Features

Winter 2010-11

Stars of tomorrow

By Helen Gilbert

Is procurement ‘sexy’ enough for the best new talent? When not all companies can afford lavish staff benefits, retaining staff can also be a problem. The solution lies in selling the industry as a long-term career choice.

By Rima Evans

Richard Porcaro, head of procurement Americas at UBS, explains how procurement has played a key part in the recovery of the bank after the global recession.

Testing times

By Rima Evans

The recession may officially be over, but the latest evidence shows that procurement professionals have been experimenting to counteract its effects.

Make your move

By Nick Martindale

As the global economic outlook begins to improve, many procurement professionals are planning their next move. It pays to do your homework – wherever that next position might be.

A meeting of the minds

By Eric Walsworth & David Yungbluth

The communication mismatch between procurement and finance continues to hinder their relationship. But if the gap is ever to be bridged, they need to establish a common language.

What's in a name?

By Tom Lawrence

Procurement has come a long way in the past 20 years, but the journey is far from complete. As it heads down the path to success, could its name run the risk of throwing it off track?

The world in 2011

By Rima Evans

Procurement professionals may have found 2010 testing but the past 12 months have also seen businesses prepare for recovery, albeit cautiously. So what does 2011 hold for procurement? We asked  CPOs worldwide for their predictions.

By Carly Chynoweth

Negative office politics can be detrimental to an organisation, yet using similar people skills and being aware of informal power structures is essential to being a good political tactician and influencing strategy in a positive way.

Executive debate: Cuts from the centre

CPO Agenda’s latest roundtable saw a group of senior executives discussing the thorny questions of public sector spend and savings measurement.

How does your procurement team measure up?
CPO Agenda and KPMG are launching a major benchmarking exercise – the results of which we hope will become a global standard for every procurement function’s measurement of excellence.

Web exclusives

Reap what you sow in low-cost countries

By Andreas Gocke, Nikolaus Lang, David Lee, Stefan Mauerer
Supplier development programmes in low-cost locations can be regarded as costly and time consuming. But the investment can reap huge dividends – improving productivity, quality, innovation and reducing costs and price. Authors from the Boston Consulting Group offer tips for success.