Category Archives: Procurement

Procurement category strategies need evidence

Guest blog from Alison Smith, The Purchasing Coach One the hardest things when developing category or sourcing strategies is to stop anyone making the decision before all the facts and data have been gathered and analysed, and all the options … Continue reading

Posted in Procurement, Strategy Development, Supplier Management | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Eating the elephant – process analysis in organisation change

Guest blogger, David Kemp, recently Vice President-Supply Chain at the Engine Control and Electrical Systems division of Goodrich Corporation, continues his theme on organisational change. When I wrote here in January about how to design a successful organisation, I set … Continue reading

Posted in Business Transformation, Business Transformation Case Studies, Change Management, Procurement | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Buyer-Supplier Power: Concept Not Practice

In this second in a series of blogs from Chris Lonsdale on the concept of power in buyer-supplier relationships, he cautions practitioners not to confuse the concept of power with the lazy assumption that it determines how relationships should be managed … Continue reading

Posted in Procurement, SRM, Supplier Management | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Passion is never enough: we need intention most of all

At one of the more recent Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS) annual conferences, Ellis Watson, a veteran CEO with an impressive CV, called for procurement practitioners to display passion in everything they do. Step-up and take your message out to … Continue reading

Posted in Leadership & Personal Mastery, Procurement | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Procurement: should you separate operational and strategic buyers?

I was recently involved in an exchange on the subject of a reorganisation of Procurement at a service-industry client.  Being proposed was that the role of the buyer would be split into two: an operational buyer responsible for managing the … Continue reading

Posted in Change Management, Procurement, Trusted Advisor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Time for a Change – designing a successful organisation

Four Pillars is happy to welcome new guest blogger, David Kemp, recently Vice President-Supply Chain at the Engine Control and Electrical Systems division of Goodrich Corporation, a former Fortune500 aerospace and defence contractor.  David has always been passionate about organisation … Continue reading

Posted in Change Management, Procurement | Tagged , | Leave a comment

To change systems, change minds

              I recently picked up and reviewed, for a second time, a survey of companies operating in Western Europe, carried out by Capgemini and the Economist Intelligence Unit. In it, 86 per cent of … Continue reading

Posted in Business Transformation, Change Management, Leadership & Personal Mastery, Procurement, Supplier Management | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment