Smaller companies often do not believe that they can do much about evaluating and managing supplier performance. The oft-repeated phrase is, “We can’t because we’re small.” However, I’ve found the reverse is true in many cases: We can because we’re small. Smaller firms have an ability to be agile and move quickly, unimpeded by [...]
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A few weeks ago I was attending a meeting of my local ISM chapter. I was speaking with the purchasing manager for a local college about supply risk and mentioned the risk track and the session at the ISM Conference in San Diego in April, “Understanding and Choosing Supply Risk Solutions: Software, Content and Analytics” that Jason Busch (Editor, [...] Looks like it’s really all over for NUMMI, the Toyota/GM joint auto manufacturing venture in Fremont, CA. Last summer, I wrote a post about the strong possibility of Toyota’s closing the plant (NUMMI: Things Are Looking Gloomy). The plant was losing money. Located in a high-wage area, even potential UAW concessions didn’t seem like enough to [...] While American auto suppliers have not been directly bailed out, many have survived due to the bailout of their customers, GM and Chrysler. No so for small Italian suppliers. According to a WSJ article, the Italian auto industry has not received government bailout money. So the auto supply chain, comprised of much smaller suppliers than [...] Firing the customer is something taught in business schools and often mentioned as an approach for small companies to get rid of problem customers. The subject came up again recently in a WSJ article that reported on small businesses, who, despite the recession, are deciding to shed their high-maintenance and unprofitable customers. It’s a popular [...] I read today’s WSJ article about how customers are using their suppliers to improve their own cash flow: Big Firms Are Quick to Collect, Slow to Pay and thought, same old, same old. I addressed this phenomenon in an early blog post: Another Kind of Banker – Your Supplier? This situation has been going [...] Supply managers and buyers have always had the challenge not just of finding suppliers but finding suppliers who are both high-performing and “best value”. Numerous supplier evaluation and supplier performance management software solutions are now available, where ten years ago very few options existed. Most options that I’m aware of are either SaaS (software [...] I recently wrote a post for the Spend Matters blog, “12 Reasons Why Supplier Scorecards Fail” (updated, with one additional reason than my original post on this site in December 2008). There were some insightful comments, including one about the customer’s role in supplier performance success. Rob Handfield made a pertinent comment that it [...] I was recently interviewed by business columnist Jamie Herzlich over at Newsday for an article she recently wrote, “Small Business: Choosing the Right Supplier.” (May 14, 2009) Many businesses are struggling with the challenge of how to choose the right suppliers. According to Ms. Herzlich, many business owners are unaware of what to look [...] |
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