Asking your suppliers for innovation—or transformation—is a tall order and few suppliers accept the challenge. I think I know why. Innovation transforms something, whether a process or a machine. It is more than an incremental improvement—saving “fingers and toes”...
Cheryl Jones, Director Corporate Alliances for Starbucks, recently addressed the Women’s Business Owner’s luncheon in Seattle, Washington. In her presentation, Cheryl stressed the growing importance of creating alliances as a primary way to increase...
Are you focused on the outcome of what you are buying or on the process of buying it? I think that most people in your shoes would say “both”. From my point of view, the answer is clearly the process. People in sourcing and procurement are very concerned with...
v For example, a food manufacturer unlocked value by partnering with their trucking vendor to mitigate the risk of fluctuating fuel costs. The companies agreed that the cost of fuel would be passed through to the company. At first that seems like a risky decision, but...