Supplier diversity programs update: A recent CAPS Research survey found that 71% of the participants set financial goals for awarding contracts to suppliers whose ownership was socially or economically disadvantaged. Sixty percent of those participants who set financial goals reported they met or exceeded the goals set for their 2006 diversity supplier programs, and 61% reported they expect their overall diversity program spend will increase during the next two years. Conversely, only 7% reported their overall diversity program spend will decrease during that same period of time. Most of the expected increase in diversity program spend will be focused on companies that are minority-owned, women-owned and veteran-owned. One-half (50%) of the participants reported they sponsored from 1 to 5 supplier diversity program outreach events during the past year, and almost one-third of all the participants reported an increase in the actual number of events sponsored.

To access the focused benchmarking report,click on the following link:
Supplier Diversity Programs 2007

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How are eSourcing tools being utilized in today's business environment? What does a typical supplier portal look like? What are eProcurement tools being used for? These are just a few of the questions asked in the 2007 benchmarking survey on eSourcing and eProcurement. Data from 123 organizations was used to develop the metric report that shows the average and median values of all useable responses. This report also provides a breakout by manufacturing companies and non-manufacturers to provide companies a quick look at key benchmarks by industry sector. For example, the overall report shows that 84% of all participants use eSpend analysis tools. When comparing the use of eSpend analysis tools you can see that 94% of the manufacturing companies reported they use eSpend analysis tools, and 68% of the non-manufacturers reported they do so. Other differences? Manufacturers are more likely to use eSourcing and eRFx tools than are non-manufacturers, but there are no significant differences in the percentages of manufacturers and non-manufacturers who use eProcurement tools.

Review the 'focused' benchmarking report:
eSourcing and eProcurement

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CPO Insights overview: Does your organization have a formal Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) program? If 'yes', what cost components are included, and what function within your organization owns the TCO process? If your company was a CAPS Research sponsor, you would already have the answers to these and other questions on TCO initiatives that were recently asked by a CAPS Research sponsor. CPO Insights is straight-forward email-based CPO-to-CPO communications program: CPOs send to CAPS Research their questions of specific interest. CAPS Research in turn releases the short question set to our CPO community, who then have 10 days to respond. Shortly after the response period closes all of the responses are forwarded to each CPO Insights participant. Another program benefit? Sponsors have on-demand access to a database of all previously asked questions and responses. The bottom line is that CPO Insights is a robust program that quickly provides CPOs an opportunity to communicate with a group of their peers about a topic that is important to them. CPOs can respond at a time that is most convenient to them. If you would like more information on the CPO Insights program, please send an email to: research@capsresearch.org.

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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™.