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SCP Resources and Case Studies

Browse a selection of topical and industry relevant articles and case studies, researched and complied by SCP team members. Free PDF downloads of all resources.

The intelligence of business intelligence

Why is it that business intelligence seems, in many cases, to not add much intelligence into anything a business does?

Let’s first start with the definition of ‘business intelligence’ as commonly acknowledged and accepted:

Business intelligence (BI) comprises the methodologies and technologies used by organisations for the analysis of data with the purpose of turning this data into meaningful information. These analytics typically include generations of reporting, dash-boarding and scorecards.

Doing business in China – helpful tips

Doing procurement implementations takes us all over the globe. One of our star team members, Leigh Weimer, writes about her recent business trip to China and shares some handy tips which might help prepare you should you visit that part of the world.

Doing business in China – tips from Nanjing

Despite hours of planning for a five -week business trip to Nanjing, there were many aspects of the trip that I wasn’t prepared for. Here are a few tips for future travellers.

Procurement tech implementation challenges

Interview with Chimae

We sat down with our director and procurement guru Chimae Gonçalves and asked a few pertinent questions around procurement technology implementations:

Calming the storm

Six things I am contemplating about business

As many of you know, our company specialises in procurement and other related technologies, with an emphasis on growing people.

Like many small business owners our desire is to leave a legacy: To create employment, develop young people into good leaders, give our children the best education and support the under-privileged.

We understand that many of our customers owe their initial success to a unique strategic position involving clear trade-offs. All our activities were once aligned with that position. But I am wondering how many of us have compromised that alignment to synchronise with our rivals.

Although our company has only been around for four years I find myself drawn back to our founding place, to reconnect with our initial strategy.

702 Interview with Supply Chain Partner

My business partner and I are very passionate about procurement… It’s such an exciting area to be in because you can touch a whole ecosystem of suppliers, buyers and users.

Listen to the full interview with co-founder and director of Supply Chain Partner, Chimae Goncalves.

Reveal and reduce fraud

Supply Chain Partner founders Chimae Goncalves (MCIPS) and Schalk Burger presented at Smart Procurement World Fraud Symposium in March 2017 on using cloud procurement solutions to reveal and reduce fraud.

View the Slideshare or download the pdf version

The tangible benefits of sourcing

Many industries face intense pressure to cut costs. Executives everywhere are forced to tighten the budget belts.

Take the mining industry for instance: despite the pressure of cost cutting this industry has to contend with the mandate of safe production at all costs against the backdrop of other challenges such as commodity volatility, labour pressures, skill shortages, cost overrun on capital projects and adhering to stringent compliance criteria.

Slowing down your reverse auction

Those of you who are experts in conducting reverse auctions, would agree that when following the correct sourcing strategy, reverse auction tools can be very powerful in the hands of sourcing professionals. Some of the benefits you may have experienced with reverse auctions are reduced baseline prices, fair and open competition amongst your supply base, greater transparency in your procurement process and speedier ways to source.

Reverse auctions in South Africa

Modern-day competitiveness?

The complexities of modern-day competitiveness certainly challenge the traditional business process. Take supply chain for example: it is progressively evolving from overseeing a few disjointed back office functions into a strategic “big picture” leadership role that can radically increase profit margins by up to 22%, according to an IBM CPO study conducted in 2013.