Sunday, March 14, 2010
Edition 18 (February 2009)
PREVIOUS EDITIONS
David Rae, Editor
As I write this, 10 inches of snow have just brought the vast majority of south east of England to a complete standstill.
It was a curious thing. Despite being given the best part of a week's notice, most of the country seemed completely unprepared for the onslaught - trains were cancelled, airports closed and logistics networks creaked and groaned under the strain.
Apart from anything, the incident brought into focus how reliant procurement is on successful risk management. It is a subject that permeates every aspect of corporate life, but nowhere more so than in procurement and supply chain operations and, as a result, the decisions that CPOs routinely make are laden with risk - whether financial, operational, reputational or a heart attack-inducing combination of all three.
As we have seen from the events of the past 12 months, some risks are almost impossible to predict. After all, banks don't fail…
More from the editor
PROCUREMENT FEATURES
- BA's Tim Richardson saves £500m
Mon, 16 Feb 2009 10:53:00 - New predictive markets service launched
Mon, 16 Feb 2009 10:51:00 - NXP CPO Peter Carlsson on restructuring
Mon, 16 Feb 2009 10:47:00 - Interview: DHL's procurement director, Hans Mak
Mon, 16 Feb 2009 10:46:00 - US protectionism creeps nearer
Mon, 16 Feb 2009 10:45:00 - Moves: Walker makes tracks for SBB
Mon, 16 Feb 2009 10:43:00 - Ariba ruling splits opinion
Mon, 16 Feb 2009 10:42:00 - China to Europe rail link delayed again
Mon, 16 Feb 2009 10:39:00 - Time to renegotiate contracts, say experts
Mon, 16 Feb 2009 10:37:00 - Getting procurement's message across
Mon, 16 Feb 2009 10:35:00
PROCUREMENT OPINIONS
Economic view: Braced for the worst
The US provided a textbook example of an emergency bailout in January, made possible by years of training, quick and decisive action and exceptional skill. However, it was not in the arena of corporates or banks, but an airline - or an aeroplane to be more precise.
Inside view: The average CPO
Over the past few months, I have witnessed several examples of CPOs either in denial or very busy with displacement activities when asked to consider how good their operation is. Of course, they know better than I, but as I travel around I observe the same issues coming up over and over again; talent, internal cooperation, real supplier collaboration, how to oversee a greening of the supply chain and, of course, most recently, how to stay in business.
PROFILE
Featured Profile: Rick Hughes
With a $50bn budget, Procter & Gamble's Rick Hughes has a lot of spending power. But he insists it's the consumer who calls the shots, writes David Rae.
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