Directworks presented a very informative webinar on December 10 entitled, “The Evolution of Sourcing and Supplier Management.” Five speakers covering nine topics provided interesting, thought-provoking content during the hour-long webinar. Michael Cross (Directworks) spoke about the disconnect between CEO and supply chain, supplier consolidation (versus supplier rationalization), and the shift in skills and competencies. The biggest takeaway from his first presentation is that revenue growth is the most significant disconnect between CEO and supply chain and there needs to be a more intense focus to support this high priority company challenge. Greg Anderson (Directworks) spoke about shifting global cost structures, breakthrough innovation, and knowledge-based sourcing. Concerning shifting global cost structures, he provided two slides comparing global cost competitiveness: one in 2004, and the other 2014. The data is based on Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) recent comparative analysis study of manufacturing costs in the world’s 25 largest exporting economies. In the “What a Difference a Decade Makes: 2014” slide, you can see the changes country-by-country. The red dots indicate those countries that lost valuable ground in cost competitiveness, (showing the least competitiveness) in the last decade. The countries with green dots maintained or improved cost competitiveness and the yellow dots indicates the countries where deeper consideration should be given when making a sourcing decision.
Kelly Barner, of Buyers Meeting Point, spoke about supply market intelligence in the procurement system. Pierre Mitchell, of Spend Matters, made a virtual presentation covering supply risk trends and lessons learned, and Steven Rodgers, Havi Global Solutions, presented virtually as well, on supply chain visibility and traceability.
This webinar drew in the largest audience to date for Directworks and I predict that if they continue to produce such high quality content, their numbers will for certain increase. Directworks provides cloud-based sourcing and supplier management solutions purpose-built for manufacturers.
Note: Kelly Barner and I have recently co-authored the book, Supply Market Intelligence for Procurement Professionals: Research, Process, and Resources.
