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What are the 3 biggest challenges faced by supply chain/purchasing professionals today? (Survey Result 11)

Written by: Jon Hansen

Article Overview: There are many factors both internally as well as externally that are affecting supply chain/ procurement practices today. From the growing talent vacuum to the continuing lack of collaboration between Finance, IT and Purchasing relative to corporate initiatives. What in your own experiences and opionions are the top 3 issues that procurement professionals face?

What are the 3 biggest challenges faced by supply chain/purchasing professionals today? (Survey Result 11)

Mihail, Operations Manager, Montreal, Canada

1. Cost management
2. Measurements
3. Centralization / Decentralization

Jason, Director Import/Export Compliance & Logistics, Greensboro, U.S.

I'll go with four that I see daily.
Costs-predictability & control
Disruptions-labor strikes, weather, governmental, etc.
Compliance / regulations
The constant morphing that is the world of global trade. It's a moving target...and never boring!

Scott, Sales Director, Philadelphia, U.S.

1. Creating an open / interoperable IT infrastructure to manage information within the increasing complex, multi-phase and multi-vendor outsourced warehousing and transportation solution.
2. Balancing total supply chain cost against risks of non-controllable disruptions.
3. Outsourced manufacturing QA/QC quality management.

Dave, Keynote Speaker and Author of Superperformance, Houston, U.S.

People Issues

Supplier-Customer Mindedness

Internal/External Supply Chain Continuum Awareness

Tom, Senior Account Manager, Toronto, Canada

Good question. Not many look at purchasing which is a key cog in the business wheel.

1) Total visibility within micro and macro for purchasing professionals.

2) Integration with every division of the company. Don't forget Engineering. You have IT and upper level management but engineering integration is just as important.

3) Ease of software use. This also relates back to my first point but is different in many ways. Sometimes, depending on the company's focus, purchasers need to be computer wizards as well as great trackers to perform their function well. Flexibility is another key development in some software packages which will allow the purchaser to "force" PO's for certain reasons.

Kudos to those purchasers that do it well! :?)

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Article Tags: centralization decentralization, cog, compliance regulations, computer wizards, cost management, disruptions, export compliance, good question, key development, keynote speaker, montreal canada, morphing, moving target, open interoperable, predictability, sales director, superperformance, toronto canada, transportation solution, upper level management



Related Forum Posts
Re: What is your biggest challenge? Today? - [quote:3ce2ievo](Oh, the state of the human condition! What challenges we create for ourselves. Do the birds of the air toil as we do? Or do they simply revel in the joy of each moment?)[/quote:3ce2ievo] GT - Be like the birds... That's my biggest challenge today.
Re: What Businesses to Bail Out? - That's the tough thing. People are really hanging onto their money right now, in fear that they may lose their job. No one is secure and it's going to be one of our biggest challenges ever to get through this crisis. All the money Obama sank into the system to get things moving and 10 months later we are still losing jobs. There's got to be a better way.
Re: What is your biggest challenge? Today? - My today biggest challenge was to avoid distractions... and i managed.
Finding Good People - From my own experiences and from interviewing some of Canada's fastest growing companies, one of the biggest challenges always seems to be finding good people to hire. What have you guys done to find good people and keep them in your organization?
Survey the Landlord - Terry, my suggestion is simple but powerful - Survey. Survey Landlords and find out what is important to them. By doing this it does two things: 1. You will find out trends/under-operated services that Landlords are currently unsatisfied with = your client will be able to fulfill 2. You are infact Marketing your clients services by doign this because when you are approaching your landlords it not a sales pitch and they have someone to clear their frustrations with. Then when you approach them after a month (when you've put your numbers together and identified services that are most important) you can remind them of the survey and share with them the results. At this point you can end with an offer to use your clients services to manage their property. I use this method with my clients who are looking for new services to develop in thier markets. It's simple but powerful.


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