
New! Procurement Systems Integration Within the Enterprise: Exploring Integration In The Cloud
P2P systems integration is one of the top enablers (and requirements) for driving lasting eProcurement impact and change. Yet precious little research focus has been devoted to it in the past, until now, with our latest Spend Matters P…

Procurement and Supply Chain: Tips and Tricks to Prepare for Commodity Volatility (Part 1)
If there is an “Ariba” of commodity management, it’s Triple Point Technologies. While there are many specialist commodity management software providers with expertise in given markets (e.g., Brady for metals), Triple Point has the wide…

Understanding How to Use Price Indexes in Sourcing: Running Predictive Forecast and Models
Yesterday, I presented with Lisa Reisman on a MetalMiner/Spend Matters webinar looking at new sourcing strategies for organizations that purchase material quantities of commodities or raw materials (or in cases where their suppliers do…

KPMG to Acquire BrainNet — Initial Reporting, Analysis and Recommendations
On Friday, KPMG announced it was acquiring European-based procurement and supply chain consultancy, BrainNet. While terms of the deal were not disclosed, Spend Matters estimates the value of the transaction at between $50-100MM. This range is based on estimated BrainNet revenue slightly above $50MM — which may have been even higher — and relative 1-2X […]

Friday Rant: Will Oracle Go Shopping? Post Ariba/SAP Acquisition Strategy… (Part 2)
A couple Fridays ago, after SAP announced they were acquiring Ariba, we attempted to wax eloquent about potential moves that Oracle might take in response — if they do anything at all. To this last point, it’s important to realize in any corporate development situation that the internal M&A team’s job is often focused as much on saying “no” as finding a way to say “yes.”

New Research: Manufacturing and Direct Materials Sourcing: A Planning Guide for the Next Decade
MetalMiner and Spend Matters are excited to announce the launch of a combined research study, Manufacturing and Direct Materials Sourcing: A Planning Guide for the Next Decade. Authored by Jason Busch and Lisa Reisman, this Spend Matt…

Spend Matters PRO — Advancing Procurement Publishing Distinction with Tales From the Launch Pad
Roughly three weeks ago, we quietly launched Spend Matters PRO in beta. Frankly, we saw a large hole in where we believe research in the procurement (and related areas) needs to be going. To us, Spend Matters PRO contains the frequent,…

Friday Rant: Will Oracle Go Shopping? Post Ariba/SAP Acquisition Strategy… (Part 1)
Last weekend, I chatted with sharedserviceslink’s Susie West during her visit to Chicago. Her firm, a conference and community company focused on the shared services industry (especially accounts payable and P2P) held an event in Chica…

The Ariba Fallout — How the SAP Procurement Partner and BPO Ecosystem Could be Shaken Up
If SAP closes the Ariba acquisition, the ecosystem that has been so important to SAP (especially in SRM and directly linked areas such as e-invoicing) could be in for a serious shake-up. Spend Matters believes that providers that have …

Will RFP-EZ Give Small Businesses a Leg Up on Federal Procurement?
The Obama administration recently announced a new procurement initiative (hat-tip Ryder Daniels). No, this is not one that promises a transformation of the GSA (replete with fewer shindigs in Vegas), however useful it would be to drop a spend-focused metaphorical savings bomb in the middle of that mess. No, this one is far simpler. And […]