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   A Global Research Center for Strategic Supply Management

Email Newsletter, 8/15/2007

Are companies turning the promise of supply chain management into real competitive advantages? The findings of a new Focus Study authored by Stanley Fawcett, Ph.D., Gregory Magnan, Ph.D., and Jeffrey Ogden, Ph.D., suggest that managers are spending more time evaluating supply chain-enabled business models, but most of these managers have not fully grasped the nature of collaboration or the concept of what it takes to achieve a true collaborative capability. The authors state that supply chain collaboration remains ad hoc and fragmented in all but the most mature supply chain relationships, and companies are unsure how to piece them together into a coherent strategic plan. While some companies have caught the vision and are making great progress on their supply chain journey, others continue to be blinded by 'business as usual' and are not prepared for the journey ahead. The authors note that these companies must get their supply chain collaboration in shape quickly before the competition leaves them too far behind to catch up. To help companies better understand the forces that are driving changes in supply chain collaboration, the authors provided a three-step process to identify and compare the benefits, barriers, and bridges to assess and communicate the viability of pursuing a path toward collaborative advantage.

Click on the following link to access the Focus Study and view best practices compiled into a benchmarking diagnostic:
Achieving World-Class Supply Chain Collaboration: Managing the Transformation

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Looking for a report where you can get a snapshot look at prices paid for office supplies? 175 supply management organizations participated in the 2007 Market Basket of Goods Report for Office Supplies. The report provides average and median prices for 50 commonly purchased office supplies along with the percent of market basket items that were actual item purchases verses equivalent item purchases. On average, there were 149 responses (85% of the survey population) to each market basket item. If you didn't participate in that market basket survey, but would like to do so in the future, just send an email to benchmark@capsresearch.org.

To access this report , click on the following link:
2007 Market Basket of Goods Report for Office Supplies

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The 2007 Supply Management Performance Benchmarking Report for the Mining and Metals industries is the first comprehensive benchmark report that CAPS Research has published for these industry groups since 2003. The survey and subsequent report were tailored specifically to meet the requirements of the mining and metals industries, but the benchmarks relative to professional development, financial metrics, and supplier relationships and alliances cut across industry boundaries. There is one section of the report that focuses on the dollar value of MRO and non-MRO goods; the value of goods issues from stock; and the average number of inventory turns for these capital-intensive industry groups.

Review this benchmarking report:
Mining and Metals Industry 2007 Supply Management Performance

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For more information about CAPS Research programs and products please contact us at Research@capsresearch.org.

Sincerely,
Phillip Carter, D.B.A.
Executive Director
CAPS Research

CAPS Research is a global research organization jointly sponsored by the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, and the Institute for Supply Management™.