Purchasing and Procurement News from Around the Web

Today we wanted to share links to some different articles and topics appearing in the news. Take a look and see if these spark some ideas of things you could be doing in your role as purchasing manager or maybe some things you shouldn’t be doing!

• First up is a release from the Institute for Supply Management. The July 2013 Manufacturing ISM Report On Business® shows some interesting facts and figures that reflects the current status in the United States for the month of July 2013. This big picture view can help see where you line up against the whole. It may be that you think you are doing poorly, but in reality, compared to others, your function is doing well under the current conditions.
• Office supplies are a typical part of every business, no matter what industry, you have to have the basic supplies necessary for your office to function. With the coming merger of OfficeMax and Office Depot that will only leave 2 Big office supply companies – Staples and the newly created merged company. This article discusses the impact and also looks at competition from retailers like Walmart and Amazon who are trying to compete for your office supply dollars. Find out what it means for your business.
• Here’s a great blog post entitled “Can we cut the cost of procurement itself?” Read Tom Linton’s take on this and join the discussion by commenting on his blog post. Let us know what you think by commenting on ours as well.
• In this article “Procurement Promotes Competition”, they explore the variations on how procurement takes place in public (government) versus private (for-profit businesses) settings. This paragraph will get you started, but be sure to take a moment to read the entire article and comment below to let us know your take. “Economy in public procurement is not subject to a test similar to that of purchasing in the private sector: namely, good procurement contributes to profits and poor purchasing creates the risk of going bankrupt. Instead, the best way government entities demonstrate that they obtained the best terms available under the circumstances is to make use of competition between all those interested in, and qualified for, supplying the goods or services in question.”
• Are you familiar with NASPO, the National Association of State Procurement Officials? According to their website “NASPO is a non-profit association dedicated to strengthening the procurement community through education, research, and communication. It is made up of the directors of the central purchasing offices in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the territories of the United States. NASPO is an organization through which the member purchasing officials provide leadership in professional public procurement, improve the quality of procurement, exchange information and cooperate to attain greater efficiency, economy, and customer satisfaction.”
• Finally, consider exploring some additional certifications like that offered by the UPPCC, the Universal Public Procurement Certification Council. From the About Us page – “The Universal Public Procurement Certification Council (UPPCC) is an independent entity formed to govern and administer the Certified Public Procurement Officer (CPPO) and Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB) certification programs. To date, the UPPCC has certified well over 10,000 professionals primarily within the US and Canada, but in other nations around the globe.”