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Connect, Change, and Grow at APQC’s 2024 Conference
Throughout the past few years, we’ve heard organizational action verbs such as "pivot" and "adapt", but what do they really mean when people are involved? Beyond simply “getting the job done,” people are at their best when they’re able to collaborate and connect with others to share ideas, address…
4 Tips for a Faster and More Effective Budgeting Process
Completing the annual budget in a short time goes a long way in saving time and money across the organization. APQC finds that top performers (those at the 25th percentile) complete the annual budget in 28 days or less—nearly twice as quickly as organizations in the 75th percentile.Creating your…
Top 5 Procurement Strategic Objectives
APQC research shows that procurement is changing for the better with its strategic objectives. While in the past the focus was on cost savings, now there’s also an emphasis on avoiding supply disruption. Reflecting other changes in business environments, additional notable objectives include…
How to Improve Your Knowledge Management Strategy
Whether you are starting a new knowledge management (KM) program in 2024 or continuing to evolve and expand an existing program, it is critical to have a documented KM strategy. A clearly articulated strategy and roadmap ensure the KM team remains focused on goals that support the business, helps…
ESG Changing Supply Chain Decision-Making
In the current market, the increasing importance of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) is primarily influenced by new regulations and customers' ever evolving expectations. Business customers and consumers are increasingly aware of their purchases' social and environmental impacts,…
Why Are End-to-End Processes Important?
APQC defines end-to-end processes (E2E) as “cross-functional processes that comprise all the steps to accomplish a specific outcome or goal”. Some common workplace examples are order-to-cash, hire-to-retire, and idea-to-market. Think about the last time you went out to eat at a restaurant.…
Three Questions Every Employer Should Ask in 2018
It’s that time again—time for the annual flurry of predictions about the world of work in the new year and beyond. The list of trends that are forecasted to change the future of work is long. Analytics Artificial Intelligence Automation Digitization Generation Z The Gig…
Silver Bells, Marketing, and Sales
(Hopefully you read the blog title with a Deep South accent.) Happy holidays, reader! I’m going to begin this post with a slightly embarrassing self-quote from 5 years ago, when I was a first-year MBA student. The following is an excerpt from the introduction I wrote for a marketing plan…
Toy Story Telling From CSCMP
Recently I attended my first CSCMP conference, which was in Atlanta Georgia this year. It was a great event, I had virtually no expectations walking in and I was pleasantly surprised. First, it was much larger than I anticipated. I walked in to the large convention center Sunday night for what I…
6 Tips for Creating Strategic Plans That Actually Get Implemented
2017 is quickly coming to a close and business professionals across the globe are engaged in a common annual ritual. They are assessing how well their organization performed over the past year and crafting plans for a more successful 2018. Through this process, many professionals will uncover…