Procurement
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Dive Awards
Sustainability Plan of the Year: Target's full-scope emissions goals
This year, Target set ambitious carbon emissions reduction goals and committed to bringing suppliers along for the ride, increasing the impact of its work toward a more sustainable supply chain.
By Emma Cosgrove • Dec. 09, 2019 -
Dive Awards
Resilience Plan of the Year: Williams-Sonoma's trade war strategy
At the beginning of 2019, retailers either waited to see what would happen with the increasingly sunny U.S.-China trade negotiations, or they prepared for the worst. Williams-Sonoma prepared and it paid off.
By Emma Cosgrove • Dec. 09, 2019 -
OpinionClimate and change: Decarbonizing procurement contracts
215 of the world's biggest companies see climate change as a threat to their bottom line within the next five years.
By Ashley Norton • Dec. 05, 2019 -
ColumnWhen it comes to demand forecasts, sharing is caring
Procurement professionals who do not share their forecasts with key suppliers are creating a layer of risk in the supply chain that could result in supply interruptions and even higher prices.
By Rich Weissman • Dec. 05, 2019 -
To reduce risk and boost ROI, procurement needs to be at the executive table: A.T. Kearney
Firms that embrace strategic alignment with their procurement functions see two to three times greater supply chain ROI than average companies.
By Morgan Forde • Dec. 05, 2019 -
Ikea, Carrefour, Ahold Delhaize urge Brazil to maintain soy deforestation ban
Deforestation in Brazil has nuances that make it more difficult to identify in supply chains — potentially protecting the practice from the usual pressures raw materials buyers can exert to prevent it.
By Emma Cosgrove • Dec. 05, 2019 -
Survey says one third of businesses taking no action to mitigate tariffs
With 68% of survey respondents reporting businesses affected by tariffs, but 33.5% taking no action to mitigate them, it's clear a small percentage of the business community is choosing the ostrich's strategy on tariff mitigation.
By Emma Cosgrove • Dec. 03, 2019 -
Seasonal hiring is the most stressful recruiting period, survey says
Experts say the onboarding process should start before a new hire's first day to guarantee success and efficiency.
By Valerie Bolden-Barrett • Dec. 02, 2019 -
OpinionWhy the vaping crisis is a supply chain failure
Numerous websites sell cheap, unauthorized pods designed to fit vaping devices from major manufacturers.
By Ron Volpe • Dec. 02, 2019 -
OpinionBreaking procurement's glass ceiling is not just about gender diversity
Removing gender bias is not just an HR initiative. It needs to become part of an organization’s culture.
By Allison Ford-Langstaff • Nov. 21, 2019 -
ColumnHow to coach a supplier
When one-size-fits-all supplier development activities fall short, it may be time to take a more personal approach.
By Rich Weissman • Nov. 21, 2019 -
Amazon publishes list of more than 1K private label suppliers
The list provides the address and name of each supplier and a map published by the company shows China accounts for roughly 500 of the e-tailer's supplier locations.
By Matt Leonard • Nov. 21, 2019 -
Sugar rush: As supply runs low, USDA will guarantee a backup
Adverse weather conditions mean there is less of the sweetener available to manufacturers this year, potentially setting the stage for experiments with alternatives.
By Cathy Siegner • Nov. 21, 2019 -
Home Depot assesses tariff impact SKU-by-SKU
Home Depot's tariff mitigation strategy is a data-driven effort analyzing the impact of tariffs at the SKU level.
By Emma Cosgrove • Nov. 20, 2019 -
Kraft Heinz, Tyson among lowest for anti-deforestation efforts as industry falls short of 2020 goal
In the 10 years since The Consumer Goods Forum set its 2020 environmental goals, experts agree more immersive, on-the-ground work is needed to achieve reductions in deforestation.
By Emma Cosgrove • Nov. 19, 2019 -
Hospitals waste $27.5B on bad supply chain management, Navigant says
Between 2017 and 2018, wasteful spending on supplies rose 11.8%, or $2.7 billion according to the study of 2,127 hospitals.
By Ron Shinkman • Nov. 15, 2019 -
Should procurement break up with Excel?
Half of procurement organizations use spreadsheets for data analysis, but exclusive reliance on these tools, however familiar, can create inaccurate forecasting.
By Craig Guillot • Nov. 14, 2019 -
Less than 8% of forestry suppliers have a plan for keeping forced labor out of supply chains
Though 59% of the 39 companies Know the Chain surveyed had a supplier code of conduct in place, only 5% had a process in place to deal with violations.
By Emma Cosgrove • Nov. 14, 2019 -
Deep DiveWhere is the new China?
As the trade war carries on and labor costs rise, supply chains seek a new home for manufacturing and sourcing. But each alternative location comes with pros and cons.
By Deborah Abrams Kaplan • Nov. 14, 2019 -
Tyson: Current market makes accurate forecast impossible
A deadly disease affecting the global hog supply, unpredictable trade policy shifts and a fire in Kansas all made executives wary of predicting next year's earnings — but it's not all bad news.
By Emma Cosgrove • Nov. 13, 2019 -
This map is the first step to understanding risk in the food supply chain
Understanding weather and infrastructure risks can help inform supply chain decisions in states that are home to major freight hubs and agricultural production centers.
By Matt Leonard • Nov. 12, 2019 -
Dean Foods files for bankruptcy as consumer demand for milk declines
Last year, Dean Foods laid off 207 workers with the closure of two milk processing factories, ended more than 100 dairy contracts with the company to curtail how much milk it was buying and closed three other facilities.
By Lillianna Byington • Nov. 12, 2019 -
Q&AWhat are the most important supply chain ethics? 3 experts weigh in
Consumer awareness of sustainability and forced labor in the supply chain is driving organizations to take the next step beyond compliance into ethics.
By Shefali Kapadia • Nov. 11, 2019 -
UPS creates digital tools to deliver blockchain-verified beef
The beef traveled from Kansas to a steakhouse in Japan in temperature-controlled UPS packaging and UPS developed a "customized integrated visibility tool" to track the shipment.
By Emma Cosgrove • Nov. 11, 2019 -
A great supply risk lies in the Uighur crisis of China's Xinjiang Province
If you don't know the specific origin within China of your raw materials, "you should assume that you're at risk," said Ryan Lynch of the British Standards Institution.
By Emma Cosgrove • Nov. 08, 2019
