Of all the players represented in the continuing debate in the US about healthcare, the one group that seems to have no voice is the nation’s CPOs

The interesting and challenging thing about risk management for procurement professionals is that you never know where the next risk will come from.

After years of holding the number one slot on most procurement chief’s lists of top sourcing destinations, is China finally starting to lose its appeal? It’s an old question...

One of the big procurement stories from this year continued to rumble on this week as Foxconn, supplier to technology companies such as Apple and Dell announced that it would be raising staff wages and decreasing working hours after the Fair Labor Association (FLA) carried out its inspections at factories in Apple’s supply chain.

“You have to be good at rice and beans, but it will never get you a Michelin star”, Unilever CPO Marc Engel told a crowded room of procurement executives during his keynote speech at the Procurement Leaders Vienna Forum. The colourful reference was to demonstrate his function’s drive to take procurement to the next level and he was quick to admit that value through cost-savings, something his teams have had considerable success with, was only part of the journey.

Former US President Woodrow Wilson once said “If you want to make enemies, try to change something.” The progress of the sustainability agenda, however, is all about transforming the way people, businesses - even supply chains – think about the environmental impact of the activity.

A recent NHS Confederation poll found that 63% of its members see cost savings and finances as their biggest challenge. However, there is at least one area where they can take immediate action which will yield savings and increase efficiency and that’s in supply chain management.