Procurement for Projects? …or Business as Usual?

Posted on 22 February 2012 by Tony Colwell

In a recent exchange on Twitter, I was asked if I had any writing on procurement in the context of projects, as there is very little coverage about this topic for Project Managers.

Is procurement for projects different from other procurement?

There are opposing arguments, on the one hand that procurement for projects is very different from other procurement, on the other hand, that the ideal approaches to procurement are very similar whether for projects or not, and that the approaches become different only as one makes compromises. Such compromises would arise as a consequence of differences in objectives for projects and ‘business as usual’ (BAU), and from constraints in the capability of the procurement resource. Compromises may also be forced by late involvement of appropriate procurement expertise. Continue reading →

How to Determine Purchasing Organisation: Purchasing Activity Analysis

Posted on 15 February 2012 by Tony Colwell

Judging by the limited references in the literature on purchasing practice and purchasing organisation, it would seem that purchasing activity analysis is a much underrated tool.

Why is activity analysis an important tool in determining purchasing organisation and establishing good practice? Continue reading →

The Role of Procurement: Cost Saving or Adding Value?

Featured

Posted on 12 February 2012 by Tony Colwell

Where does cost saving sit in your Procurement’s scheme of things?

In a recent series of articles I have been examining the reasons why procurement cost-saving initiatives frequently fail to meet expectations, particularly in term of delivering measurable improvements in business profitability. There is undoubtedly a bigger question: where does cost saving sit in Procurement’s scheme of things? Continue reading →

How to Select Strategic Suppliers – Part 2: Reconciling Buyer and Supplier Perspectives

Posted on 8 February 2012 by Tony Colwell

Few customer-supplier partnerships are equal. Buyers need to be wary of entering into dependent relationships where the supplier will gain a dominant position. This is the second part of a 2-part article which sets out to examine how and why Procurement might consider the supplier’s perspective when selecting suppliers. It is particularly relevant for strategic supplies, where value creation and value capture are key objectives. Continue reading →

How to Select Strategic Suppliers – Part 1: Beware the Supplier’s Perspective

Posted on 7 February 2012 by Tony Colwell

Few customer-supplier partnerships are equal. Buyers need to be wary of entering into dependent relationships where the supplier will gain a dominant position. This is the first part of a 2-part article which sets out to examine how and why Procurement might consider the supplier’s perspective when selecting suppliers. It is particularly relevant for strategic supplies, where value creation and value capture are key objectives. Continue reading →

How to Determine Procurement Organisation – Part 3: The 5 Dimensions in Detail

Posted on 27 January 2012 by Tony Colwell

This is the third in a series of articles which examine the internal and external factors which, when taken into consideration, will indicate the preferred model for procurement within a business. Continue reading →

Avoiding the Pitfalls of Centralised Procurement: 18 Reasons why procurement cost-saving initiatives fail to deliver to the bottom line

Posted on 26 January 2012 by Tony Colwell

This article is an update to an earlier article – the fifth in a series on how to avoid the pitfalls of centralised procurement.

In the first article I commented on the reasons why, when many large organisations embark on centralised procurement initiatives with the promise of substantial savings, direct increases in profitability fail to materialize within the business units. A discussion to capture the views of other procurement professionals has been running at Procurement Professionals Group on LinkedIn.

This week I re-analyze the comments – 311 at time of writing this article – from 118 contributors, excluding myself. Continue reading →

How to Determine Procurement Organisation – Part 2: 5 Dimensions to be Considered

Posted on 21 January 2012 by Tony Colwell

This is the second in a series of articles which examine the internal and external factors which, when taken into consideration, will indicate the preferred model for procurement within a business. Continue reading →

Acuity (Consultants)

Executive Interim Manager and Supply Chain Consultant, Tony Colwell's Blog

Category Archives: Procurement