MALVERN, Pa., Dec. 19 /PRNewswire/ — Verticalnet, Inc., a leading provider of supply management solutions, today announced that The Toro Company a $1.5 billion provider of outdoor maintenance and beautification products for home, recreation, and commercial landscapes around the world, has selected Verticalnet’s Enterprise Supply Management Solution as the company’s platform for global strategic sourcing initiatives.
December 20, 2006
Corporate and financial supply chain management : How soon will co-operation deliver returns ?
Corporates are hungry for the cost-saving benefits of financial supply chain solutions and banks for the multi-billion dollar business that such projects potentially create. But no one is going to get very far without common standards and shared banking infrastructure.
Daniel Cotti, head of global transaction products at ABN AMRO, says this is why SWIFT developed a trade services utility (TSU) to help banks offer better trade services to their clients. “The trade services world is split into the competitive space and the collaborative space. The TSU is the collaborative space,” he says.
Exostar Marks One Year Enabling Boeing’s 787 Supply Chain
Herndon, VA — December 19, 2006 — Collaborative supply network Exostar is marking its one-year anniversary in working with The Boeing Company, which is utilizing Exostar’s design collaboration, sourcing and procurement solutions to work with thousands of suppliers in its 787 supply chain.
The 787 airplane is the first Boeing program to deploy Exostar’s Supply Chain Management Solution. For the new 787 “Dreamliner,” Boeing leverages its extended supply chain and partner manufacturing resources as a competitive advantage to improve time-to-market and reduce total cost.
December 18, 2006
Supply chain shakeup allows Myer to pay $100 million in debt
A supply and retail logistics program that reduced inventory levels has allowed the Myer department store chain to pay down $100 million of debt early.
When the new management of Myer, bought by a private equity group led by Texas Pacific Group, started a stock take in May, they recognised how overstocked the chain was.
Clearance sales from late June has enabled Myer not just to clear excess stock from its stores, but also permanenty reduce its inventory levels.
Valley Baptist Health System on Track for Deep Supply Chain Savings
DALLAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Broadlane today announced that nine months after the start of an exclusive agreement with Valley Baptist Health System in Harlingen, Texas, the system is well on its way to meeting projected savings due to the rapid implementation of Broadlane contracts as well as a number of other supply chain initiatives.
To date, Valley Baptist is on track to achieve significant savings in its first year of working with Broadlane, with the bulk of the savings expected to come from medical/surgical supplies, pharmaceuticals, equipment and orthopedics. Broadlane has also addressed another savings opportunity in orthopedic joint implants that will bring significant savings in the first two years of the relationship.
The system’s two hospitals, Valley Baptist Medical Center – Harlingen and Valley Baptist Medical Center – Brownsville, spend approximately $85 million annually for supplies.
Interview: Making Supply Chain Matter
To gain a seat at the corporate table, Dow Chemical’s Jim Varilek says that supply chain must “talk the talk” — and “walk the walk”
Supply chain is earning increasing recognition as a critical function that can drive competitive advantage. In fact, this magazine reported in early 2006 on a survey of nearly 500 CEOs at midsize and large enterprises that showed a whopping 93 percent of chief executives view supply chain management as critical or very critical to their companies’ overall business strategies. Yet while 75 percent of the CEOs in the survey said that they are primarily focused on top-line growth, 82 percent said that their supply chains are focused on cost reduction. This misalignment of goals suggests a substantial disconnect between supply chain and the overall business.
Brewing up a Smooth Supply Chain
Andy Cullen and his planning and export team at Guinness thought the iconic Irish beer brewer’s customer service numbers looked pretty good: 99-100 percent month after month, according to their figures. But when Cullen and his team sat down with their U.S. customer back in 2003, they learned that the customer was looking at an entirely different set of metrics, and by those numbers Guinness was barely breaking 50 percent service levels.
Procurement was a contentious issue in 2006
2006 was a year of policy debates. Are federal procurement policies fair to small businesses? Are the government’s information security policies misguided? How far should the government go in outsourcing the work of federal employees? Those issues were debated but not resolved in 2006.
World-Class Procurement Organizations Now Spend 25% Less
ATLANTA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–World-class procurement organizations now spend 25% less on procurement operations than typical companies, while demonstrating improved effectiveness that enables them to generate twice the annualized reductions in direct and indirect spending, according to the 2006 Enterprise Book of Numbers from The Hackett Group, a strategic advisory firm and an Answerthink company (NASDAQ: ANSR). In addition, these world-class performers are reaping significant benefits by focusing on strategic management in key areas such as sourcing opportunities, supplier management, and the application of technology investments.
Purchasing paychecks get fatter
Purchasing magazine’s 2006 salary survey finds that not only is compensation going up, it’s rising faster than for other professions. And women’s earnings are starting to catch up. Top management is finally recognizing smart sourcing strategy (especially for indirect) when it sees it.
