In the US and abroad, rising medical costs have increased the conversation on health care reform everywhere from the boardroom to the kitchen table.

For too long, there has been an unfortunate perception that pharmaceuticals are a negative factor in the health care cost equation. Globally, drug therapy will be an increasingly important part in supporting access to health care as the population ages and life threatening and disabling diseases continue to be prevalent. An increasingly mobile world will also rely heavily on the technology of vaccine and drug development capability to rapidly respond to potential pandemics and other widespread diseases. To prepare for these changes, both private industry and political representatives must consider the tradeoffs of measures that impact the industry’s capacity for scientific advancement and economic benefit as they seek cost control. 
 

When planning for negotiations with transportation providers, shippers often try to “think like a carrier” in an effort to gain the most favorable outcome.  However, in those attempts to give carriers the best information, shippers may misread the driving forces determining their prices - yielding less effective negotiation results.  What will cause suppliers to act aggressively?  Is it feedback on how close their bids are to other participants? Is it feedback on how many other suppliers are in close competition?  Or is it feedback about what is most important to your company?  The answer that we found was that it could be all of these factors. Or none of above.

A white paper written for Archstone Consulting
Procurement staff augmentation has exploded into an entirely new market niche that was barely on the radar screen before its ascent. Companies across industries are seeking out staff augmentation resources to support a broad range of initiatives – strategic sourcing, procure-to-pay process and technology, and supplier management, just to name a few areas. Perhaps the best explanation of the rapid growth of the procurement staff augmentation market rests with broader trends in the overall sector as well as the increasing demands businesses are putting on procurement organizations to deliver greater savings.