Procurement Professional is the official publication of CIPS Australia.

The Buyer's Blog 

THE BUYER’S BLOG is an occasional viewpoint on matters relevant to procurement professionals from a former senior procurement manager with a naturally biased, but totally justified, opinion. Generally the blog aims to offer relevant and practical down-to-earth opinions that help busy procurement professionals see through the fog of complexity they are often presented with to simply do a better job.

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We are more than happy to publish comments relating to any of the Buyer's Blogs, particularly those that elaborate further on the theme.. Whether you agree or disagree with the Buyer's views,  let The Buyer know what you think – email him at thebuyer@pponline.com.au

The views of THE BUYER are personal and are not necessarily those of Procurement Professional magazine, BTTB Marketing nor CIPS.

 Click on the headlines to read recent blogs:

#121 - A novel way to tackle corruption in India 05/03/2010

#120 - What buyers must read about the real CHINA .... 02/03/2010

#119 - Why Coles need a CPO with a property background 27/02/2010

#118 - National Broadband: The forty three billion dollar question: 26/02/2010

#117 - The top 10 global supply chains 23/02/2010

#116 - The best white-paper yet 22/02/2010

#115 - Car makers 'fess up to supply chain shocks galore 18/02/2010

#114 - How to make BIG savings quickly - through centralisation 16/02/2010

#113 - Jobs galore in procurement ... 15/02/2010

#112 - National Broadband: The right choice for CPO appointment 11/02/2010

#111 - Should Defence uniforms be purchased from China? 10/02/2010

# 110 - Profile of public procurement on the rise 04/02/2010

#109 - National Broadband: The high cost of tendering 04/02/2010

#108 - Are even better outsourcing deals now possible in India? 03/02/2010

#107 - How to demotivate procurement people 01/02/2010

#106 - When holster selection drives pistol choice 26/01/2010

#105 - Gen Y not ready to take over … yet. 23/01/2010

#104 - Who is supplying your suppliers? 20/01/2010

#103 - Supplier choice the first step for CSR 19/01/2010

#102 - Why Copenhagen wasn't important to procurement in the end ... 18/01/2010

#101 - Possible predictions for a year of volatility in 2010 17/01/2010

#100 - What to accept from suppliers at Christmas 11/12/2009

# 99 - Should you treat suppliers the same as staff? 04/12/2009

# 98 - Why Copenhagen is important to procurement 01/12/2009

#97 - What to wear on dress-down day - for natty procurement people 26/11/2009

#96 - How NOT to use your in-house lawyers 23/11/2009

#95 - How to be professional in procurement ... 19/11/2009

#94 - Why carbon trading should be a job for procurement 16/11/2009

#93 - Goal alignment the only KEY to successful procurement 12/11/2009

#92 - Is category management the new black? 11/11/2009

#91 - When to accept late tenders? 09/11/2009

#90 - When does benchmarking become collusion? 05/11/2009

#89 - The great hidden cost in all supply chains 02/11/2009

#88 - Organisations should benchmark against standards - not each other 30/10/2009

# 87 - BREAKING NEWS: Soldier dies during war 28/10/2009

#86 - Lying for infamy: White House chief buyer jailed 27/10/2009

#85 - How do you buy creativity? 24/10/2009

#84 - The scarlet pimpernel of procurement? 23/10/2009

#83 - Why is the procurement profession good at PROCESS and bad at PEOPLE development? 21/10/2009

#82 - Hands up for P cards anyone? 19/10/2009

#81 - Top 20 websites demonstrably useful 17/10/2009

#80 - The world's shoppers are still buying green - part 2 16/10/2009

#79 - What impact would a new oil price shock have on your supply chain? 12/10/2009

#78 - The top 12 sales techniques of the most successful sales execs... 09/10/2009

#77 - Samoan earthquake a timely reminder of supply chain values 02/10/2009

#76 - BREAKING NEWS: Aircraft arrives late at airport 01/10/2009

#75 - The best jobs in procurement ... 29/09/2009

#74 - MCIPS a new shortcut to NZ permanent residency? 28/09/2009

#73 - Low cost country sourcing - from the UK? 24/09/2009

#72 - Spending the stimulus package was a reminder of the strategic role of procurement 22/09/2009

#71 - The sound of procurement 21/09/2009

#70 - The best job in procurement advertised this year 15/09/2009

#69 - VIC Ombudsman report shows just why professional procurement is needed 14/09/2009

#68 - How to save real money on interstate trips 11/09/2009

#67 - The best insurance against supply chain foul-ups? 08/09/2009

#66 - The true, full life cost from poorly handled procurement can be massive 07/09/2009

#65 - Buy local ... or not, then? 04/09/2009

#64 - Onshore now an option for offshoring 03/09/2009

#63 - 'Lost' minister a great find for procurement 02/09/2009

#62 - The business case for training before capital investment 24/08/2009

#61 - The case for flying Premium Economy 21/08/2009

#60 - The most important term in any contract 19/08/2009

#59 - Ethics a principal requirement for any profession - especially procurement 10/08/2009

#58 - Why 'blanket orders' are still relevant to replace multiple ordering 07/08/2009

#57 - Procurement skills should be taught in schools 06/08/2009

#56 - 'Buy local' unsustainable 31/07/2009

#55 - Procurement managers should show cost leadership. 29/07/2009

#54 - How to save money in marketing 27/07/2009

#53 - BREAKING NEWS: Demand management the key to real savings 25/07/2009

#52 - How to help suppliers through difficult times 101 23/07/2009

#51 - BREAKING NEWS: Doing business in China is different 15/07/2009

#50 - The GFC is a threat for some buyers more than others 14/07/2009

#49 - Hospitality not hostility a key to good SRM 11/07/2009

#48 - NATIONAL BROADBAND: A case for a CPO on the board? 09/07/2009

#47 - More green shoots; from the PSI this time? 03/07/2009

#46 - New Fair Work Act a worry for suppliers 02/07/2009

#45 - Is this truly the best way to buy trains & trams? 01/07/2009

#44 - Green shoots? 24/06/2009

#43 - Is Procurement a trusted profession? 23/06/2009

#42 - The top five reasons that projects fail.... 19/06/2009

#41 - Single v multiple sourcing? 18/06/2009

#40 - Politics and procurement 17/06/2009

#39 - The price of a bribe 16/06/2009

#38 - NATIONAL BROADBAND: How to save $43bn quickly... 09/06/2009

#37- BREAKING NEWS: Less suppliers means better deals 22/05/2009

#36 - Why buyers and sellers need to work together more.... 04/05/2009

#35 - What the CEO still wants from procurement ..... 19/04/2009

#34 - What salesmen read ..... 18/04/2009

#33 - The real point of signing limits ... 17/04/2009

#32 - Procurement is a profession, not an industry 16/04/2009

#31 - How to work with your CFO during difficult times... 15/04/2009

#30 - How entrepreneurs cut costs.... 09/04/2009

#29 - NATIONAL BROADBAND: A simple case of make or buy? 08/04/2009

#28 - Do you know exactly who is supplying you? 07/04/2009

#27 - 2009: The year of the CFO....... 06/04/2009

#26 - Why you should never, ever, fiddle your expenses; even a bit. 03/04/2009

#25 - How many companies seek to slash cost during a downturn 02/04/2009

#24 - The Top 3 issues that UK procurement professionals face today ..... 01/04/2009

#23 - The GFC is an opportunity for procurement ..... but maybe not with job security? 31/03/2009

#22 - BREAKING NEWS: Collaboration gets better prices 17/03/2009

#21 - Corporate collection of frequent flyer points can be churlish 16/03/2009

#20 - Tender boxes for the chop 13/03/2009

#19 - Why not publish a detailed list of all public sector contracts? 12/03/2009

#18 - Why the best professional buyer often doesn't get the CPO job 11/03/2009

#17 - Pacific Brands: A Make or Buy procurement case study 10/03/2009

#16 - Procurement process must not block government economic stimulus package 03/03/2009

#15 - Two part bidding, a process too far 02/03/2009

#14 - Water and the role of natural resources in the supply chain 18/02/2009

#13 - Procurement team size to spend ratios 17/02/2009

#12 - When to accept gifts and freebies 14/02/2009

#11 - BREAKING NEWS: Aussie buyers sourcing overseas more... 13/02/2009

#10 - Protectionism makes a buyer's life more difficult 12/02/2009

#9 - Procurement's role during difficult times? 05/02/2009

#8 - The best RFP ever written..... 04/02/2009

#7 - What is best practice? 03/02/2009

#6 - BREAKING NEWS: Large IT contracts blow-out.... 02/02/2009

#5 - The world's shoppers are still buying green 29/01/2009

#4 - Hands up for carbon trading 28/01/2009

#3 - Buying and selling for the wrong reasons is a slippery slope 27/01/2009

#2 - Chinese receding growth a cloud with a silver lining for Australian buyers? 23/01/2009

#1 - The opportunity of falling freight costs 16/01/2009