Sponsored by IHS.

Click here to download the whitepaper “Information Competency: Survival in the Global Economy”

It’s no surprise that the recession made front-page news of the supply chain. Almost overnight, demand was slashed and inventory consumption was stretched out for quarters as orders were canceled and channels became dangerously lean to free up cash. Meanwhile, upstream supply was equally volatile, as component discontinuances flooded the marketplace and suppliers rationalized their portfolios to cuts costs and remain profitable. But will the knockout punch actually come from the economic recovery? Economic woes have overshadowed a critical inflection point in supply chain history: An abrupt shift from the legacy supply chain moving traditional materials to one fueled by a new generation of sustainable, environmentally compliant chemicals and materials. Join IHS’ Rory King as we discuss the continuity implications of the recession upon the supply chain, and why it is the supply chain where winners and losers will be made in the recovery.

 

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Click here for a white paper on strategic supplier management.

China remains the largest and fastest-growing economy in Asia, and developments in China have significant ripple effects throughout Western supply chains that depend on it as a critical source of supply. As sustainability becomes an increasingly important issue for China and its manufacturers, companies that rely on a China-based supply chain face new risks and opportunities. In this podcast, we talk with Chris Hazen, Director (Asia-Pacific) at WSP Environment & Energy, a leading global business advisor in the practices of sustainability, compliance assurance, and regulatory analysis covering climate change, supply chain management, product strategy and market entry, and performance metrics and reporting. Based in Hong Kong, Hazen shares his perspective on the impact that sustainability is having in China and on Asia-centric supply chains, and he explains how companies can minimize their own risks while continuing to build relationships with their suppliers in China.

 

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Sponsored by IHS.
Click here to download a whitepaper on MRO Inventory Optimization

What’s the 411 on “a no brainer” project for ‘09 and maybe even getting a fat bonus? “The skinny” can make heroes out of those who optimize Maintenance, Repair, and Operations inventory and deliver supply chain performance. It’s more than slang and don’t confuse it with “less inventory”. Skinny delivers “the right inventory”. It dynamically adjusts MRO to meet current performance needs. When fuel and commodity prices were soaring, the skinny helped companies drive maximum production capacity. So far “thin is in” for 2009. The focus has shifted to greater emphasis on squeezing costs out of labor, inventory, purchasing, and expediting, while maintaining capacity efficiency. With as much as 15% of procurement spend and 75% of purchasing requisitions tied up in MRO, “the skinny” can equate to measurable benefits and maybe even that fat bonus as well. Join IHS’ Jim Crouch to learn how.

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Sponsored by TradeCard.
Click here to go to TradeCard.com to download the whitepaper on 10+2.”

The Importer Security Filing (ISF) regulation, also known as 10+2, is a U.S. Customs & Border Protection rule designed to help the Department of Homeland Security better assess and identify high-risk shipments entering the U.S. Many importers believe that their 3PL or agent will ensure their company is complying, but the truth is that the importer could be on the hook for non-compliance. Join industry expert Kurt Cavano, chairman and CEO of TradeCard, as we discuss the impact of 10+2, approaches to meeting the challenges of the regulation, and dispel the common myths about 10+2 compliance.

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Sponsored by Next Level Purchasing.
Click here to access the special report “The Purchasing Leader’s Guide to a More Successful Team.”

The “flat world” and current economic conditions present many new challenges to today’s procurement and supply management organizations. It’s more critical than ever that supply management executives ensure that their staffs have the right mix of skills to overcome these challenges. In this podcast, industry observer Charles Dominick, SPSM, president of Next Level Purchasing, shares strategies for keeping your own skills up to date and building a successful supply management team.

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Sponsored by ProcureStaff.
Click below to access “Solving the Complexities of Services Procurement”

Indirect spend management is the last frontier of supply chain management. Procurement professionals are finding “people are not pencils” and the same strategies used to source static commodities are not sufficient to source human capital. The nuances of human resource management require a unique set of supply chain management tools and expertise. How important is the interplay between a solution’s Vendor Management System (VMS) software and the expertise of the managed services provider (MSP) to overall success? What are the key cost drivers that can yield significant savings? In this podcast, Supply & Demand Chain Executive editor Andrew Reese interviews ProcureStaff Vice President, Ben Walker who reveals some of the critical factors required to operate a successful services procurement program.

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Sponsored by Ariba.
Click here to access the full “2008 Priorities and Challenges in Spend Management” report.

Delivering measurable results. Increasing spend visibility. Extending functional and geographical coverage for spend management. These are just a few of the challenges facing procurement managers and executives in the year ahead. In this podcast, spend management industry veteran Hari Candadai with Ariba discusses the results of recent research into the top-of-mind priorities among procurement professionals around the globe. Learn about best-in-class approaches to demonstrating the impact of spend management to corporate leadership, increasing user adoption, leveraging spend data and more.

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Sponsored by Sterling Commerce Click here to access Ray Wang’s report on the Perfect Order.

Companies are using “perfect order” to measure supply chain performance and order management cycle effectiveness. But what is a “perfect order,” how do you measure it, and how do you achieve it? In this podcast, Ray Wang, principal analyst with Forrester Research, discusses his recent study on the roadmap to the perfect order, covering the benefits and challenges of meeting the promise of the perfect order, as well as the role of technology in achieving the perfect order.

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Sponsored by Ariba.
Click here to learn more about the new face of travel procurement

Long left to the goodwill and trustworthiness of individual employees, and varying levels of oversight by supervisors and travel managers, T&E remains a bastion of maverick spending. But a new breed of solutions has emerged that is helping to drive change. Learn more about how end-to-end spend management solutions are changing the face of travel procurement in this conversation with travel procurement guru Charles Brossman.

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Sponsored by Kinaxis. Click here for free access AMR Research’s recent report on Response Management

Closed-loop planning and execution are being replaced by a new generation of supply chain software as manufacturers turn to Response Management solutions to gain competitive advantage. In this podcast, Steve Hochman, Research Director for Supply Chain at AMR Research, discusses the results of his recent research into Response Management, who needs Response Management, and what types of benefits companies are already seeing from using these solutions. Also, Randy Littleson with Kinaxis talks about the growing adoption of Response Management solutions.

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