Ploys: Some Basic Counter-Tactics

16. The Advantages of Multi-Tier Supply Chains Come at a Price

15. Economic Damnation 04: Gen X, Gen Y, and Gen Z

14. How an Online Marketplace Can Improve Equipment Rental Procurement Part I

13. Do You Know the Difference Between Direct and Indirect?

12. Source To Settle – The Sourcing and Procurement Kettle

11. A Strategic Sourcing Plan Outline

10. The Advantages of Decentralization

09. Smock on Sourcing Strategy

08. Best Practice Vendor Selection for True Multi-Nationals Part V: Stuck with an ERP? You do have options!

07. The Importance of the Job Description to Your Talent Management Strategy

06. The Purpose of a Contract is Easy to Define

05. Supply Management in the Decade Ahead VI: Developing Category Strategies

04. The Evolution of Purchasing

03. How BizSlate is Bringing Sexy Back to ERP

02. Five Types of Supply Risk and How to Mitigate Them

01. RFX Defined

What does all this mean? Come back tomorrow for our analysis.

On the Twelfth day of X-Mas (2016)


On the twelfth day of X-Mas
my blogger gave to me:
Optimizing Posts
Analysis Posts
Standard Sourcing Posts
Direct Sourcing Posts
Risk Management Posts
Sustainable Posts
e-Procurement Posts
some SRM Posts
some CLM Posts
some Best Practice Posts
some Trend Bashing Posts
and some ranting on stupidity …

The archives are full of posts on optimization. It’s the doctor‘s passion as it is one of only two advanced sourcing methodologies found to deliver double digit returns year after year after year, the one that is least applied, and the one with the most untapped potential. Data insights only take you so far. Optimization helps you do something about it.

Regardless of what any vendor might claim,
True Savings Can Only Be Identified Through Multi-Factor Optimization!
Anything else is just trimming the fat.

At the end of the day when the proverbial sh!t is about to hit the proverbial fan as the organization is still seeing red,
Only an Optimization-Backed Sourcing Platform will Answer a Buyer’s SOS.

That’s Why You Need Mass Adoption of An Optimization-Backed Sourcing Platform!

And in case you need a refresher, here’s
What Strategic Sourcing Decision Optimization Can Do!

In case you’re wondering, or still think optimization technology is in the usability dark ages, here’s a post on
Optimization: What’s Changed Since 2009.

And, before you think you have a hope of doing this in-house, here’s
Why You Should Not Build Your Own Decision Optimization solution!
the doctor is the leading independent authority on strategic sourcing decision optimization. Please heed his word.

The reality is that we’ve reached a point where it should be
Optimization-Backed Sourcing Platform … Or Bust!
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V

And even if you are applying strategic sourcing decision optimization today, all we can say is
So You Think You’ve Mastered Strategic Sourcing Decision Optimization? (Hint: you haven’t. But that’s a good thing. Just means there is more value to come your way.)

And, finally, we will wrap up this series by asking how we accelerate the adoption of optimization and analytics:
Part I
Part II

And leave you with our final thought-rant.
Millions Saved. Pennies Spent. Why Won’t They Learn?

Merry X-mas!

On the Eleventh day of X-Mas (2016)


On the eleventh day of X-Mas
my blogger gave to me:
Analysis Posts
Standard Sourcing Posts
Direct Sourcing Posts
Risk Management Posts
Sustainable Posts
e-Procurement Posts
some SRM Posts
some CLM Posts
some Best Practice Posts
some Trend Bashing Posts
and some ranting on stupidity …

Some of you might have thought we dished up the best first with our trend bashing posts and some ranting on stupidity. While those are some of the best posts SI has to offer, SI would like to think that its posts on Analysis and Optimization, the doctor‘s areas of expertise, are its crème de la crème. So, without further ado,

We know what spend analysis is (heck, the doctor co-wrote the book), but
What the Hell is Automated Spend Analysis?

Also, analysis is good because
Decisions Should be Data-Derived — But They Should Not Be Big Data Driven!

And even though you might think you can hire a high-school student and give him Microsoft Access and get a good analytics system on the cheap (as this was the complexity of many first generation contract management systems that, sad as it is, are still being sold today), the reality is that this is not the case and here is
Why You Should Not Build Your Own Analytics System

But all is not list. If you want to know, we will tell you
Spend Analysis – How You Get it Right?

In What Way Would the doctor Improve Spend Analysis? Glad you asked!
Part I
Part II
Part III

And we could not end this post without paying homage to the classic series by the old grey beard:
  I: The Value Curve
 II: The Psychology of Analysis
III: Common Sense Cleansing
 IV: Defining Analysis
  V: New Horizons Part I
 VI: New Horizons Part II

Come back tomorrow for the twelfth day of X-Mas.