Purchasing Thoughts

A collection of my thoughts, opinions and finds relating to the world of the professional buyer.

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In light of recently starting my sessions on risk for my next CIPS level 5 exam. Here is an interesting piece about risk that political uncertainty and media scrutiny can present for a supplier.

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A step forward for responsible cotton...

Seems there is a real appetite amongst companies to become ethically and environmentally responsible with news that after only a few months of existence, Cotton Leads has already had a number of high profile companies sign up to it's programme. Aimed at improving farm production practices, environmental stewardship and dissemination of best practice guidelines, brands like Fruit of the Loom have agreed to only use cotton sourced responsibly through Cotton Leads.

And with news also that Ikea will source all of their cotton in line with the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) guidelines by 2015, and Addidas by 2018, seems there is a bright future for sustainable cotton!

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Seven Factors of Supply Chain Failure

1. Offshoring, making it increasingly difficult for firms to monitor supply chains adequately

2. Increasing complexity of supply chains, meaning companies were often unaware of who their suppliers were subcontracting to

3. Cost pressures, which could lead to compromise on quality and ethics

4. Geographic clustering, making manufacturers vulnerable to a localised disaster such as the Japanese tsunami of 2011

5. Modern communications, which can quickly damage reputations

6. Just-in-time production methods, which have reduced the time to recover from supply chain failure

7. Dependence on multiple suppliers, increasing overall vulnerability.

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“The relentless pressure to cut prices has led to the creation of supply chains of mind-boggling complexity and business models that no-one properly understands. When you consider the speed with which information travels, boards should not be surprised when public relations disasters such as the horse meat scandal take place.”

Airmic technical director Paul Hopkin: http://www.supplymanagement.com/news/2013/seven-factors-of-supply-chain-failure/?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_term=

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A lesson to be learnt here. As we become more global it's important to recognise that our risk increase as well. Managing risk is a hot topic at the moment in a number of different industries, and something that within my day job we are constantly battling.

World Bank CPS Christopher Browne says that as we become more global, so does our supply base, and this experience of working internationally will lead to more flexible approaches, which in turn leads to a greater acceptance of bespoke processes - tailored to manage the individual risks of different projects, and situations. 

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With news that Apple supplier Foxcon are now 'largely complying' with working hour regulations, I had a thought about what responsibility buyers have in ensuring regulation. Certainly there is a growing emphasis, especially following a number of media scandals it's moving increasingly higher on the buyers list of things to do, but how much control can a buyer have? How much control should a buyer have? 

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Peter Smith from Spend Matters highlighting a great little article from Sammy Rashed which discusses the future of the procurement function.

Just downloaded it myself...my thoughts coming soon...

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FROM TWITTER'S MOUTH - are we still not making enough steps forward to fix the skills gap in the UK?

BostonConsultingGrp ‏@BCG2m

#Apprenticeships in #England are offered by just 20% of employers, compared to 51% in Germany: http://huff.to/1ecd6Da 

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A great day for women in the workplace anywhere in the world!

But this hold particular resonance for me as it’s a step forward for my own sector, the mostly male dominated automotive world