May 8, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

I’ve just returned to my Pittsburgh office, after attending and presenting two workshops at the 93^rd Annual ISM Conference, held this year in St. Louis, Missouri.

A few impressions of my own, melded with comments from fellow attendees:

• Attendance was lighter than last year’s Las Vegas venue – perhaps supporting the contention that location, not just content, affects attendance. Note: Next year’s conference will be in Charlotte, NC. One conference attendee wished out loud that ISM would arrange a golf outing as part of the Charlotte program, perhaps on Saturday or Sunday before the conference gets in full swing.
• Some very good, new topics on this year’s program, presented by some very talented speakers.
• Some “repeat” topics from past programs. Some of them a

May 6, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

What might be the return on investment for your annual Supplier Recognition activities?

Benefits typically fall into two categories:

–  Further performance improvements from the premier suppliers that you recognized

–  Improvements from suppliers who want to become your premier, recognized supplier next year

Here is a snapshot of one company’s experience:

–  First year expenses of less than $ 50,000 (all-in expenses, including a full-page color ad in a major supply management magazine)

–  The “extra effort” of just one supplier who wanted to be selected in the second year generated new cost reductions of more than $1 million per year

–  ROI : 20x just based on one ...Read More

May 1, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

For those of you who plan to attend next week’s ISM Conference in St. Louis, I’ll be presenting two topics:

• “The Gold Medal: Transforming Supply Management into a World-Class Driver of Corporate Performance” – Monday, May 5 at 9:00 am 
• “Speak Like a CFO, and Get Senior Management’s Attention” – Tuesday, May 6 at 2:30 pm

See you there!

April 29, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Are you ready for a supplier recognition event at your company? You are probably ready if:

• You have fairly good data on supplier performance
• You have agreement on the selection criteria
• You have a view that suppliers are part of the solution
• Your corporate culture is one where you recognize employees
• Senior management is willing to participate

You are probably NOT ready if:

• You have fairly poor data on supplier performance
• You don’t have agreement on the selection criteria
• You have a view that suppliers are part of the problem
• Your corporate culture is one where employee recognition is a strange idea
• Senior management can’t be bothered with purchasing activities

If you&...Read More

April 25, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

A prerequisite for having a successful supplier recognition program is to have clearly defined roles. The key players are the Procurement Council, Selection Committee, Nominators, and Executives.

The Procurement Council establishes expectations and policy, appoints members of a Selection Committee, approves a budget, approves the selection criteria and process, reviews and approves the selected suppliers, and runs the logistics of the recognition event itself.

The Selection Committee communicates the nomination process to all parts of the organization, establishes clear decision-making criteria, reviews nominations, and selects the “best of the best” finalists for review by the Procurement Council.

The “nominators” are procurement personnel and internal clients who identify appropriate nominees based on the communicated criteria, pre...Read More