Welcome to the January edition of ProcurePro’s “On the Button” newsletter.  It's a new year and a new opportunity to create a new future.  Like myself, I am sure many of you, are excited to move into a new year – welcome 2021!  I am hopeful that this year will bring...

By Jill Button, President and CEO, ProcurePro Consulting and Co-Founder ThryvX Each year here at ProcurePro I write an article about the year in review.  I reflect back on our successes and share what’s ahead for the coming year.  This year, I reached out to my team...

By Susan Mercer-Tumilty, Consultant, ProcurePro Consulting At ProcurePro we use a lean and Agile 4 Step Procurement Methodology for all our projects.  This methodology, developed through decades of experience, delivers results that are practical and sustainable.  It...

What Is Virtual Procurement - 2020?  This article was originally published in 2018 and has been updated for 2020 and the new realities businesses must face and the evolution of “Virtual” Procurement”. Any of this sound familiar? “With the pandemic, our team is working...

Now What?  Navigating the New ‘Virtual” Normal Now what?  People have focused much of the last 90 days on savings lives, bolstering our health care system, shoring up the supply chain of essential goods and services; masks, ventilators, hand-sanitizer and oh yes, the...

Why You Need To Renegotiate Supplier Contracts Now   The New Normal As businesses slowly start to re-open, the reality is we are not going to back to the normal we knew before COVID-19 anytime soon, if ever.  You have heard it many times now; “The New Normal” is being...

During these unprecedented times, we understand the challenges and share the concerns you may be experiencing; how to keep family and employees safe, while still keeping your business moving forward. As the global COVID-19 crisis continues to evolve, we are committed...

By Scott Bernier, Consultant, ProcurePro Consulting In today’s challenging times where revenues are flattening or disappearing, it is imperative that organizations free up cash flow as much as possible to see them through these difficult times. One source of potential...

By: Stephen Clarke, Project Manager, and Susan Mercer-Tumilty, Consultant, ProcurePro Consulting At ProcurePro we have implemented a number of financial systems (FinSys) for our mid-sized clients as either a stand-alone system or combined with other modules in an...

A Dream Come True?  Right Dream, Wrong Time!   After several long years of blood sweat and tears, by many (not just me), in the middle of a Pandemic, known as Covid-19, on Friday the 13th of March, 2020 (yep, you read the date right), my dream of becoming a published...

How to Minimize Business Disruption by COVID-19 - Our Virtual Team Can Help  Everyone’s focus should be first and foremost, on the health and safety of our families, our communities and flattening the Covid-19 curve.  Businesses must stay sharply focused on keeping...

#7 Failure to Sell Procurement             • Failure to Listen             • Seek First to Understand, Then Be Understood             • Be Humble & Build Trust In this month’s article we're going to talk about the next in the series of the Top 10 Reasons Why...

How I Invented Netflix in 1987 This time of year is sad and depressing for many people.  The holidays are over and the bills for our overindulgence are pouring in.  We are smack in the “dead of winter” with record breaking frigid temperatures and poor Newfoundlanders...

#8 Lack of Systems             • Cumbersome, Manual Processes and Systems             • Build a Roadmap and Prioritize             • Keep it Simple Stupid (KiSS)Coming in at number 8 in the series of the “Top 10 Reasons Why Procurement Fails”, is “Lack of Systems”.All...

Guest Post by: Mike Mortson, Supply Chain Game Changer.Supply chain professionals are hiking their spending on supply chain innovation—substantially. Ninety-five percent said they plan to spend more this year than last, and 60 percent will spend more than $1 million...

#9 Failure to Understand the Marketplace                  * Market Research                  * Paid vs. Public Research                  * BenchmarkingComing in at number 9 in the series of the “Top 10 Reasons Why Procurement Fails”, is “Failure to Understand the...

Guest Post by: Supply Chain Game Changer. Unless your company is amongst the very largest companies in the world then chances are your Procurement team will, at some point, be dealing with Suppliers that are larger than your company.  In a function such as Procurement...

Guest Post by: Supply Chain Game Changer. Where does Procurement stand in your organization’s Value Chain? Hopefully, you’ll be able to formulate an answer to that question after reading this post. I speak with Procurement, Sourcing and Purchasing professionals every...

Guest Post by: Sheri Spinks, CEO & Founder, Grace2Diversity & Inclusion is NOT an HR InitiativeProgressive leaders recognize the critical importance and value of integrating equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) into their business, culture and workforce,...

By Susan Mercer-Tumilty, Consultant, ProcurePro Consulting Congratulations!  You have decided to implement a new ERP system and now you’re wondering: “Where do I begin? How can I make sure we are successful?  Who should I get involved?  How can I do this and still...

In this series, I will be introducing the top 10 reasons why Procurement fails.  Why failing?  Why not, succeeding?  There are many successes to be celebrated, however, in my experience, many of my best, hard earned lessons, were from failing.  Either my own personal...

For close to twenty-five years I climbed the corporate ladder and worked for some of the worlds most recognized global companies; Unisys, General Electric, Manulife Financial, IBM, CIBC, Rogers and Shaw to name a few. I worked my ass off and achieved a level of...

Guest Post by: Supply Chain Game Changer. The theory is simple! If you can increase spend levels through centralized spend aggregation across entities then you increase your leverage in negotiations. This leverage should translate to lower costs and better terms and...

Guest Post by: Supply Chain Game Changer. Suppliers are an intrinsic part of the Supply Chain. It does not matter what business you are in, what products you make, distribute and sell, or what part of the world you are in. And it doesn’t matter where in the Supply...

An Interview with Jill Button, CEO of ProcurePro!My sincere gratitude to Mike Mortson at Supply Chain Game Changer. Thank you for taking the time and including me in your Seasoned Leadership in Action series.At Supply Chain Game Changer we believe in sharing...

Economists have long noted the rise of the so-called “gig economy.” More workers are using short-term contracts and other forms of employment to provide additional income to supplement or replace permanent jobs – think Uber, AirBnB. But more and more companies in a...

I’m often asked; “what is Strategic Sourcing and how is it different from Procurement and Purchasing? Where does it fit into the supply chain? What’s so strategic about it? It sounds so complicated and unnecessary. Why should I even care?” What is Supply Chain? Okay,...

Any of this sound familiar? Then you need Virtual Procurement! “With recent minimum wage increases, I need to find better ways to control my costs and to stay profitable while still delivering the highest level of service to my customers.” “We are too small and can’t...

Over these past 28 years of my career in Procurement (yes I started when I was 12), I've had the privilege and pain of seeing, not just procurement, but many different types of Transformation initiatives succeed and, unfortunately, fail. I will focus on Procurement...

Have you ever prepared for a meeting with your executive stakeholders, expecting all to go well, only to have it blow up in your face? If you haven't, count yourself lucky! There is nothing worse than preparing endlessly for an executive meeting only to have the...

As the global economy continues to stumble and stutter, the strategic procurement profession is more and more being looked to, to help organizations survive and weather the economic storm, by driving cost savings to the bottom line. This is great for the...