Sourcing Strategies

Direct Materials Sourcing: Putting a Price on Subjective Criteria

by Taras Berezowsky on May 18, 2012

Style:    Category: Manufacturing, Sourcing Strategies

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In this last segment of MetalMiner’s interview with Olivier Maurandy of Fullstep, we try to get at how an effective process can address subjective elements of sourcing. When it comes to subjective variables and the subsequent value placed on them, Maurandy said, “We run into that a lot especially with mid-market companies — say, between [...]

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Honda, Toyota Still Lead in Annual Automaker Buyer-Supplier Relations Study

by Lisa Reisman on May 17, 2012

Style:    Category: Automotive, Sourcing Strategies

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Most operations folks throughout the world have studied up on the famous teachings of Edward Deming (known as the Quality Guru), who has become synonymous with “The Toyota Way.” Despite a massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami that tempered Japanese GDP, both Toyota and Honda have maintained their No. 1 and No. 2 rankings just in [...]

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Compare Apples to Apples When Choosing Metal Parts Suppliers

by Taras Berezowsky on May 16, 2012

Style:    Category: Manufacturing, Metal Fabricated Parts, Sourcing Strategies

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Obviously, in our world of metals, product attributes are pretty important. So how does a middle-market firm really get at an “apples-to-apples” comparison in direct materials sourcing, rather than an “apples-to-oranges” comparison? Olivier Maurandy of Fullstep touches on some key points in this latest segment. Don’t miss the rest of the segments in this series: [...]

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The Elements of a Good RFI in Strategic Sourcing

by Taras Berezowsky on May 14, 2012

Style:    Category: Logistics, Manufacturing, Sourcing Strategies

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Everybody does an RFI in a sourcing process, and some of us at MetalMiner have personally been on the receiving end of some that include 235 questions or more — multiple spreadsheets, multiple tabs. So what is an RFI supposed to do? MetalMiner interviewed Olivier Maurandy of Fullstep to see what he finds to be [...]

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Obsolescence – The Reverse of Moore’s Law

by Stuart Burns on May 11, 2012

Style:    Category: Minor Metals, Product Developments, Sourcing Strategies

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Continued from Part One.  The only problem with these long-lasting tube-bending machines, wearily explained to us by the purchasing team one day, was that the engineers chose components from the book of the obscure, and as a result, when that component required replacement at some stage in the future, it almost certainly would no longer [...]

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Mitigating Obsolescence With Your Sourcing Strategies

by Stuart Burns on May 11, 2012

Style:    Category: Minor Metals, Product Developments, Sourcing Strategies

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Source: e-scribe.com A really intriguing article in the Financial Times this week explores the problem of obsolescence and how it is becoming more acute as the pace of change increases. Quoting a source, the article illustrates the point by saying in 1903, the Wright brothers flew the first plane, and the flight lasted for something [...]

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How Long a Proper Spend Analysis Should Take

by Taras Berezowsky on May 9, 2012

Style:    Category: Commodities, Sourcing Strategies

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MetalMiner presents the next installment in our chat with Olivier Maurandy of Fullstep, in which we find out how long analyzing a midsize manufacturing company’s spend should take — and why it’s a necessity. Watch previous segments here: Defining a Strategic Sourcing Process For Middle-Market Firms Which Spend Categories Too Big, Too Small In Sourcing [...]

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How to Ensure the Most Effective Strategic Sourcing Process

by Taras Berezowsky on May 8, 2012

Style:    Category: M&A Activity, Manufacturing, Sourcing Strategies

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When a company has multiple plant locations with different systems or has merged with other organizations, how to undertake the most effective — along with the most efficient — sourcing process, particularly around the notion of spend analysis or spend classification? MetalMiner finds out from Olivier Maurandy, VP Business Development for Fullstep, who fills us [...]

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