This book is the first of two volumes presenting a business model to add value through Procurement. Including several case studies of successful implementation, it demonstrates how the increasing complexity of the business environment requires a significant intervention on the management of processes and information within individual organizations and through inter-company relations. Agile Procurement presents the application of the Agile method which optimises and digitizes processes in order to reduce wastage and defects. As a method, tool and a culture aimed at effectiveness, efficiency and economy of organisations, agile procurement requires a change of paradigm. This volume examines these areas of improvement and presents best practice in improving processes. Each chapter of the book presents and substantiates the costs and benefits of process improvement through agile procurement. This is is seen as the integration of Lean Six Sigma and digitization.

Procurement of information and communication technologies (ICT) plays a decisive role not only in public-service delivery but in public-sector modernisation. This report takes stock of current ICT procurement practices in the Slovak Republic and provides evidence-based strategic policy advice for the Slovak Government on how to adopt more innovative and agile approaches in ICT procurement.

This book is the second of two volumes presenting a business model to add value through Procurement. Including several case studies of successful implementation, it demonstrates how the increasing complexity of the business environment requires a significant intervention on the management of processes and information within individual organizations and through inter-company relations. Agile Procurement presents the application of the Agile method which optimizes and digitizes processes in order to reduce wastage and defects. As a method, tool and a culture aimed at effectiveness, efficiency and economy of organizations, Agile Procurement requires a change of paradigm. This volume examines these areas of improvement and presents best practice in the digitization of the processes. The last chapter examines the near future developments of the procurement, which the author labels Procurement 4.0. It presents also how new solutions, like Blockchain, could revolutionize procurement.

XaaS: Everything-as-a-Service: The Lean and Agile Approach to Business Growth takes the reader into the bold new world of pay-per-use for a product or service. From the perspective of the customer, the servitization model yields multiple benefits: the consumer can try out the product/service at a relatively low cost, the risk is mitigated, capital expenses can be converted into operating expenses, it is not needed to forecast how often the product/service is used, and only parts of the product/service needed can be used. Similarly, a provider can benefit by having a larger market coverage, steadier stream of revenues, upgrades as and when needed, sharing of fixed assets across consumers, practicing of value-based pricing, and unbundling or bundling utility for consumers using appropriate pricing techniques. However, this 'nanoization' of products/services is tricky, and has to be designed carefully. This book provides a set of recipes to providers to adopt the XaaS model by changing the provider's mindset: dividing the product/service forces the provider to take a value-driven approach to his product/service, and consequently, eliminate all non-value added activities. The requirements of the XaaS model serve both as an objective to the innovation and internal processes of the provider, and as guide to understanding the customer's needs. The book also covers data acquisition, data analysis and synthesis, and data application needs of the XaaS model, with simple examples and case studies from the business world of firms that achieve these objectives successfully.

Flex your project management muscle Agile project management is a fast and flexible approach to managing all projects, not just software development. By learning the principles and techniques in this book, you'll be able to create a product roadmap, schedule projects, and prepare for product launches with the ease of Agile software developers. You'll discover how to manage scope, time, and cost, as well as team dynamics, quality, and risk of every project. As mobile and web technologies continue to evolve rapidly, there is added pressure to develop and implement software projects in weeks instead of months—and Agile Project Management For Dummies can help you do just that. Providing a simple, step-by-step guide to Agile project management approaches, tools, and techniques, it shows product and project managers how to complete and implement projects more quickly than ever. Complete projects in weeks instead of months Reduce risk and leverage core benefits for projects Turn Agile theory into practice for all industries Effectively create an Agile environment Get ready to grasp and apply Agile principles for faster, more accurate development.

How to achieve procurement excellence today and evolve to be ready for tomorrow Procurement entrepreneurship pays. High-performing procurement teams can deliver huge value to their companies—regardless of industry. The best companies are advancing talent-management strategies into the heart of their procurement organizations with huge success. In addition to an estimated $84 billion in yearly cost savings, companies who give procurement leaders prominence deliver superior returns from their operations as well as lower their costs of goods sold. This book, written by a group of purchasing and supply management practice experts, shares the hard-earned insights of more than ten years of dedicated procurement research conducted with leading academic institutions and practical experience with marquee clients in the field of procurement. It is also a natural successor to the many articles McKinsey & Company has published on the topic. This reliable resource skillfully explains and codifies the best practices that leading companies have pioneered in procurement as well as frames how procurement must evolve to grapple with new global, social, and economic issues affecting business over the next decade. Details the four key dimensions of procurement excellence Showcases the five megatrends that will change the way business is done in the next decade Provides strategies that business leaders can adopt in the face of these megatrends, together with practical advice about next steps and case examples The road ahead will require you to redefine your vision for procurement and implement the required changes. Procurement 20/20 will show you how.

This book presents a business model on how to structure the relationship between financial services and procurement. The need for new models is particularly important to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) where there is an evident difficulty in accessing credit. Due to this context, innovative solutions must be introduced. The objective of this book is to determine how innovation can support the dynamic and volatile international context and the increasingly relevant function of procurement. It is becoming more and more important to take into account complex international transactions with notably long payment terms. Organizations need to manage the best way to handle the financial relationships and the risks related to credit provision and payments. This book presents an end-to-end support to procurement, including trade finance, supply chain finance, and related payments. In addition, the enterprises need to keep sufficient liquidity levels in the short and medium term. This is a constant challenge today, with the turbulence of financial markets and a continuing climate of economic uncertainty making it harder to obtain external funding. Businesses need to optimize the working capital. This can be done through the innovative concept of procurement finance, which allows SMEs to benefit by the new vision of collaborative procurement. This book provides several practical examples of advanced procurement finance solutions. It demonstrates how the use of process improvement and technology can help in overcoming the current financially difficult situation. In addition, based on the business model presented, the integrated approach to procurement finance allows sustainable solutions which will be of interest to academics, researchers, managers, and practitioners in both buyer and vendor companies, as well as in banks and other financial institutions.