This is the third in a series of articles on how to implement and enhance a gate process (also known as stage gate process). The series sets out to highlight some of the issues associated with the introduction and operation of gate processes, and to offer some advice in the context of consumer products. Continue reading
The return of UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, from the European Council in Brussels empty-handed, raises serious questions about his competency as a negotiator. British diplomat, and former Downing Street Chief of Staff under Tony Blair, Jonathan Powell, appearing on BBC’s Newsnight, accused Cameron of either incompetence or deliberately going for failure. The Economist reports the assessment of “a well-placed source” who was certain that [failure]was not Mr Cameron’s goal.
So here is a lesson for Mr Cameron and, with a little interpretation by the reader, a lesson for other would-be negotiators. Continue reading
This is the second of a series of articles on how to implement and enhance a gate process. The series sets out to highlight some of the issues associated with the introduction and operation of gate processes, and to offer some advice in the context of consumer products. Continue reading
This is the first of a series of articles on how to implement and enhance a gate process. I shall be highlighting some of the issues associated with the introduction and operation of a gate processes, and to offer some advice in the context of consumer products. Continue reading
This week I was alerted by Dutch procurement consultant, Robbert den Braber, to a blog by technology sourcing expert, Dr Michael Lamoureux – a critique of an article by Accenture senior manager Kamendran Govender entitled “Command and Supply” about procurement practice to achieve superior supply chain performance.
Another article by freelance writer Stephanie Overby, “Is There a Lack of Innovation From Outsourcers?” reviewed the findings of a 2011 Forrester Research Survey, where 41% of outsourcing clients cited lack of innovation as the biggest challenge with their existing IT services relationships, and quoted Forrester analyst, Jan Erik Aase, “I believe my findings apply to any vendor relationship.”
The articles resonated with my recent blogs “How to Start a Strategic Value-Added Programme” and “How to select suppliers to create value” where I focused on assessing supplier’s capability to collaborate and innovate, to help us optimize existing products/services, and to achieve our desired business outcomes.
Now I aim to stimulate readers to think about why procurement (and other) organisations’ performance may be missing the mark. Continue reading