Friday Digest: Buyers, sellers, winners all

In a week where many were expecting some of the biggest news to come from Europe – particularly regarding Greece, there have been one or two surprises elsewhere that serve to remind how frequently procurement’s agenda impacts on global business.

SAP to acquire Ariba for $4.3bn

SAP’s move, which is yet to be finalised, nonetheless looks set to shake up the technology space. A significant amount of large companies are clients of one or the other, while those who aren’t will be watching for the implications for the wider technology market with keen interest. We looked in greater depth at the deal in this spotlight piece.

Supply chain counterfeiting a growing threat to product integrity

Counterfeiting is an acknowledged threat to supply chains. But what may be less familiar is the scale and origin: not only have an estimated 12 million parts been involved in counterfeiting incidents in the last five years (according to IHS), but the US is a leading source of counterfeited supplies. Perhaps there’s a call to shift the perception of counterfeiting away from the outdated idea that its just something that happens in markets in East Asia.

Amazon and McDonald’s are big risers in supply chain rankings

Gartner’s Supply Chain 25 always makes for interesting reading, even if it is frequently dominated by familiar names (Apple!) these days. Still, analysts seem to have reckoned that retail businesses are improving their ability to engage with more sophisticated supply chain practices and have greater influence. Speaking of which...

Procurement teams revel in star-studded awards ceremony

The class and influence of the teams that triumphed at the Procurement Leaders Awards 2012 was apparent as some top global names walked away with the spoils having achieved terrific things with their teams over recent years. A winners supplement published with the next issue of Procurement Leaders Magazine will look at the winners’ entries in more detail, but suffice to say the impact the winners made on their businesses was immense. More on the awards themselves here.

Have a good weekend – join us for more next week.