Procurement

Engaging Suppliers as Strategic Partners

Engaging Suppliers as Strategic Partners

“As Procurement professionals most of us are highly skilled at strategic sourcing and negotiating contracts. However, experience and research tell us that a significant portion of the value will leak away if we do not manage our agreements. Products change, pricing terms need updating, contract language may be subject to interpretation, key cost drivers are not managed and other contract compliance issues may arise. These issues are especially problematic if they occur with our most… Read More

Brexit: Who Cares?

Brexit: Who Cares?

Well, maybe you do. In that case, no doubt you’ve been bombarded by news reports covering the gamut from outright economic Armageddon to no big deal. The question here is what does it mean for your procurement situation? Apparently the markets continue to roil, and today (July 8) when I was writing this we saw another news item from Reuters, which in part said “Worries have only intensified since the [Brexit] vote and Fed Governor… Read More

Supply Issues for all 62 Metal Elements

Supply Issues for all 62 Metal Elements

There are 62 metals in the periodic table of elements (https://www.ptable.com/). Recently, a research group reported on the supply situation for all these metals. Takeaways from this report include these: “Many of the metals traditionally used in manufacturing …are pretty abundant and are generally widespread geographically.” “…Some metals that have become deployed for technology only in the last 10 or 20 years are available almost entirely as byproducts. You can’t mine specifically for them; they… Read More

Is This a Procurement Nightmare?

Is This a Procurement Nightmare?

We’ve found frequent news about rare earth metals. Last year there was considerable strategic concern, and we are relieved to learn this is not the only opinion. From the May 05, 2015 tech blog Gizmodo comes this: “Rare earth elements are hard-to-find metals that we need for batteries, solar cells and electronics. These days, they’re mostly mined and processed in China. But it wasn’t always so. The history of rare earth elements is surprising, and some… Read More

The Good and the Hopeful: Procurement Realities

The Good and the Hopeful: Procurement Realities

Proficient Sourcing exists to help procurement professionals (without obligation, by the way). We try to learn exactly what the buyer’s needs are. Then we search our resources to find one or more supplier that should provide an excellent fit. What happens after that is entirely up to the buyer, but we are pretty confident we’ll provide an attractive solution. Check us out: https://proficientsourcing.com/ An example of good results has recently happened with a number of… Read More

Next-shoring: Your Manufacturing Future?

Next-shoring: Your Manufacturing Future?

The rapid pace of change in a few key areas has reshaped manufacturing strategy. New developments have led to “next-shoring”, which means locating suppliers and manufacturing facilities near to locations where both customers are as well as sources for innovation. Innovation, according to most sources, occurs most easily when manufacturing is nearby. And this became one shortcoming of offshoring. In the recent past, locating manufacturing in low labor cost countries was a high priority. Recently,… Read More