#2 - Reshoring, Boeing in trouble, and GPU for procurement 🤖

This is the second release, two weeks after the launch we are here again with updates and insights that make shopping less heavy and more strategic. Are you up for it? 🚀

Buckle up and for once don't think about your ERP - it's taking off! ✈️

🌍 Global Look

Reshoring - The IKEA case: local production for a stronger supply chain 🛋️🌱

Reshoring, or bringing production back closer to one's sales network, is becoming a winning strategy for many companies. Even IKEA got in line (like for a discounted LACK coffee table) and decided to manufacture closer to its sales markets to reduce risks on the supply chain. After the beating of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, IKEA started to produce a good chunk of its products right close to home and today 70 percent of its sales in Europe come from products made on the continent. So while the world tries to figure out how to avoid more logistical disasters, they seem to have found the right recipe.

With less dependence on external crises and a focus on stability and profits, IKEA proves to be a step ahead. Sure, managing 750 suppliers is no picnic...but if you can keep no screws loose by assembling a Billy bookcase, you can manage with the supply chain too, right? 😄

Source: Financial Times

Boeing under indictment: defective parts in Dreamliners 🚨 ✈️

Boeing is in the midst of unforeseen turbulence: Italian prosecutors have charged seven people and two subcontractors with fraud and violating aviation safety regulations. The investigation found that substandard materials (titanium and aluminum not exactly top of the line) were being used for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Result? Components with substandard strength that could have compromised flight safety. Not what you want to hear before you board, huh?

These defective parts were being manufactured by an Italian company working for Leonardo, the Italian aerospace giant. In all of this, Boeing and Leonardo are considered victims and have cooperated in the investigation. Obviously, a massive extraordinary maintenance campaign to make it all safe started.

Moral of the story: in the aerospace supply chain, standards must be higher than flying a Dreamliner. 🛫 And maybe, tightly controlling what comes from suppliers is not a bad idea!

Source: Reuters

🎨 Today's Memes

Come on, after all this serious news we need a break! The photo below was very carefully chosen (obviously with the help of our little cousins from 2004). Okay, maybe we're still fans of ordering on Excel, but boomers? Never! 😎

PS: go ahead and send us your favorite memes, if you make us laugh we'll include them in the next editions with mention, after all, who doesn't want to be a famous TikToker in 2024!

💻 Tech in Procurement

Biggies in IT consulting and manufacturing GPUs join forces 🤖✨

Artificial intelligence is becoming the beating heart of many companies looking to optimize their operations, and it's no surprise that procurement is also in the midst of this revolution. Accenture and NVIDIA have just signed a partnership to accelerate AI adoption in enterprises, creating a team of more than 30,000 trained professionals to rethink business processes with AI.

The interesting thing? AI is no longer just the stuff of science fiction movies or for tech giants: it can transform every aspect of procurement, making it more agile, scalable and strategic. Automating operations, improving supplier management, and reducing risk are just some of the benefits of this step change.

So if Accenture and NVIDIA are working to do this on a global scale, maybe it's time to ask yourself: are you ready to get your procurement off the ground in the AI era, too? ⚡

Source: Accenture Newsroom

📊 ProcureStat: The Number That Matters.

According to The Hackett Group, Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) have clear goals in mind for 2024: data analysis and reporting (75 percent), talent management (72 percent), and category management (66 percent). In other words, CPOs are preparing to become the superheroes of procurement, equipped with data, talent, and winning strategies. 💪

Come on, if you can survive a three-hour meeting on the latest European compliance legislation without dozing off, managing these priorities will be almost a piece of cake...or at least trying to, right? 🤞😅

Source: Veridion