<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" media="screen" href="/~d/styles/rss2full.xsl"?><?xml-stylesheet type="text/css" media="screen" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~d/styles/itemcontent.css"?><!--Generated by Squarespace Site Server v5.8.2 (http://www.squarespace.com/) on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:20:02 GMT--><rss xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:feedburner="http://rssnamespace.org/feedburner/ext/1.0" version="2.0"><channel><title>Procurement Leaders Network - Procurement Blog</title><link>http://blog.procurementleaders.com/procurement-blog/</link><description /><lastBuildDate>Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:43:40 +0000</lastBuildDate><copyright>Sigaria Limited</copyright><language>en-GB</language><generator>Squarespace Site Server v5.8.2 (http://www.squarespace.com/)</generator><atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="self" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/ProcurementBlog" type="application/rss+xml" /><atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="hub" href="http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com" /><item><title>Advertising agencies have to grow up. And quick.</title><category>Marketing Services Procurement</category><category>Services Procurement</category><category>Strategic Sourcing</category><category>Supplier Relationship Management</category><dc:creator>David Rae</dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:38:13 +0000</pubDate><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ProcurementBlog/~3/ZCT4lNbwgtE/advertising-agencies-have-to-grow-up-and-quick.html</link><guid isPermaLink="false">24789:786461:5838256</guid><description><![CDATA[A guest post earlier this week, written by Ralph Daniel of Third i Marketing, points to a recent study conducted by Advertising Age magazine and how it discovered that fewer than one in ten marketing procurers have experience in marketing.

It wasn’t particularly scientific work, comprising of looking through the LinkedIn profiles of marketing procurement folk. Neither did it satisfactorily address the more important question of whether marketing experience is actually something that those who buy marketing services should have. I would argue not, Advertising Age would no doubt disagree.]]></description><wfw:commentRss>http://blog.procurementleaders.com/procurement-blog/rss-comments-entry-5838256.xml</wfw:commentRss><feedburner:origLink>http://blog.procurementleaders.com/procurement-blog/2009/11/18/advertising-agencies-have-to-grow-up-and-quick.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><title>BBC salaries: How much is too much?</title><category>Governance</category><category>Leadership</category><dc:creator>David Rae</dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:56:40 +0000</pubDate><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ProcurementBlog/~3/twGOAigJhuc/bbc-salaries-how-much-is-too-much.html</link><guid isPermaLink="false">24789:786461:5826661</guid><description><![CDATA[News that Beverley Tew, director of procurement and revenue management at the BBC, earns a Louis Vuitton scarf shy of £178,000 provides an interesting insight into what senior procurement executives can expect to be paid.

At first glance, £178,000 seems like a lot of money. I think it’s steal.]]></description><wfw:commentRss>http://blog.procurementleaders.com/procurement-blog/rss-comments-entry-5826661.xml</wfw:commentRss><feedburner:origLink>http://blog.procurementleaders.com/procurement-blog/2009/11/17/bbc-salaries-how-much-is-too-much.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><title>Guest post: Less than one in ten marketing buyers knows anything about marketing</title><category>Marketing Services Procurement</category><category>Services Procurement</category><dc:creator>David Rae</dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:06:56 +0000</pubDate><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ProcurementBlog/~3/QhSiAlj54BU/guest-post-less-than-one-in-ten-marketing-buyers-knows-anyth.html</link><guid isPermaLink="false">24789:786461:5777889</guid><description><![CDATA[A post on this blog from earlier this year looked at how procurement and advertising agendas can be aligned. It sparked a fair amount of debate and illustrated well the gap between the two. Another article has been written - this time looking into the LinkedIn profiles of marketing procurers. In this guest post, Ralph Daniel of Third i Marketing offers his thoughts.]]></description><wfw:commentRss>http://blog.procurementleaders.com/procurement-blog/rss-comments-entry-5777889.xml</wfw:commentRss><feedburner:origLink>http://blog.procurementleaders.com/procurement-blog/2009/11/12/guest-post-less-than-one-in-ten-marketing-buyers-knows-anyth.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><title>Amputation risk hits baby buggy manufacturer - but China's not to blame</title><category>Global Sourcing</category><category>Risk Management</category><category>Supply Chain Management</category><dc:creator>David Rae</dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:59:04 +0000</pubDate><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ProcurementBlog/~3/ItdDEY0Dg5g/amputation-risk-hits-baby-buggy-manufacturer-but-chinas-not.html</link><guid isPermaLink="false">24789:786461:5751801</guid><description><![CDATA[As far as product risk goes you can't get much worse than inadvertently manufacturing a baby buggy complete with a flaw that results in the fingertips of 12 babies being amputated, but that's exactly the situation UK-based company Maclaren finds itself in today.]]></description><wfw:commentRss>http://blog.procurementleaders.com/procurement-blog/rss-comments-entry-5751801.xml</wfw:commentRss><feedburner:origLink>http://blog.procurementleaders.com/procurement-blog/2009/11/10/amputation-risk-hits-baby-buggy-manufacturer-but-chinas-not.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><title>The Big Debate: Collaborative buying – the next big thing</title><category>Global Sourcing</category><category>Leadership</category><category>Strategic Sourcing</category><category>Supply Chain Management</category><dc:creator>David Rae</dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:37:10 +0000</pubDate><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ProcurementBlog/~3/F-yC_2TAxkg/the-big-debate-collaborative-buying-the-next-big-thing.html</link><guid isPermaLink="false">24789:786461:5743151</guid><description><![CDATA[Those of you who have been reading this blog for some time will be aware of a marked increase in collaborative buying – where separate organisations pool spend in certain categories to benefit from economies of scale and increased efficiencies.]]></description><wfw:commentRss>http://blog.procurementleaders.com/procurement-blog/rss-comments-entry-5743151.xml</wfw:commentRss><feedburner:origLink>http://blog.procurementleaders.com/procurement-blog/2009/11/9/the-big-debate-collaborative-buying-the-next-big-thing.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><title>Politics + public sector procurement = disaster</title><category>Governance</category><category>Procurement Benchmarking</category><category>Spend Analysis</category><category>Strategic Sourcing</category><category>Supplier Relationship Management</category><dc:creator>David Rae</dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:53:15 +0000</pubDate><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ProcurementBlog/~3/YLn27CELGnY/politics-public-sector-procurement-disaster.html</link><guid isPermaLink="false">24789:786461:5692530</guid><description><![CDATA[The UK's public sector is a funny old beast. With departments like the NHS, the Department of Justice and the MoD having budgets that put much private-sector expenditure in the shade, one would have thought that procurement would be as good as you would find anywhere.]]></description><wfw:commentRss>http://blog.procurementleaders.com/procurement-blog/rss-comments-entry-5692530.xml</wfw:commentRss><feedburner:origLink>http://blog.procurementleaders.com/procurement-blog/2009/11/4/politics-public-sector-procurement-disaster.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><title>The differing ambitions of a CPO</title><category>Leadership</category><category>Talent Management</category><dc:creator>David Rae</dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:27:32 +0000</pubDate><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ProcurementBlog/~3/DpYsiIh6ZFs/the-differing-ambitions-of-a-cpo.html</link><guid isPermaLink="false">24789:786461:5656248</guid><description><![CDATA[Two recent conversations with chief procurement officers provided an interesting insight into the different ambitions held by sourcing professionals. 

The first was with the CPO of a consumer goods company who was facing a bit of a career crossroads. On the one hand, he could continue with the company he was currently working with but would have to move out of procurement into a more general business leadership role. The problem was he enjoyed procurement so much that he was considering leaving the company so he could remain within the profession.]]></description><wfw:commentRss>http://blog.procurementleaders.com/procurement-blog/rss-comments-entry-5656248.xml</wfw:commentRss><feedburner:origLink>http://blog.procurementleaders.com/procurement-blog/2009/10/30/the-differing-ambitions-of-a-cpo.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><title>Hands up - who's got a comeback plan?</title><category>Global Sourcing</category><category>Risk Management</category><category>Strategic Sourcing</category><dc:creator>David Rae</dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:50:49 +0000</pubDate><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ProcurementBlog/~3/DYIwa1iOdmY/hands-up-whos-got-a-comeback-plan.html</link><guid isPermaLink="false">24789:786461:5637809</guid><description><![CDATA[A recent news article on the Procurement Leaders website reports how a certain business strategy specialist is claiming that supply chain executives should have an 'economic comeback plan' to help them bounce back from the downturn.]]></description><wfw:commentRss>http://blog.procurementleaders.com/procurement-blog/rss-comments-entry-5637809.xml</wfw:commentRss><feedburner:origLink>http://blog.procurementleaders.com/procurement-blog/2009/10/28/hands-up-whos-got-a-comeback-plan.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><title>Beware the counterfeiters - the criminal career of choice...</title><category>Global Sourcing</category><category>Risk Management</category><category>Technology</category><dc:creator>David Rae</dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:45:22 +0000</pubDate><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ProcurementBlog/~3/jBGNaoDsK-A/beware-the-counterfeiters-the-criminal-career-of-choice.html</link><guid isPermaLink="false">24789:786461:5586306</guid><description><![CDATA[A recent whitepaper penned by John Brown, co-founder and VP of marketing and strategy at Verical, provides an excellent overview of the risks associated with the often shadowy world of the electronics aftermarket where the abundance of counterfeit goods is a real risk for corporate buyers.]]></description><wfw:commentRss>http://blog.procurementleaders.com/procurement-blog/rss-comments-entry-5586306.xml</wfw:commentRss><feedburner:origLink>http://blog.procurementleaders.com/procurement-blog/2009/10/23/beware-the-counterfeiters-the-criminal-career-of-choice.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><title>Recommendations for managing currency fluctuations</title><category>Global Sourcing</category><category>Risk Management</category><dc:creator>David Rae</dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:30:43 +0000</pubDate><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ProcurementBlog/~3/9gqe4wcNjCA/recommendations-for-managing-currency-fluctuations.html</link><guid isPermaLink="false">24789:786461:5558007</guid><description><![CDATA[CPOs have a lot on their mind at the moment. There's board-level pressure to maximise cost savings, a huge increase in supplier risk, the mounting compliance burden of sustainability... it all adds up to a major increase in workload.]]></description><wfw:commentRss>http://blog.procurementleaders.com/procurement-blog/rss-comments-entry-5558007.xml</wfw:commentRss><feedburner:origLink>http://blog.procurementleaders.com/procurement-blog/2009/10/20/recommendations-for-managing-currency-fluctuations.html</feedburner:origLink></item></channel></rss>
