Xuhua is a dropout from UCLA (PhD program) and has caused Lumber Liquidator’s (“LL”) to drop 2/3 – YES, 2/3 of its market cap (from $3bn to $1 bn) within a year! He noticed a significant increase in their profitability compared to the industry, and in investigating why,…
. . recommendation that sits on a shelf, suggestion that is not acted upon, training dollar that has no return on investment, report generated that is never looked at, project that is started but never implemented or adopted. My guess is that each and every person reading this has the same wish. We participate in studies, surveys, trainings, brainstorming / feedback/ crowdsourcing sessions, and walk away, rolling our eyes because we know that it was a complete waste of time and going nowhere.
In a recent discussion with a client who is the Global VP of Services, the question of Collaboration came up from a unique perspective. In his industry, they often partner with competitors and suppliers to respond to and deliver solutions to their customers. And while they feel pretty good about their negotiating competencies, he was very concerned about the lack of collaboration competencies, especially where you are faced with multi-faceted relationship structures (competitors and suppliers).
Most of us can look at anything we “buy” on behalf of our company and see that we have opportunity for improvement. We may have too many suppliers, not enough suppliers or not the “right” suppliers. Whatever the situation, as Sourcing professionals it is our job to ensure…
Some of you may remember Soylent Green (book/movie) where the central premise is people living on wafers because of pollution and over population. You may also have heard recent reports about someone living on no food but something called Soylent-a drink based on the essential elements humans need to survive.
