Listening to the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 this morning, I nearly dropped my cup of Earl Grey upon hearing the maverick retail mogul Sir Philip Green utter the words "centralised procurement" during an interview focused on his new role in driving UK public-sector efficiencies.

Click to read more ...

Cloud computing: for so long, so much talk about how it would revolutionise the way the world does business. But in recent weeks spend management company Ariba has launched its Commerce Cloud to much acclaim – a move to position themselves at the front of internet-based collaboration. So is it finally time to drop the scepticism?

Click to read more ...

A conversation with a senior sourcing executive recently provided a timely reminder of the importance of procurement working closely with finance and how this relationship can be developed and nurtured in order to add value to the wider business.

Click to read more ...

Having spoken earlier this week about the opportunity that a change of government represents to public procurement in the UK, I have been widely humbled. Putting the question to someone who is in a position to offer an insight on this, the answer was more realistic.

Click to read more ...

So the UK has no money. Whether you consider the note that Treasury chief David Laws found from his predecessor Liam Byrne unprofessional or not, it wasn’t exactly revealing a big secret. Another badly kept secret is just how poor the UK’s public procurement record is. Still, perhaps this is an opportunity...

Click to read more ...

As CPO of Fortune 100 defence company Honeywell, Frank Crespo has plenty on his plate. But listening to him speak at the Procurement Leaders Forum 2010 in Chicago, it was somewhat reassuring to hear some familiar challenges.

Click to read more ...

As co-founder of The Smart Cube, and sponsor of today's Procurement Leaders Masterclass, Omer Abdullah is in a good position to offer opinion on how quality market intelligence can benefit the average organisation.

Click to read more ...

Or should that be make-versus-spend? An interesting call with a CPO of a European vehicle manufacturer this week brought the question to the fore and led to an even larger one. So just why aren’t procurement and manufacturing best friends for life if there are savings to be made?

Click to read more ...

As success stories go, there are those in procurement that have had a highly effective supply chain management system in place (wasn’t that long ago Toyota might have been the example!), and there are those who have fundamentally improved what they’ve been given. Which brings us to ITV.

Click to read more ...

“Companies are still overlooking their main opportunity to streamline further without impacting headcount”, says Guy Stafford, client director at procurement specialists BuyingTeam. If that hasn’t got your attention, then you’re probably in the minority that are comfortable with their services procurement spend.

Click to read more ...