Over the next twelve months I plan to start taking a closer look at the procurement technology solutions currently available. My journey will explore solutions with a range of functionality and scalability. As a former technologist, I look forward to learning about the different solutions and how they can benefit the business community. The first entry will look at the Zycus solution and its ability to deliver "Actionable Spend Analysis".

If there are particular solutions you would like me to review, then please feel free to make your suggestions. 

In parallel to the reviews of procurement technology, I will also be sharing my experiences of using Microsoft Vista and Office 2007. Diving in head first I have got a new laptop en route with the new Vista operating system installed on it. People might suggest using a version of Windows before service pack1 has been released is crazy. However, as the likelihood of any large organisation adopting Vista in short term is very low, I thought it would be interesting for me to let you know what your missing and not missing about the new Microsoft experience.

Anyone with a respectful interest in celebrities will know the environment is a hot topic.

Singer KT Tunstall, along with other artists such as Coldplay and Scissor Sisters, and Hollywood actor Orlando Bloom, are fronting a noble scheme to step up the fight against global warming. This of course, is not cynical timing ahead of the release of an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change this Friday (I would be surprised if it was) but because they probably care and feel they can do something about it.

In short, they aim to influence the carbon trading market by purchasing and retiring carbon credits to push up the price of CO2. By refusing to re-sell carbon credits they hope to increase the price of carbon, and financially penalise firms which fail to meet targets. (BBC Newsnight).

Do you think this really can help to slow down global warming? And do you think the latest teen sensation really can have a comparative effect on your company if you miss the mark?

We’re interested to know your thoughts……………….

Over the last year I have been enlightened by the Procurement Blog Community. However, my addiction to read the posts of from the likes of Spend Matters, Sourcing Innovation et el has been blighted.

The frustration stems from trying to access the posts whilst I am on the move, which normally means viewing the websites via a tiny screen on my Palm Treo (blackberry alternative). Even with the clever optimisation of pages by the browser, reviewing the different blogs can be a slow and cumbersome process.

But, thanks to a pointer from my collegue Alex Martinez my pain is no longer. Alex introduced me to xFruits, a new Web 2.0 service allowing you to manage all your RSS viewing pleasures. For example, it will take any RSS Feed and covert it to mobile friendly page - take a look at the mobile version of the European Leaders in Procurement Blog.
In addition, xFruits also allows you to:

1. aggregate a number of RSS feeds so you can review all your favourite blogs on one webpage
2. create an "RSS to Mail" fruit, which will email you with the last post from your favourite blog
3. create an "RSS to PDF", which dynamically creates a printer friendly PDF document of your favourite blogs eg. PDF version of the ELP Blog
   

Here are some of my favourite Fruits, which I use on a daily basis:

• aggregated webpage of my favourite procurement blogs
  
• Spend matters - mobile version
• Sourcing innovation - mobile version
• eSourcing forum - mobile version

For all of you equally addicted to the procurement blogs, I hope xFruits makes life that much easier!

Now nominations are open for the first European Leaders In Procurement Awards we thought it would be a good chance to talk with some of the members of our judging panel, to gather their views on the upcoming ceremony.

After speaking to them, it’s clear the panel, which is made up of some of Europe’s top procurement and business leaders, have at least one thing in common; they're all looking forward to finding out what some of the sector’s most influential and innovative individuals and organisations are going to come up with.

“The awards process is a great way to see what others are contributing to their organisations and the profession as a whole,” says Giles Breault, Chief Purchasing Executive of Novartis Pharma.

“And not only does it give me a chance to really see what best-in-class is, but allows me to benchmark among the very best.”

The inaugural awards represent a very rare opportunity for the best people the industry has to offer to meet and share ideas. Dr. Hans Elmsheuser, Head Global Purchasing at Basle-based Syngenta Crop Protection AG, is relishing the chance to see at first hand what the future of procurement holds.

“This is an exciting time for procurement,” he says. “I’m a firm believer in rewarding excellence, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what the entrants have to offer.”

With the quality of entries likely to be extremely high, our judges will have their work cut out, but each has their own ideas on why these awards, the first of their kind, are so important.

“While only a few win the awards,” says Giles Breault, “the opportunity to qualify and to compete for the awards helps all of us to improve what we do and how we do it.”

For Christina De Luca, Chief Procurement Officer for BP PLC Refining and Marketing Business, the reasons for entering are threefold, and involve the need to recognise not only individual efforts, but also company excellence and the value of team working.

“External recognition of your accomplishments feels great and paves the way for the next challenge,” she tells ELP.

So with a variety of nominations expected over the next few months, our judging panel, like our nominees, are likely to have their hands full.

To find out more about our panel and what they believe makes a winning formula, read our exclusive interviews in the ELP Awards supplement, due out with January's European Leaders In Procurement magazine.

The Economist Intelligence Unit has identified Global Sourcing as one of the key drivers for growth in emerging markets, but highlights competition for talent as a real problem area.

The Economist Intelligence Unit's fifth annual CEO Briefing survey’s results a lack of available local talent will be the single greatest barrier to growth for firms that operate within emerging markets over the next three years.

Labour is also the primary barrier to growth in developed markets, according to the 1,006 executives surveyed worldwide (including 115 from the United States), but here the problem is high cost. As competition for talent heightens in all markets, firms will put more effort into their own training and development programmes, while also emphasising performance-based compensation more than ever.

The survey highlights the importance of emerging markets to companies as primary revenue and sourcing opportunities. A clear majority of respondents intends to invest more time and money in emerging markets over the next three years than in developed markets. For the second year running, rising demand in the developing world is seen as the most critical force at play in the global marketplace (34%), followed by global sourcing (32%).

"Although the differences between the developed and developing worlds are eroding, the report makes it clear that they are still very distinct business landscapes," says Andrew Palmer, editor of the report.

As well as battling with a shortage of skilled local workers, business leaders entering emerging markets feel that they have a poorer understanding of customers and are more worried by the risk of economic and financial volatility. For developed markets, by contrast, executives from all over the world point not just to high labour costs but also saturated markets as the critical challenges they face. Strategies differ too: firms will primarily focus on pushing new products at existing customers in developed markets, while offering existing products to new customers in emerging markets.

Commenting on the report, Andrew Cahn, Chief Executive of UK Trade & Investment said: "This report gives a crucial insight into the way executives around the world view the challenges and opportunities facing global business. Emerging markets are clearly top of the agenda, but they're not risk-free environments, and the business culture is frequently very different. It is more important than ever those corporate leaders have access to high quality, impartial advice on which to base their management decisions."

A full copy of the Economist Intelligence Unit's fifth annual CEO Briefing survey can be downloaded here.

As Global Sourcing from emerging markets becomes an integral part of modern business, I wanted to raise your attention to the China Sourcing Summit which we are supporting in March (Shanghai, 6-8 March 2007). The objective of the conference is to provide local content relevant for global firms, and give an insight into the variety of topics related to sourcing in China.  Subjects such as integration of procurement and logistics processes, innovation sourcing and IP risks, HR strategies, industry-specific case studies, cross-cultural management will all be covered.

As of today, several notable speakers have decided to participate at the conference, among them:

Nis-Peter Iwersen, Vice President of Danfoss International Procurement Offices (IPO) in China , will deliver a presentation titled “Integration of China IPOs: Chances and Risks”. Mr. Iwersen, who has 10 years China experience and has 3 years in charge of the fast growing Danfoss IPO, will discuss about the industrial parts, which are reasonable to source in China, as well as some possible risk areas in China sourcing.

Peter O’Brien , CEO of Triscol - a fully integrated supply chain solution provider, will give a speech on the topic “How leading edge supply chains creates significant value for companies accessing Asian supply markets”. Mr. O’Brien was formerly head of Global Sourcing for DHL/Deutsche Post based in Europe and has worked extensively in supply chain management across Asia as well as Europe .

Other speakers who will share their insights include:

• Prof. Helmut Merkel, Chairman of the Management Board, KarstadtWarenhaus GmbH;
• Prof. Christopher Jahns , Executive Director Supply Mangement Institue SMI / Rector ebs European Business School;
• Dr. Zhang Xia , CEO SAP North Asia;
• Marc Hantscher , Head of International Purchasing,
• Bosch Siemens Home Appliances; Amit Kumar ,
• Logistics Manageer Asia, Electrolux;
• Mattias Gramolla, VP Sourcing Strategy, EADS;
• Prof. Jean Lee, Professor of Management, China Europe International Business School .

For more information about the conference, please visit www.chinasourcingsummit.cn

In late December I chaired a roundtable focusing on procurement talent. We discussed how the changing role of procurement has resulted in a considerable skills shortage within the profession (full write-up available in the next edition of the European Leaders In Procurement magazine). A number of interesting points were raised, however, the one that caused most debate was the issue of how the profession was perceived by the business world, and how this effected the attraction of new blood. Central to this, how the profession was named.

Procurement vs. Purchasing. In short, the consensus around the table was that ‘purchasing’ was still viewed by much of the business world as an administrative function, linked back to order management. Whilst ‘procurement’ steps away from the transactional side and is seen as more of a strategic function.

Here is a excerpt from the article ‘Talent Scouts’ which will be featured in the next edition of the European Leaders In Procurement magazine.

Friedhelm Felten Maybe there’s a language issue here. When we want to set ourselves up in a strategic position in a company we use the word procurement. But you also hear the word purchasing. If I see the word purchasing I think of order management and so on. For me it's a key starting point. It’s about how you position yourself to the business community.

Manja Thiry There is a lot of confusion over this. The terms “procurement” and “purchasing” have been used interchangeably.

David Cowell The meaning is very similar. But we’ve moved to a different wording to identify a change in the organisation. A few years ago we were known as purchasing but we consciously decided to use the word procurement. It meant we were going to be strategic, we were going to do things differently and be part of the business connected to the other functions. One way of getting people’s attention to this was to change the name. But having done that, purchasing, by definition, becomes the transactional piece and procurement becomes the strategic piece.

Tom de Bruin It’s all part of making the role and function more sexy, of establishing a brand to attract talent.

So, what's in the name?

The point of this blog entry is to continue the debate. If anyone has any feedback or thoughts around this topic I love to hear them.

Comments please!

In anticipation to ELP ’s involvement with the China Sourcing Summit some bedtime reading meant I settled in with James Kynge’s, China Shakes the World – the rise of a hungry nation. Anyone wishing to develop an understanding of China ’s phenomenal turnaround is advised to give it a read.

Kynge’s 19 years in Asia and fluency in Mandarin have given him an insightful knowledge and he writes not only an authoritative account of how China has stream-rolled its way to economic might, but also how it is, and increasingly will, affect the rest of the world.

China is certainly an industrial power house whose annual growth rates of over 9% can be marveled at, but winging your way through the chapters does lead to a sense of ambivalence. Those of you with an appreciation for social responsibility might be alarmed at some of the case studies which highlight a blatant disregard for environmental pollution, social trust, and a government with a rather shaky constitution (in the moral sense of course).

Another element the book gives rise to is the sheer numbers. China ’s population is enormous, and their hunger, to use Kynge’s phrase, for energy, raw materials, food and modern life in general really does hit massive proportions. You don’t have to be an economist understanding the nuances of supply and demand to realize that the future might hold some difficulties for such a large nation.

China will undoubtedly continue on its course, but the image of an elephant walking the tightrope did come to mind at times.

At ELP we believe that procurement excellence should be recognised on a wider stage, which is why we’re delighted to announce the launch of the inaugural European Leaders In Procurement Awards.

The event, which will take place at London’s Vinopolis on May 23rd 2007, is the first pan-European event of its kind and will bring together over 150 of the procurement sector’s most influential figures.

After a momentous year, which has seen procurement’s profile continue to rise up the corporate agenda, we believe an awards ceremony is the perfect way to recognise the individuals and teams for whom 2006 has been a year to remember.

And to mark the occasion we’ve managed to attract some of the top names in procurement alongside other respected business leaders from across Europe to judge the five key award categories that are listed below.

The ELP Award for Innovation
Recognising the most innovative project, action or initiative by a procurement team.

The Future Leader Award
Highlighting procurement’s next rising corporate star.

The ELP Award for Corporate Responsibility
Recognising an outstanding purchasing initiative covering social and environmental issues; including ethical sourcing, green procurement and supplier diversity.

The ELP Award for Procurement Excellence
The flagship ELP Award recognising exceptional purchasing achievement. Awarded to the team who has undertaken the most successful project or activity and helped to raise procurement’s profile to the rest of the business world.

The ELP Award for People Development
Recognising an organisation who has implemented the most effective people development or transformation plan within procurement.

Once you’ve entered, and regardless if whether you win an award or not, you will benefit from detailed assessment and expert diagnosis of your entry, which means that you’ll be able to measure your progress against the finest that Europe has to offer.

Those who do make it through to the final will be profiled in our European Leaders in Procurement magazine but even if you don’t walk off with procurement’s equivalent of an Oscar at the end of the evening, each entrant will also receive an individual year’s free membership to the ELP Network.

Throw in some wine tasting, a rare opportunity to mix with some of the key figures in an ever-expanding industry and exquisite food in a spectacular setting and you’ll soon appreciate why this prestigious awards ceremony is set to be one of the most talked about events in the procurement calendar.

To find out more or enter your organisation, visit the European Leaders In Procurement Awards website.

There’s always a good feeling at the start of a New Year but there’s a particular buzz at ELP right now after the announcement that three of Europe’s top consultancies have joined us as global authors and supporters of the network in 2007.

Companies don’t come much bigger than Accenture, and when you add to them two of the European procurement sectors most influential consultancy firms in BrainNet and ProcServe, it’s little surprise that there’s some excitement.

Throughout the next 12 months these three companies will contribute articles, white papers and research to ELP, as well as sharing best practice information in procurement and supply chain management with our ever-expanding Network.

In a short space of time ELP has established itself as the most influential buying community in Europe, but, like the market itself, we’re not standing still waiting for things to happen.

Ideas and innovation are key concepts in procurement and 2007 is an exciting time to be involved in a business area that is taking an increasingly prominent role in the corporate agenda. Which is why bringing in outside views, opinions, and insight - whilst maintain editorial control - is important.

Their contributions will ensure that our members will, alongside our regular events, research, online news service and quarterly ELP magazine, continue to have access to the information that counts, when it’s needed most.