coronavirus

Rethinking the Supply Chain Takes a Team Effort

Posted: 05/17/2021 - 09:00
Rethinking the Supply Chain Takes a Team Effort

The supply chain is an often overlooked, yet critical, component of businesses everywhere. For a long time, the focus around supply chains has always been on efficiency and cost reduction. But when COVID-19 hit, weaknesses within the supply chain became readily apparent as traditional management approaches and technologies left businesses underequipped to tackle the huge surges in demand. This problem quickly became widespread. Whether it was a shortage of toilet paper on the consumer side or dropping supplies of microchips in the B2B world, no one was left unaffected.

5 Ways to Prepare for the Next Supply Chain Crisis

Posted: 05/14/2021 - 09:00
5 Ways to Prepare for the Next Supply Chain Crisis

With the impacts of COVID-19 still being felt around the world, it’s hard to look ahead at what might be coming next. But you should.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought a truly unprecedented level of disruption to global supply chains, bringing entire industries to a complete halt. It was unlike any supply chain crisis we’ve seen in modern times, but it was far from an isolated incident.

Making Sense of Supply Risk Management Solutions

Posted: 05/07/2021 - 09:00
From supply chain management vendors to supplier management services, there are different ways companies can manage their risks using third-party sources.

Enterprise risk has never been a higher priority for businesses, executives and procurement practitioners than right now in light of the COVID-19 crisis. The coronavirus disruption has only accelerated many enterprise risks — from cyberthreats, employee health and safety, and most certainly, to supply risks affecting suppliers in complex value chains.

The Pandemic Imperative: Collaboration Between Payables and Procurement

Posted: 03/31/2021 - 00:00
Payables and Procurement collaboration.

The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the need for better collaboration between finance and procurement as organizations needed to act quickly to increase their focus on their cash position, cash flow and net working capital through a more collaborative finance-procurement relationship.

The relationship each side has with suppliers is synchronistic – procurement ensures the right goods and services at the right price with the right supplier, and finance ensures those same suppliers are paid on time, to confirm that hard-negotiated relationships are not jeopardized.

What is the New Normal for Businesses and Accounts Payable?

Posted: 03/20/2021 - 09:00
Post-pandemic businesses have adapted by interfacing with technology to get the same tasks done with less redundancy and bulk.

What do the oracles say about society’s return to normalcy? Bill Gates is pinning his hopes on a semi-normal return to life in the spring of 2021, provided we rapidly adopt the vaccine. Dr. Fauci’s more conservative estimate suggests that we’ll enjoy movie theater experiences, indoor dining and regular school attendance by late fall.

How the Pandemic Created a New Global Workforce

Posted: 03/12/2021 - 09:00
SYKES' Ian Barkin Explains How the COVID-19 Pandemic Created a More Mobile and Global Workforce.

Companies everywhere have come to accept the impacts of the pandemic on the future of work in stages that are eerily similar to the stages of grief: First, there was the wait-and-see phase, in which business leaders cautiously monitored news of the growing COVID-19 threat; then recovery mode, when enterprises were forced to adopt work-at-home functionality to keep their employees safe.

Plan a Winning Recruitment Strategy in a Post-COVID World

Posted: 03/11/2021 - 09:00
7 tips for a winning, high-quality recruitment strategy post-COVID-19.

As the world slowly moves past the Covid-19 pandemic with the arrival of the vaccines, the job market is starting to gather itself and get back into momentum. But the newer challenges for organizations that arise daily have rendered recruitment to take a back seat. A well-established recruitment strategy can be your redeemer in the coming post-COVID era as you start re-establishing your company, even though it may be tricky to envision what HR will look like in a post-pandemic world.

Successful Digital Transformation Requires an Inspection of all Business Processes

Posted: 11/16/2020 - 23:30
Procurement organizations are uniquely positioned to drive their companies' innovation agenda because no other function can “serve as the window to the outside world.

At the time of writing this piece, I am just one of five million people emerging from the world’s longest coronavirus-related lockdown, in Melbourne, Australia. For nearly two months, I was only allowed to leave the house once a day for essential items and required to stay within three miles of my home. From takeaway meals to IT support, to doctor’s appointments, most of the goods and services I've needed have been ordered virtually. Since COVID-19 hit, I’m amazed at how quickly the world went virtual.

There’s Plenty of Room at the Table for Nearshore and H-1B Visa Holders

Posted: 10/12/2020 - 09:45
Nearshoring, however, provides the innovation, skillset and diversity to keep tech innovation moving forward with or without visa restrictions.

In June 2020, in response to the coronavirus, President Trump signed an executive order to freeze access to new H-1B visas for professional and technology workers doing business in the U.S. This has a huge impact, considering in 2019 about 139,000 new H-1B petitions were approved, joining 250,00 which were extended.

Tail spend goes beyond the typical 80/20 rule

Posted: 08/24/2020 - 05:27
When you think tail spend, don’t just think of the typical 80/20 rule.

Having a sound tail spend management strategy has never been more important than it is today. It’s a key differentiator – and competitive advantage – in a down economy in which cash is king and cutting costs is a high priority. Procurement teams can no longer rely on direct materials for savings—those costs have been negotiated to death.

Preparing Global Supply Chains for the Second Wave of the Pandemic

Posted: 08/14/2020 - 08:32
As a result of the ongoing crisis, global GDP for 2020 is expected to average close to 0%, which would be a faster contraction vs the 2008 crisis.

2020 has been quite a year for global businesses and especially for supply chains.

Just in the first six months of the year, the world has already witnessed some defining moments. Looming trade wars between the U.S. and China, preparations for the post-Brexit economy in the Euro zone, and an increasing focus on sustainability and environmental consciousness are all ongoing.

Though one can argue that none of these moments took the world by surprise, they did push global supply chains to review and re-engineer their operating models.

Could the Pandemic Bring Outsourcing Closer to Home?

Posted: 08/03/2020 - 02:45
When it comes to sourcing professional services to help grow their businesses, companies will increasingly find some level of comfort and convenience by partnering with those closer to home.

A Wall Street Journal article recently posed an interesting question: “Is the world likely to become less flat because of the pandemic?” According to the article, while globalization was the growing trend in the early part of the new century, key drivers such as rising offshore costs, localization and a shift toward services delivery has begun to take some steam out of it.

Digital agility begins with automation

Posted: 07/29/2020 - 02:05
digital agility with automation

Well, many companies adopt automation in only one department of their business, while the rest of the department will rely on legacy systems. An automation platform cannot perform to its ultimate capabilities if the whole company is not on the same system. When you talk about company-wide automation, many companies are hesitant to deploy automation company-wide because it can require a lot of training and the system may not be user-friendly.

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