(Environmental Leader, 8 May 2012) In Brief: Sunny Delight Beverages Co. rolled out a fleet of compressed natural gas vehicles for deliveries in southern California. The company expects these alternative fuel vehicles to cut diesel fuel demand by 400,000 gallons this year and reduce well-to-wheel greenhouse gas emissions by 23%. Our View: Sunny Delight’s sourcing [...]
Read more(BBC, 3 May 2012) In Brief: Japan’s last open nuclear power plant closed Saturday for maintenance, leaving the country without reactor-generated electricity for the first time in more than 40 years. Before last year’s meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi, Japan relied on nuclear power for approximately 30% of its energy needs; the other stations went offline [...]
Read more(Bloomberg, 8 May 2012) In Brief: Ford Motor Co. says its supply base in Thailand remains “fragile and overwhelmed,” and thousands of unfilled orders are hindering the auto maker’s plans to ramp up production of the Ranger. That model is a crucial part of its growth strategy in Asian markets. Our View: Whenever possible, Procurement [...]
Read more(CBS News, 4 May 2012) In Brief: Almost 90% of the 20 companies rated best at leadership development rewarded managers who built collaborative relationships with their peers in other parts of the organization, according to a recent study. Our View: Up to 8% of savings promised by global sourcing initiatives can be lost when business [...]
Read more(The New York Times, 2 May 2012) In Brief: Business travel is expected to grow this year but so will corporate scrutiny of travel spend. A recent survey of 168 companies found that 70% were reviewing or tightening their expense policies. Our View: Aligning Procurement with travel-related spend categories can drive significant savings to help [...]
Read more(The Jakarta Post, 2 May 2012) In Brief: India, home to the world’s fifth-largest reserve of rare earths, reached a basic agreement to develop 4,000 tons of the minerals (including lanthanum, cerium, and neodymium) for Japan. These exports would satisfy 14% of Japan’s demand and help reduce its dependence on China, which exports 500 to [...]
Read more(Supply Management, 2 May 2012) In Brief: Because of the recession, “Procurement’s in the spotlight,” said Office Depot’s procurement director at a recent forum hosted by his company. “The challenge is to make sure we move the profession on and don’t fall back into tactical behavior.” Our View: As Procurement’s opportunity set fluctuates, periodic reviews [...]
Read more(Financial Times, 1 May 2012) In Brief: In Q1 earnings calls, many companies said they hiked prices for customers this year, but those increases didn’t cover higher expenses for oil and other raw materials. At the same time, lower costs for certain commodities, such as natural gas and aluminum, benefited sectors like petrochemicals, as well [...]
Read more(The New York Times, 30 April 2012) In Brief: Delta Air Lines announced the company’s $150 million purchase of an oil refinery that will save the airline an estimated $300 million a year in fuel expenses. The cost is about the same as one Boeing 777. According to Delta, it would take 60 new-generation Boeing [...]
Read more(Huffington Post, 24 April 2012) In Brief: Take the time to apply lean principles to scattered indirect spend areas; you can find savings that prevent the need to look for cheaper manufacturing locations, this writer says in an opinion piece. Our View: Leading Procurement organizations experience fewer stalls in finding new savings by picking the [...]
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