Ten questions to help understand and plan for cultural differences. International commerce means the world is fast becoming a smaller place. As a result, it is easy to assume that, if organizations are interacting routinely across geographic boundaries and conducting business in one increasingly universal language, there is no longer a need to consider our cultural differences. Cultural differences shape who we are, ... More Info
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A guide to help CPOs better demonstrate how their function adds value to the organization. It’s all about savings, savings, savings! Once upon a time such a statement would have rung true for most procurement functions. But times have changed. In a post-recession and ever more volatile, fast-changing and unpredictable world, the leading companies are organized so that procurement functions are focused on ... More Info
Are they an essential tool or are we limiting the potential that the supply base can offer? RFP’s (Request for Proposal) and, indeed, RFQs (Request for Quotation) are key tools in a buyer’s toolkit. These are almost certainly managed through an online platform and have become increasingly routine where there is an opportunity to run a competitive process. But do they really help bring advantage? ... More Info
How to really do itIt’s difficult to read an article on innovation without seeing Apple mentioned somewhere. The common association of Apple with innovation is old news, but few stop to think about how this actually happened and the lessons that can be learned from this. Apple’s innovation wasn’t the sole outcome of a bunch of clever people working out of a lab in ... More Info
How to ensure Category Management is successfully embedded across an organization. “What benefits will Category Management deliver to my organization?” This is a question I am regularly asked. It is expected that I will produce a magic savings number, backed up by hard evidence to justify the claim, and form the basis for a business case. My answer is simple, “It depends!”
It ... More Info
I was delighted to be asked to write a third edition of Category Management and felt this was validation that not only had the text made a difference to the world ... More Info
“How do I know what I should pay for this?” is a fair question when planning a negotiation and one I frequently hear being asked, especially by those just starting out. There is a common misconception that somewhere out there lies a magic tool or approach used by the professionals to gain this insight. Sadly, there’s not!
In some cases, with a bit of prior effort, research ... More Info
The specialist Red Sheet Negotiation Tool is celebrating the tenth anniversary. Red Sheet is a powerful and highly effective planning tool that brings confidence to both the most experienced as well ... More Info
Positive Purchasing CEO Jonathan O’Brien has presented at the Supply Chain Outlook 2014 Conference in Sweden to mark the publication of the Swedish translation of his bestselling book, Category Management in ... More Info
The third and final book in the strategic procurement trilogy by Positive Purchasing’s CEO, Jonathan O’Brien, is now available, published by Kogan Page.“Supplier Relationship Management” is Jonathan’s third book ... More Info