Manufacturing March 23, 2023
Why is the Direct Material Procurement Lifecycle Still Left Outside of Digitalization?
Procurement or purchasing is an essential part of any business. No business can function without employing the services of another entity to complete their full business cycle. That said, the nature of the goods and ...
Read more..Manufacturing February 23, 2023
UI and UX: The two unsung heroes of software development
Recently, I visited a fast-food restaurant that’s well-known for its burgers, shakes, and fries. When I entered the restaurant, I spotted a newly installed kiosk. I understood that with the help of this kiosk, I ...
Read more..Manufacturing February 17, 2023
A letter to the CFO/CIO of Product Manufacturing Companies
To the CFO/CIO, How was the last purchase order made? Does your current system show how the supplier for that item was selected and the contract finalized? A recent incident at a large Auto ...
Read more..Manufacturing February 12, 2023
History of Electric Vehicles and Procurement's role in Electrification
Internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles are still the dominant players in the automotive market. But with climate change, sustainability issues, etc. cropping up, Electric Vehicles (EVs) have been challenging the status quo. In fact, the ...
Read more..Manufacturing January 16, 2023
Purchase Requisition Process: Digital Transformation of RFP
Purchase Requisition Process Launching a product in the market can be stressful. It requires complete coordination across internal teams as well as external suppliers. And the problem most companies face is siloed pieces of information. ...
Read more..Manufacturing December 28, 2022
Toy Story: It's History, Complexity & Procurement's Role
Remember the days when life was easy, devoid of social conventions and expectations, and unaffected by the challenging realities of adulthood? Remember your neighborhood was everything to you and toys were your only companion? You ...
Read more..Manufacturing December 25, 2022
A Procurement Carol
Adapting the Dickens classic onto a procurement floor on Christmas eve. “It is the most wonderful time of the year,” sang Andy Williams. And his voice echoed across the land. There was snow outside, the ...
Read more..Manufacturing December 07, 2022
Purchase Order (Part-2): What it contains? & Who does it matter to?
In our previous blog on purchase orders (PO), we looked at what is a purchase order and the different types of POs. Well, if you haven't read it yet, here’s the link. In short, a ...
Read more..Manufacturing December 07, 2022
OEM Industry: OEMs, suppliers, and how to use a procurement system?
Although OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers face different challenges in their procurement function, they essentially strive to reduce the time for the introduction of new products by using their procurement system. A product's development and ...
Read more..Manufacturing November 24, 2022
Thanksgiving 2022 : Henry Ford, Turkeys and Black Friday
The story of how the assembly line led to the way we manufacture things! Well, it is the time of the year before “That time of the year”. Thanksgiving is just around the corner. And ...
Read more..Manufacturing October 31, 2022
Made in China: Accelerating growth with Manufacturing
A peek into the manufacturing hub of the world to see how it got there Let us look at the statistics below: (All in USD, as of 2021) GDP: 17.73 Trillion Per Capita Income: 12556.3 ...
Read more..Manufacturing October 13, 2022
5 Major Challenges for EV Manufacturers
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, transportation accounts for about 23% of global energy-related greenhouse gases, and of that, road transportation is 72%. In an effort to prevent the rising effects of climate ...
Read more..Manufacturing October 12, 2022
How a Source-to-Pay Software Supports in Effective BOM Comparison?
In a product manufacturing company, comparing the BOMs of a product at different stages of its development lifecycle helps companies evaluate whether the design is in accordance with the technical objectives and the cost target. ...
Read more..Manufacturing September 30, 2022
Direct Procurement - Challenges in RFX Process
Challenges in the RFX process in Direct Procurement Let’s consider a hypothetical scenario. Jane is a procurement manager in a product manufacturing company that has a strong reputation in the industry. They are currently working ...
Read more..Manufacturing September 29, 2022
Supply Chain Disruptions: Factsheet of the Global Impact
Covid-19 was the first and most significant domino that caused a catastrophic ripple effect along the supply chain. Since then, Geo-political issues, customer demands, trade wars, and many other disruptors have caused upheavals in the ...
Read more..Manufacturing September 28, 2022
5 Aspects of Effective Supplier Management
Supplier Management Product manufacturing companies have suffered a lot in the past couple of years. The pandemic, post-pandemic effects, wars, trade embargoes, volatile commodity prices, inflation, labor relations, raw material hoardings, and supply disruptions have ...
Read more..Manufacturing September 25, 2022
Quotation Process: A brief Description
What happens when you are on the lookout for buying an electronic item, an automobile, or even a house? You visit multiple vendors and compare prices, and based on your needs and budget, choose a ...
Read more..Manufacturing September 24, 2022
Solving the Complexity Conundrum in Achieving the right Product Cost
You go to an Apple store and purchase the latest 256 GB iPhone 14 Pro Max. And its Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) right off the shelf is $1199. But, the actual product cost of ...
Read more..Manufacturing September 17, 2022
Supplier Negotiation - The need for Source-to-Pay software
Supplier Negotiation is part and parcel of our daily lives. It is a clear contest where one takes the cup and the other, well, just watches. Think about your last purchase, be it groceries, an ...
Read more..Manufacturing September 11, 2022
What is a Purchase Requisition?
Manufacturing companies require multiple items daily, from raw materials, semi and fully-finished goods, to office supplies and services. And to purchase these goods, companies need to go through a systematic process that helps them manage ...
Read more..Manufacturing September 05, 2022
Bill of Materials (BOM) - What it is and what are the types?
What is a Bill of Material (BOM)? What's the first thing you do when you want to buy grocery items? You make a list. It could be a list of ingredients you need to cook ...
Read more..Manufacturing August 31, 2022
Difference Between Sourcing and Procurement
Product manufacturing companies have multiple departments that collaborate to achieve their business objectives. And when it comes to handling the supply chain operations, sourcing, procurement, and supply chain teams form a vital cog. On the ...
Read more..Manufacturing August 25, 2022
Scope 3 Emissions: Risks, Opportunities, and Role of Procurement
Earlier, sustainability was just a topic in boardroom meetings, but now, it is not so. It is becoming a pressing issue in organizations. And enterprises worldwide are calling for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions like ...
Read more..Manufacturing August 22, 2022
Formula 1 Engine: 2026 Regulations, Procurement, and Supply Chain
Formula One cars are the fastest on the planet around a race track. And they are one of the vital cogs for success in an F1 race. Any good driver with high skill sets will ...
Read more..Manufacturing August 19, 2022
Procurement & Supply Chain Management: Role of Procurement in Supply Chain
Procurement & Supply Chain Management Over the past few years, businesses across industries have faced unprecedented supply chain disruptions. While many business leaders, especially those in the supply chain and procurement, believe that the ghost ...
Read more..Manufacturing August 12, 2022
2012 The Movie: How was the Ark built?
The year 2009 saw a lot of feature films come and go. And as per (the International Movie DataBase) IMDB, the list of feature films amounts to a whopping 7610. That's a lot! I probably ...
Read more..Manufacturing August 11, 2022
Procurement Technology: Why it is a must for Product Manufacturing Companies?
The early 1780s can be considered as the beginning of modern manufacturing, when Oliver Evans, an American inventor, began experimenting with the first automated flour mill. And there was no stopping from there. Today we ...
Read more..Manufacturing August 07, 2022
Direct Procurement: Challenges in Product Manufacturing Companies
Direct Procurement Challenges in Product Manufacturing Companies Procurement teams juggle multiple roles, from identifying the need to vendor/supplier management and even facilitating payment processing. And while doing all of these, they also need to keep ...
Read more..Manufacturing August 01, 2022
Procurement Technology: The 7 Advantages of using Procurement Software
Procurement Technology: Every industry is talking about using technology to improve their supply chain processes This is because technology can significantly impact an organization's bottom-line by improving visibility and cost-efficiency. Technology also helps increase the ...
Read more..Manufacturing July 14, 2022
e-Procurement Software Workbook: The Ultimate Guide to choosing the right Software for Direct Material Sourcing & Procurement
Direct Material Procurement digitalization has been a point of discussion in product manufacturing companies for some time now. Automating direct procurement and optimizing the source-to-contract process can save businesses time and money. But it is ...
Read more..Manufacturing July 08, 2022
Wimbledon - A Procurement Excellence
Champagnes, strawberries, and 50K tennis balls behind a spectacular event Wimbledon – an event that personifies everything British is back to its original form after a 3-year sabbatical. Every product and aspect of Wimbledon is ...
Read more..Manufacturing June 20, 2022
New Product Development: How to avoid failed launches?
It is every organization's dream to launch new products. A successful product launch puts the organization on the map and opens the door to new possibilities. Consistently introducing new products to the market also indicates ...
Read more..Manufacturing June 18, 2022
5 Challenges for Procurement in New Product Development
Recently Land Rover took the wraps off their brand new Range Rover Sport in a grand fashion. The car is the third generation of the sporty Rover and comes with a host of new changes, ...
Read more..Manufacturing June 02, 2022
Manufacturing Industry: 3 Major IT Pillars for Successful Product Manufacturing Organization
An early-stage startup probably has 100 SaaS tools they have signed up for and actively uses at least 50 of those. While the technology companies move fast in adopting IT tools, the manufacturing companies worldwide ...
Read more..Manufacturing February 17, 2022
Product Costs: A Primary Driver for Business Sustenance
The role of procurement as we know it today started to gain importance during the industrial revolution in the 18th century. But, up until the second world war, it was considered as performing clerical and ...
Read more..Manufacturing January 11, 2022
Direct Material Cost: With Problems aplenty, why is it important for Manufacturers to focus on it?
Direct cost: For companies to continue surviving, let alone succeed gloriously, delivering their products at the right product cost is a basic requirement and not a choice. As much as achieving customer experience, reliability, and ...
Read more..Manufacturing January 10, 2022
Supplier Relationships: 5 Ways to improve
Supplier Relationships: A successful product manufacturing company requires a strong supply base, given about 70% of the value of the product is derived from the Direct Materials sourced from their suppliers. The relationship that a ...
Read more..Manufacturing January 10, 2022
Digital Procurement and the disruptive technologies that enable them
The use of digital tools and technologies opens up new possibilities for to use of data and human resources. Primarily, digital technologies help in increasing efficiency and productivity through quality improvement, error reduction, and collaboration. ...
Read more..Manufacturing January 05, 2022
Supply Chain Disruption: Course Correction needed to overcome it
Sourcing strategically with quantified risks and ensuring fail-safe mechanisms is part of the job for procurement and supply chain professionals. But, this pandemic, geopolitical and economic issues, and climate change have taken that KPI to ...
Read more..Manufacturing December 09, 2021
Global Supply Chain Shortages: The never ending loop of Supply Chain disruptions and the way forward
Supply Chain Disruption The sudden rise in demand has led to chaos for manufacturers and distributors of goods who cannot supply as much as they did at pre-pandemic levels. To add to the woes, the ...
Read more..Manufacturing November 10, 2021
Source to Pay software: The What? The Why? And the top 5 aspects to look out for
Companies in the manufacturing industry is growing at a good pace, and companies have a lot riding on them since the industry is moving towards saying “Business as usual.” The term, though quite old, means ...
Read more..Manufacturing November 05, 2021
Direct Material Sourcing - How Technology Can Ease its Complexity
It's Friday evening and you find that the parts arriving from the supplier can’t make it inside the gate because of some discrepancies in the purchase order. Let's say you are getting the new equipment ...
Read more..Manufacturing October 20, 2021
Source-to-Pay vs. Procure-to-Pay: Which is the better procurement process?
So, you are planning to Digitalize your procurement process. The first step to this is deciding whether to invest in a Source-to-Pay or a Procure-to-Pay platform. To make a decision you need to understand the functions ...
Read more..Manufacturing October 11, 2021
Procurement Software: Is it in your IT budget?
This time of year, many companies are figuring out how to allocate resources in the next budget cycle. They will revisit old spend allocations, consider new or lingering business problems, and earmark funds for special ...
Read more..Manufacturing October 10, 2021
8 Competing Priorities that jeopardize margin improvement initiatives from procurement
The story goes like this: the CFO is asking for a percentage point cost improvement in the Gross Margin from the Procurement Team in the next Fiscal. This is the most attractive to the ...
Read more..Manufacturing October 05, 2021
Sourcing Solutions help in achieving better product costs. How?
Sourcing Startegy: When sourcing for several hundred/ thousands of parts, the process of negotiating becomes unmanageable with the increasing quantum of emails and phone calls. The information gathered from emails and phone conversations has to ...
Read more..Manufacturing October 05, 2021
Digitalization Procurement: The Transformation through the ages
Procurement has transitioned from a purely transactional process to a strategic function crucial to business success in the last 30 years. This transformation has also been accompanied by technology for the most part. From the ...
Read more..Manufacturing October 05, 2021
Direct Sourcing is much more than purchasing: It is an extension of Product Life Cycle
You design, manufacture, and sell a product… be it an Automobile, Aircraft, Refrigerator (or any of the high-tech gadgets that go in them), a Candy bar, or your off-the-shelf Pain-Killer medication. Unless you are one ...
Read more..Manufacturing October 04, 2021
Procurement in Business: Leverage Technology to meet your 2022 Goals
We are heading towards Q1 of 2022 and since Covid swept the world, there have been unprecedented interruptions to organizations across the globe. With the pandemic affecting every country and the subsequent lockdowns across regions ...
Read more..Manufacturing September 30, 2021
Procurement Process: How Zumen’s Source-to-Pay Solutions enhance it
Procurement management in Product Manufacturing Companies: In current world scenario procurement teams works on multiple everyday tools and platforms to keep the production line running. To incorporate all these tools, organizations add many layers of ...
Read more..Manufacturing September 29, 2021
Procurement System: Ensuring Direct Material Efficiency Through End-to-End Procurement Technology
In manufacturing companies, efficiency is typically derived from well-managed process and material flows. Operational evidence of materials management efficiency can be observed in the percentage of on-time-in-full (OTIF) deliveries from suppliers, high inventory turns, percentage ...
Read more..Manufacturing September 28, 2021
Manufacturing Company: What should they be prioritizing?
Manufacturing business : In the wake of the pandemic, many product manufacturing companies were skeptical to move away from their existing processes hoping that businesses would soon be back to normalcy. 2021 follows the previous ...
Read more..Manufacturing September 28, 2021
Supplier Management : A modern & automated approach
Supplier Management: In traditional Supplier Management, the focus was only on cost reduction. The buyer-supplier relationship did not extend beyond that. Today, it is recognized that Suppliers play an important role in the long-term success ...
Read more..Manufacturing September 28, 2021
S2P Software : How to gain 100% visibility in your sourcing process
Source-to-Pay popularly known as S2P, is the end-to-end process and steps that businesses follow to source, procure, and pay for goods and/or services. Beyond these phases of procurement, S2P also includes strategic procurement and supplier ...
Read more..Manufacturing September 26, 2021
SCRM : Mitigating Supply Chain Risks with a Resilient Procurement Platform
Supply chain risks: Unforeseen delivery bottlenecks put companies under acute pressure to act. Events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, blocking of the Suez Canal, or fire at one of Renesas’ factories (Supplier for automotive controller ...
Read more..Manufacturing September 01, 2021
Spend Management: Effectively Managing Direct and Indirect Spends
Spend Management: The primary goal for Procurement leaders is to optimize the purchases as more than 70% of their company’s revenue is spent on purchasing goods and services - both Direct and Indirect. While direct ...
Read more..Manufacturing August 26, 2021
Supplier Data Management – The first step towards building Supply Chain Resilience
With the advent of the pandemic, a lot has been spoken about Supply Chain Visibility and the role of data in Supply Chain Visibility. Before the pandemic, there was a consensus that organizations had to ...
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