Cash Flow Velocity: Redefining Supply Chain Financing

Posted: 04/27/2022 - 09:00
Learn three ways that supply chain financing (SCF) can help mitigate rising costs due to inflation and reduce friction when it comes to paying supplier invoices on time.

“SCF can assist firms and their supply chains by increasing the velocity of cash flow and making those flows more consistent. Implemented properly, the firm and its supply chains can enjoy a symbiotic relationship.” - Supply Chain Financing and Pandemic: Managing Cash Flows to Keep Firms and Their Value Networks Healthy, Rutgers Business Review (2021)

Five Reasons Last Mile Logistics M&As Will Continue in 2022

Posted: 04/25/2022 - 02:43
As supply chain disruptions continue to mount, logistics companies are experiencing a boom in mergers and acquisitions to improve last mile delivery capabilities.

Last year saw a flurry of merger and acquisition activity in the logistics industry. In the last mile carrier sector, UPS acquired point-to-point carrier Roadie in September. A month later, regional last-mile carrier Lasership acquired another regional carrier, OnTrac, for a reported $1.3 billion.

There is a lot of speculation about whether these are one-offs or more of a trend that will carry over into 2022 and beyond. We lean toward the latter and think there are at least five good reasons why you will see M&A activity continue in the last mile carrier space in 2022.

Public E-Procurement Operations Gain Steam in 2022

Posted: 04/21/2022 - 09:00
Public e-procurement operations are gaining steam in 2022 as governments increase focus on supplier diversity and inclusion.

The government procurement industry represents a spend of nearly $13 trillion globally every year. This spend involves buying goods and services to run day-to-day operations, including basic items such as computers, office equipment, medical items, legal services, gas and electricity for everyday needs to more complex construction and infrastructure projects.

Addressing Carbon Emissions in the Supply Chain Through a Circular Economy

Posted: 04/19/2022 - 00:00
Corporate value chain emissions – also referred to as Scope 3 emissions – account for 92% of an average business’s emissions.

Today, most businesses operate in a linear economy. We use materials to produce products and when we’re done using those products we discard them as waste – the “take, make, and waste” system.

In a circular economy, we keep materials and resources in circulation as long as possible, without producing any waste.

Fundamental principles in a circular economy:

Sustainability Goals Will Be Driven by Innovation

Posted: 04/15/2022 - 09:00
Action must be taken now, across businesses of all sizes, to reduce their carbon emissions and remove waste from the supply chain.

Consumer attitudes toward sustainability have been intensified by the pandemic. Global lockdowns caused a temporary reduction of industry and transport, and consumers noticed the benefits this had on their environment. As such, the pandemic provided a reckoning moment and spurred hope for the future of the environment. Even as normal activity resumed in Q3 2020, these intentions to implement change remained.

Beyond Acknowledgement: Seeing the Future of Sourcing Awards Through the Expanded Lens of Global Impact

Posted: 04/11/2022 - 00:00
After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SIG CEO and President Dawn Tiura announces the return of the Future of Sourcing Awards.

A recent article reported that the COVID-19 pandemic has “affected the entire purchasing and supply chain management process.” As a result, we constantly face “multiple problems," including "supply shortages, material price increases, logistics challenges, unavailability of containers and timely vessel connections, congestion at ports, and delivery delays that significantly impact supplier performance.”

3 Ways to Empower Procurement and Prepare for the Next Supply Chain Crisis

Posted: 04/08/2022 - 09:00
Today's globalized world means that organizations are more exposed to risk than ever before.

When we look back at the globally disruptive events of the last 18 months, there aren’t a huge number of positives to draw on. But one significant silver lining is that major crisis events like the pandemic and the Suez Canal blockage have helped leading procurement teams step into the spotlight and demonstrate their skills at mitigating risk and ensuring business continuity.

Digital Environmental Health and Safety Services Market is Set for Further Growth

Posted: 04/06/2022 - 09:00
Widespread corporate digitization, a focus on ESG and strategic pivots by leading consultancies to transform their service offerings with new technology is boosting the digital Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) services market.

The market for digital environmental health and safety (EHS) services has come through a period of uncertainty in the industrial world. Firms have struggled with the difficulties of the pandemic while trying to address pressing new priorities such as the climate crisis and the ESG boom.

Uncertainty in the industrial world has benefited EHS consultancies with last year seeing an increase in spend on EHS-focused digital technology implementation, EHS platform integration and data analytics services even though the COVID recession is still affecting budgets.

Shipper-Owned Containers: The Future of Shipping in a Post-Pandemic World

Posted: 04/01/2022 - 00:01
The disruptions in the shipping container industry driven by COVID-19 have created the need for alternate sourcing strategies.

Before the onset of the pandemic, the shipping industry operated with an abundance of capacity at par with the demand patterns. More than 80% of the market needs were met by three major shipping alliances — 2M (Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co.), THE Alliance (Ocean Network Express, Hapag-Lloyd and Yang Ming), and OCEAN (CMA CGM/APL, Cosco Shipping and Evergreen Line).

Dollars Talk, but Great Leaders Keep the Best Workers From Walking

Posted: 03/28/2022 - 09:00
High compensation isn't enough to counter bad leadership and a poor work culture says Eric Harkins, President and Founder of GKG Search & Consulting. He offers five things leaders can do to keep their best employees from walking.

For months and months, we’ve heard and read ad nauseam about “The Great Resignation.” We’ve been given numerous reasons why record numbers of people are leaving their jobs.

But let’s be real about the main root cause. We are experiencing a great exodus of employees nationwide largely due to bad leadership.

The Future of the Supply Chain is Data Driven

Posted: 03/25/2022 - 09:00
Learn how big data and analytics can help organizations at every level of the supply chain to increase efficiency, productivity, resource management and spending.

What Does a Data Driven Supply Chain Look Like?

The key to improving any system is information. A data-driven supply chain is built around this concept, leveraging big data and analytics to improve processes at every level of the supply chain. A wide range of technologies contribute to this, from interconnected IoT sensors to warehouse robots and everything in between.

How Much Can You Expect to Spend for Nearshore IT Services?

Posted: 03/21/2022 - 09:00
Nearshoring digital transformation projects is becoming the fastest route to success for today’s businesses given the great worker resignation and the tech talent shortage.

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, citing analysis by COMPTIA, in January 2022 employers posted close to 340,000 unfilled IT job openings, which was 11% higher than the 12-month average. The huge demand for software and AI expertise can be attributed to heightened demand for IT services brought on by the pandemic, but also a growing tech talent shortage that has been in the works for some time.

Make Classifying Your Spend Data a Top Priority in 2022

Posted: 03/18/2022 - 09:00
Classifying spend data can often seem like a huge and overwhelming task, but you shouldn't push it down on the priority list.

Classifying spend data can often seem like a huge and overwhelming task, especially if you’re starting from scratch and, more often than not, it’s a task that gets pushed further and further down the priority list.

You may even already be thinking about it, or can’t justify the time or resources, or it might be something that you think is just a complete waste of time. But I’m here to tell you why you need to make it your top data priority in 2022!

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