As a procurement professional and then as an industry advisor, I have worked with all kinds of suppliers. I have conducted numerous sourcing exercises, such as negotiating contracts and running RFPs on everything from office supplies and small package freight to travel services and cleaning supplies to contingent labor.
My diverse experience has taught me much […]
Every day, another technological development threatens to upend the way companies operate — or so it seems. Take my world, for instance. Freelance management systems, offshoring and nontraditional modes of engagement dominate many of my conversations with staffing services buyers in all stages of their program evolution. At the same time, these managers value and […]
How can you be the best supplier in the MSP supplychain? That’s a difficult question to answer. As a career procurement professional who now advises enterprise clients through SIA’s Contingent Workforce Strategies Council, I have come to sympathize with the struggles many suppliers face in trying to succeed in these programs. And it starts by […]
A s the role and remit of procurement functions continue to evolve within organisations, it is critical that our supplier relationships and engagement models keep pace. This is especially true in the contingent labour category, where the provision of external talent can have a direct effect on business success.
The contingent labour category — perhaps more than most — requires procurement and our talent suppliers to be jointly […]
A combination of misplaced co-employment fears and invisibility cloaks shield contingent workforce professionals from seeing the sometimes darker side of staffing — the commoditization of people. The new world order of indentured servitude. But savvy managers are catching on.
We know that, while the majority of staffing suppliers run their businesses well and live up to […]
I came to the buy side of the equation by way of the staffing industry. With my newfound understanding of the client’s day, my sales strategy — as a staffing supplier — would be different. My day is similar to my staffing days: putting out fires, vendor management and focusing on cost reduction. But I […]
It’s almost that time of year when those dreaded words will be uttered from backseats everywhere: Are we there yet? I remember enduring my family’s 17-hour drive from Texas to Pennsylvania — with no technology to entertain me. Kids nowadays have no idea how easy they actually have it. My daughter has deemed any trip […]
Having recently survived an MSP implementation as a buyer of staffing services, I understand wanting an on-time, clean and precise deliverable that is seamless and successful.
However, I understand that depending on what hat you wear, the definitions and motivations behind those goals will differ. Nevertheless, we all want the same thing.
Given my experience, I have […]
Whether we’re out at the customer’s site with suppliers or events; whether we negotiate, respond to emails or participate in calls: We talk, we write, we listen. In short, we communicate. Because we are driven by the objectives to create a better programme, to deliver a better service, to foster innovation and to motivate others […]
I’ve spent most of my career in what seems to be an ongoing request-for-proposal process; first on the provider side, and now as a buyer. Regardless of which side of the table you sit, I think we all agree that the RFP process is expensive and time consuming. But it’s one that we’re fully invested […]
