Social Media

So here's another instalment from my PIU blog contribution!

• 12
• OCT
• 2011

Social media awaits the arrival of the CPO

Author: Kayleigh Ryan - Categories: Technology & Apps

Back in August my colleague Victoria Barnato wrote a blog post about how procurement can no longer afford to ignore social media. Two months later it seems that social media is still awaiting the arrival of the CPO. Operational-level procurement professionals seem to be embracing social media but the executive level seems slow to respond. What is holding them back?

I recently conducted a study on the extent to which executive-level procurement professionals are actively using social media channels. The long and the short of it is that they aren't. The few that are seem to prefer LinkedIn over other channels.

LinkedIn is positioned at the more professional end of the spectrum. Discussions are encouraged through LinkedIn groups created by members, but are predominantly centred on professional issues and debates. Unlike other social media channels, LinkedIn allows you to search like-minded professionals with whom to discuss common grounds in a professional environment. This is appealing to procurement executives. However, although they may be members of these groups and discussions, they aren't really contributors, but instead play more of a passive role.

Another social media channel that has exploded in the last two years is twitter. Twitter acts as a micro-blogging site, allowing its members to write and read posts known as 'tweets'. Its popularity is growing within the business world as businesses use it to keep their clients instantly updated. However, the twitter wave has yet to fully reach the procurement function. The Mattel case study that Victoria talked about in her blog post demonstrates the positive influence that twitter can have. However, during my study I struggled to find any executive-level procurement professionals using twitter regularly and convincingly. The same can be said for blogging - there are many procurement-focused blogs, but I have yet to come across any written by a current CPO. The fact that these blogs exist suggests that the executive level are reading posts, but have yet to create their own.

So why is the executive level so hesitant to adopt social media? While conducting the scoping calls for the PIU's recent event on social media and SRM in New York and Munich, I noticed a common worry among CPOs: privacy. Many of their experiences of social media have been via their teenage children's use of sites such as Facebook and twitter. Facebook in particular is a predominantly 'social' platform, where people can post comments, photos and videos. Unfortunately, this leaves its users open to undesirable consequences, primarily invasion of privacy. Similarly, twitter seems to carry a reputation as a platform for swapping celebrity stories and gossip. However, its refocus in 2009 to market itself as a 'news and information-strategy provider' has placed it as a key source of breaking news stories.

It seems that executive-level procurement professionals are wary of social media and are unable to yet appreciate its scope and use within the procurement function. Ironically, social media channels such as LinkedIn, twitter and blogging sites are full of procurement journalists, consultants and thought leaders. It cannot be denied that social media is becoming increasingly influential and important and I believe that social media is now where email was 15 to 20 years ago. I do not doubt that at some point procurement will have to embrace social media, but in the meantime the journalists, bloggers, consultants and intelligence providers will just wait for the arrival of the CPOs.

PIU blog post, number 2!

Following the success of my first PIU blog post, I decided to have a go at another. This topic was something entirely new to me, so go easy! Enjoy!

• 6
• SEP
• 2011

Who is responsible for suppliers' ethical standards?

Author: Kayleigh Ryan - Categories: CSR & Green, Risk

A recent PIU blog post on Apple's recent supply chain mishap written by my colleague Maggie Slowik caused quite a furore last week when blog contributors disagreed over who should take responsibility for suppliers' ethical issues. One standpoint was that these companies are big enough to accept social responsibility throughout the supply chain. Whereas another argument was that governments should be held liable as it is their responsibility to implement regulations to control manufacturers. So, are companies 100% responsible for their supply chain blunders?

First, it is important to question why large companies place factories in and use suppliers in developing countries. Lax environmental standards and low rates of pay, combined with lower health and safety standards make these countries extremely attractive to companies looking to save money in production costs. But, why do the governments of low-cost countries allow these slack standards to stand? The answer is simple - the system also saves them money and resources. Implementing regulations to improve health, safety and environmental standards, as well as legislation to introduce modest rates of pay is a costly business. Therefore, should companies from developed nations take responsibility to improve the working standards in developing countries?

Some would argue that companies that conduct business with or in developing countries have a duty to ensure that their products and services are produced in an ethical way. In recent years brands including Gap, Nike and Apple have come under the spotlight for the discovery of poor ethical standards in their supply chain. All three brands claimed that they were unaware that their factories were breaking ethical working rules. Since the discoveries, Nike and Gap have pledged to ensure that their factories improve their conditions and if not, the companies stated that they would withdraw from the area. Despite these assertions, discoveries like these can be extremely damaging for a brand's image, and companies need to question whether buying products and services at the lowest possible cost is worth the risk if their entire brand image could be destroyed.

The International Labour Organisation helps to establish international labour standards, although it cannot dictate a global base wage. It has been suggested that a global labour law should be introduced to address the issue. Similarly, it has been proposed that governments take total responsibility for monitoring manufacturing in their countries. This could include capping the number of hours worked, introducing health and safety regulations, introducing a base wage and ensuring a good level of environmental standards. Some developing countries are already beginning to introduce regulations to improve their working standards. This is particularly evident in countries like China, which would like to be considered as a growing economic leader.

Whether a company is responsible for ensuring ethical working practices or whether a government is accountable for working standards is a hot topic of debate. However, the issue isn't completely black and white, and placing the responsibility entirely on one side would lead to many 'ifs and buts'. In an ideal world, companies would produce their goods in a wholly ethical way and poor working standards and inequality would be eradicated, but unfortunately we do not yet live in an ideal world.

PIU blog post!

So my blogging has been pretty sparse recently, but I have been very busy with my new job. Part of my job is to write blogs, pretty difficult seeing as when I started I knew diddly squat about procurement! After a very steep learning curve, my first company blog was posted on Wednesday. I've attached it below so you can all have a look! Enjoy!

• 21
• SEP
• 2011

Mexico's supply chain - a risky business

Author: Kayleigh Ryan - Categories: Risk, Global Sourcing

Another day, another horrific story to come from Mexico. Yesterday a major road in the state of Veracruz on the eastern coast of Mexico was blocked by Mexican gunmen and 35 of their victims' bodies. Just last month the country saw its first direct attack upon innocent people when members of a drug cartel set alight a casino in the northern city of Monterrey. These are just some of many incidents connected to the drug war that has ravaged the country since 2006. But, what has this to do with procurement?

As mentioned in a recent blog post by Pasquale Gioia, Mexico's geographical location places it in a logical position to engage with the US supply chain. This, combined with lower labour and production costs of certain materials and goods, as well as cheaper transportation fees, makes Mexico a purchasing haven for certain US industries. However, as the drug war plagues the country, many foreign companies are weighing up the risks associated with their investment plans in Mexico. The increasing number of battles between drug traffickers and the Mexican army, which often take place on busy highways, are exposing foreign companies to the risk of employee kidnappings, cargo thefts and even death.

Cars, steel, aluminium, copper and industrial chemicals have become cargo thiefs' choice targets, costing companies millions of dollars every year. With all these risks to weigh up, it is no surprise to discover that according to JP Morgan, in 2010 Mexico lost $4 billion dollars in foreign investment due to drug-related violence.

The US is not only the foreign supply chain that is feeling the effect of Mexico's drug war. The country's own supply chain has fallen victim to its internal problems. The exportation and cost of Mexican limes and avocados have become increasingly more expensive as farmers are paying drug cartel members to ensure the safe delivery of their produce. Despite this, goods trucks are still being attacked. This, combined with increased border checks due to the rise in drug smuggling to the US, has meant that delivery takes longer and produce is often not delivered fresh.

Regardless of the increased risk, many foreign companies insist that they will continue negotiations with Mexican companies and this is most likely due to extremely low labour costs, fewer environmental standards with which to comply and the convenience of the location.

The question is: will the Mexican supply chain continue to support itself if the drug war continues?

Tabloid Shab-loid

So it's been a month since returning to cold, rainy Britain and time has flown by. I've been very slack recently in writing here, but now I'm back to normality (almost) I hope I can re-start a continual stream again. Today will just be a quick one as I need to get on with holiday preparations, that's right, I'm off again! Costa Rica this time, for three-weeks, I promise this is the last, well for a short while anyway.

I've spent the last month catching up on things that I have missed. Current affairs have been pretty jam-packed in the UK recently, but I can't go without mentioning the atrocious News of the World saga that has broken this week.

It has been discovered that journalists hacked the phones of not only celebrities and politicians, but those of murder and terrorism victims. This awful discovery have touched  the families of victims Milly Dowler as well as Holly and Jessica, awakening awful memories that I'm sure their parents have tried to put to rest. In the case of the Dowler family, the alleged phone hacking even led them to believe that Millie was still alive as voice messages were being deleted from her phone. Victims and survivors from the terrorist attacks in London were also targeted by these journalistic spies, searching for that attention grabbing by-line.

David Cameron has called for an enquiry and condemned the revelations. However, questions are already being raised about the future of the News of the World as well as the broader picture of the tabloid industry in the UK. Some have blamed the Brit's hunger for gossip and scandal which have pushed journalists to these desperate measures, whilst others have blamed it on the nature of the cut-throat tabloids where if you don't fetch a scoop, you're out. If our craving for gossip is to blame, what has pushed us to such extents of voyeurism? Many now call for greater control over the media and its output, but this in its own right leads to questions of media censorship and the nanny state. The UK prides itself on the notion of freedom of speech, but if our media was heavily censored, would this give greater control to government, and consequently infringe upon democracy? Whatever the decision and result, someone is culpable and I find it hard to believe that the previous editors were blissfully unaware of these sordid under goings......

Speak soon.

My Mate Marmite!

As the slogan goes, you either love it, or you hate it. I happen to love it. However it appears that the Danish do not!

News this week, has revealed that Marmite is to be expelled and removed from Danish shelves. Apparently the vitamins and minerals break Danish laws; I didn't know they were so offensive. Ex-Pats are in uproar and it has be claimed that this prohibition is in fact an infringement upon European Law.

The story is starting to be reminiscent of the 1979 Cassis de Dijon dilemma within the European Union when Germany claimed the Creme de Cassis from France could not be called a fruit liquor in Germany as its alcohol percentage was too low, which called France to accuse their German neighbours of breaching trade agreements. The result? The enforcement of state recognition. Which leads me to think, are the Danes really failing to recognise this great British delicacy!?

As an avid Marmite smuggler, any extended stays in Denmark would be now almost impossible. I hope for their sake that the ban is lifted, they really are missing out!

Honey! I'm home.

Well it's been over a month since my last blog, but seeing as I was travelling for over five weeks of that time, I think it's an excusable offence. I arrived back a week ago and am slowly settling back into the swing of things here in San Juan del Rio, although I do not want to get too comfortable as I will be leaving again in 10 days, but this times for good! That is volcano permitting, please keep all fingers and toes crossed.

I do intend to write up my adventures, and maybe I'll do it this week, but packing is fist priority!

Fingers crossed x

Happy Camper.

This weekend is the start of my second grand tour around Mexico and Central America. 6 weeks of sun, beaches and more Mesoamerican ruins, perfect! I thought I'd just give a quick run down of my plans, and then update my blog as and when I can.

It all kicks off on Tuesday when I will be heading north to the Mexican Peninsula, Baja California Sur. With plans to hire a car and travel part of the peninsula, I hope to experience all that Baja has to offer: Crystal clear turquoise seas, desert straits, mountains and cactus. The tent is already packed, which will ensure that I get to see the sunrise and sunset everyday, unless of course the "chelas" have already taken affect. I'm also looking forward to visiting some good friends in La Paz, who I haven't seen since October. We have also a arranged a trip to the notorious Los Cabos, playground of America's rich and famous, as well as spring breakers. Fingers crossed that it won't be as crass as Cancun....

The Central American tour starts on 26th April when we'll be flying to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Heading straight to the beautiful Bay Islands we're planning on spending 5 days in tropical paradise where coral reefs are of abundance.  From there we're heading in land to visit the ancient ruins of La Ceiba, then it's on to Guatemala. Copan Ruins, Antugua and Tikal ruins are just a few things on our list to do there, but hopefully there'll be time to squeeze in a trip the breath-taking Lago de Atitlan complete with volcanoes and Mayan Villages. From Tikal we'll be crossing the border and heading into Belize where we'll go directly to one of Belize's many Cayes. Another five days of snorkeling, sunbathing and sipping cocktails will be the perfect end, and of course, it'll be well deserved after all that travelling....

The Route.

So this is bye for now, but I'll keep you updated with how things are going.