Spend Matters UK/Europe » Current affairs and general interest

High-speed rail – the National Audit Office lays into the programme

Peter Smith — Tue, 21 May 2013 09:31:40 +0000

The National Audit Office has published one of the most critical reports I’ve seen in a long time, covering HS2, the high-speed rail programme to connect London with “the north”. They talk about a lack of clarity around objectives; a weak business case with limited evidence that HS2 will generate regional growth; errors in cost-benefit analysis; issues with programme management and oversight; a funding gap of £3 billion; and an over-ambitious timetable. (Apart from that, its fine…!) It really is a nicely written, but surgically precise hatchet job from the NAO. Politicians immediately began fighting back using hard evidence such [...]

The Great Supplier Network Debate – and Some New Music!

Sheena Moore — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:31:23 +0000

It’s the time of year at Spend Matters where if we’re not furiously writing or attending or speaking at any number of procurement events, we’re putting together free webinars just for you, our readers, to attend. Here are three that will be coming your way in the next few weeks: Tuesday, May 21, 2013 9-10am CDT The Great Debate: Will Supplier Networks Thrive, Implode, or Evolve? This is what AP, treasury, procurement, and supply chain managers need to know about the future of eProcurement, e-invoicing and business connectivity – featuring a live panel discussion that incorporates audience questions and commentary [...]

Down the Procurement Pub – with Basware, Coupa, Procurement Leaders and Icona Pop

Peter Smith — Fri, 17 May 2013 09:31:29 +0000

Actually, I spent some of last night down the procurement pub – a pleasant 90 minutes with an old friend and fellow ex CPO who wanted to pick my brains on procurement software in return for 2 pints of the very pleasant Hogsback Brewery T.E.A. (The brewery, just a few miles down the road from here, is pictured). I could only offer a fraction of what he would have got out of Jason Busch, Pierre Mitchell or Thomas Case from Spend Matters US but maybe I’ll share my very impressionistic and high level view of the “meta trends” in that [...]

From Hubris to High Court (almost) – The Story of Southwest One (Part 1)

Peter Smith — Thu, 16 May 2013 04:41:03 +0000

(We are delighted to have finally persuaded Dave Orr to write for us, and as a Somerset citizen, he will be laying out the fascinating story of Southwest One over the next few weeks – a story that everyone involved in outsourcing should note with interest… and we’ll tell you a bit more about Dave himself next time). Apart from glorious countryside, hills and moors, rural Somerset is probably best known for a rustic blend of cider, cheese, cricket, the Wurzels and the Glastonbury Festival. Oh….we also split atoms and some whopping new nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point are coming, [...]

Dark Procurement – ethics and moral dilemmas

Peter Smith — Wed, 15 May 2013 09:31:47 +0000

(We’re pleased to have another guest post from Dr Gordon Murray, procurement writer, academic and practitioner – see his own excellent blog here). The tragedy of the Dhaka factory collapse, which led to the death of over 1,000 innocent factory workers, has placed some procurement strategies under a cloud. There is a dark side of procurement with moral dilemmas which recognises there is more to ethics in procurement than the CIPS code. Those directly responsible for the supply chain management of clothes with a ‘Made in Dhaka’ label are faced with a question as to whether or not this is [...]

Alex Ferguson – lessons in talent management and succession planning

Peter Smith — Mon, 13 May 2013 09:31:05 +0000

(This post, written by Gert van der Heijden, was first published in Dutch on our Spend Matters Netherlands site. ) Last week Alex Ferguson, the coach and manager of Manchester United announced his departure after a period of more than 27 years. An icon bids farewell to football. But last year, Professor Anita Elberse from Harvard Business School published a case about the leadership of Sir Alex. This provided lessons to managers in other organizations, not just football. The strength of Ferguson includes his success in developing young talent. From his early days at Manchester United, he started to develop [...]

Down the procurement pub – CIPS, the cost of risk management and the big UK / EU debate

Peter Smith — Fri, 10 May 2013 09:31:56 +0000

So got my latest copy of Supply Management yesterday. I haven’t read all the articles yet, but there is content in this edition that all CIPS members should read. (Some of it is on-line as well of course. ) That includes a description of the new Congress, the body chaired by Melinda Johnson that represents members’ interests to the Institute. I was pleased to see that all the elected Congress delegates have got their email addresses on the CIPS website so members can contact them, although it has been left fairly loose in terms of how exactly that contact might [...]

Demand elasticity and variable pricing as illustrated by the Rolling Stones

Peter Smith — Thu, 09 May 2013 09:31:05 +0000

To someone with a deep interest in both music and procurement, the news that the Rolling Stones have had problems selling tickets for their latest US tour was exciting, giving us a chance to combine both here! Here’s the NME: “On Friday (May 3) it was reported that the band had failed to sell-out the allocation of their high priced tickets ($600) for their opening night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. They also released more $85 (£55) tickets to fill out the arena”. This takes us back to some interesting aspects of economic theory. The economic ideal for [...]

Yes Minister – Three Cheers for the Complex Transactions Group!

Peter Smith — Wed, 08 May 2013 12:31:17 +0000

(Part 2 of our latest homage to the brilliant Yes Minster and Yes Prime Minister series, written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn. Part 1 is here). So Minister, you raised the new Cabinet Office Complex Transactions Group. This is the team who are going to help us with complex IT projects. I understand they were going to call themselves the “Big Deal” team until someone pointed out this sounded a little too much like a TV game show for comfort. – So are you against that idea, Humphrey? More interference from Cabinet Office. and this time it isn’t just [...]

Liam Maxwell and the Eton connection – Spend Matters ahead of the news again!

Peter Smith — Sat, 04 May 2013 11:44:14 +0000

A bit of politics – with a slight procurement connection – for this Bank Holiday weekend! There’s a fuss in the UK press after the elections last week around whether David Cameron is surrounding himself with too many old Etonians – chaps from his school like recent appointees Jo Johnson and Jesse Norman. Now the press have got hold of the fact that the Government’s Chief Technology Office, Liam Maxwell, was Head of IT at Eton School. The London Evening Standard yesterday reported this and said: But how has Maxwell’s Etonian connection slipped by so unnoticed? Sorry, it certainly wasn’t [...]