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The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Enforcement List: Implications for Global Supply Chains and Social Compliance
In recent times, the issue of forced labor in supply chains has gained significant attention on the global stage. One noteworthy development that highlights the growing concern surrounding this issue is the placement of Chinese company Ninestar on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Enforcement list. This act, which was signed into law to address forced labor concerns in Xinjiang, China, has far-reaching implications for global supply chains and social compliance.
What do ink and toner cartridges have to do with Chinese forced human labor and child sex trafficking?
As global front-runners - we, American businesses - bear a profound responsibility - no, a duty - to sever ties with nations that endorse forced labor practices, because let's face it....countries, entities, and persons engaging in forced labor practices are also intimately linked to the abhorrent crimes of human trafficking and child exploitation. Our economic prowess should never be wielded as a tool to bolster regimes that perpetuate such gross violations of human rights. Instead, our influence should be channeled towards promoting safe and equitable working conditions worldwide, underscoring our commitment to universal human dignity and freedom.
The Benefits of Strategic Supplier Partnerships
In the fast-paced and competitive business landscape of today, every relationship indeed counts. Hence, shifting from a traditional transactional supplier model to a more strategic business partner model can yield several significant advantages. This model allows organizations to realize cost savings by leveraging economies of scale, improving overall quality through shared best practices, diversifying your supplier base and reducing risk by ensuring supply chain continuity, and enhancing innovation by fostering a collaborative environment. Businesses, therefore, should place substantial emphasis on forming and nurturing these strategic partnerships ~ transforming mere suppliers into valued business partners.
How Outdated Indirect Spend Policies are Going to Hamper Your Savings in 2023
While corporate direct spend policies are often under a microscope held by C-Suite managers, indirect spending seems to suffer from neglect. This disparate way of managing these two spending categories results in an unfortunate loss of cost savings and an explosion of expenses that can make it difficult for companies to thrive. Especially in today’s teetering economy, it is increasingly important to get indirect expenditures under control.
Procurement
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Enforcement List: Implications for Global Supply Chains and Social Compliance
In recent times, the issue of forced labor in supply chains has gained significant attention on the global stage. One noteworthy development that highlights the growing concern surrounding this issue is the placement of Chinese company Ninestar on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Enforcement list. This act, which was signed into law to address forced labor concerns in Xinjiang, China, has far-reaching implications for global supply chains and social compliance.
What do ink and toner cartridges have to do with Chinese forced human labor and child sex trafficking?
As global front-runners - we, American businesses - bear a profound responsibility - no, a duty - to sever ties with nations that endorse forced labor practices, because let's face it....countries, entities, and persons engaging in forced labor practices are also intimately linked to the abhorrent crimes of human trafficking and child exploitation. Our economic prowess should never be wielded as a tool to bolster regimes that perpetuate such gross violations of human rights. Instead, our influence should be channeled towards promoting safe and equitable working conditions worldwide, underscoring our commitment to universal human dignity and freedom.
The Benefits of Strategic Supplier Partnerships
In the fast-paced and competitive business landscape of today, every relationship indeed counts. Hence, shifting from a traditional transactional supplier model to a more strategic business partner model can yield several significant advantages. This model allows organizations to realize cost savings by leveraging economies of scale, improving overall quality through shared best practices, diversifying your supplier base and reducing risk by ensuring supply chain continuity, and enhancing innovation by fostering a collaborative environment. Businesses, therefore, should place substantial emphasis on forming and nurturing these strategic partnerships ~ transforming mere suppliers into valued business partners.
How Outdated Indirect Spend Policies are Going to Hamper Your Savings in 2023
While corporate direct spend policies are often under a microscope held by C-Suite managers, indirect spending seems to suffer from neglect. This disparate way of managing these two spending categories results in an unfortunate loss of cost savings and an explosion of expenses that can make it difficult for companies to thrive. Especially in today’s teetering economy, it is increasingly important to get indirect expenditures under control.
The Smarter Procurement Mindset for 2023: Moving from Tactical to Strategic Indirect Spend
Indirect spend, while much overlooked, is often a prime area for cost savings — if it is managed correctly.
Improving Indirect Spend Initiatives in 2023 by Partnering with the Right Suppliers
Spending decisions must be considered carefully in every business, especially in the economically volatile markets that are dominating the current business landscape. Typically, procurement departments use two major categories to define their spending: direct and indirect. While direct spending refers to the purchase of goods and services that are needed to produce a company’s final product, indirect spending is less definitive.
What Procurement can Learn from the 2008 Financial Crisis as a Post-COVID Recession Looms
One of the worst global economic declines – also known as The Great Recession – officially began in December 2007 and ran through June of 2009. The complete collapse of the housing market caused this 18-month economic hardship affected not just young adults in their 20s and 30s but also many Americans ages 50 and older as they were all directly or indirectly affected by rising unemployment, falling home values and a decline in the stock market. It is easily seen that all three have already started happening and those who choose to ignore these recession signs will be in for a startling reality check.
How the Pandemic Disrupted Ink & Toner Indirect Spend When We Weren't Looking
The pandemic allowed commerce to continue with companies allowing employees to #WFH and continue even with #HybridWorkEnvironments.....giving out home-office “allowances” for purchases like monitors, keyboards….and yes, you guessed it….better work from home office printers. The downside of this was that specifically printer ink and toner spend became #RogueSpend as there were no requirements for printer model standardization.
Sloppy Indirect Spend Data Costs You More Than You Realize
As we approach the end of the calendar year – and for many of you, the end of your fiscal first quarter, let’s discuss the ways sloppy indirect spend data is costing your company a ton of money without you knowing it.
Extended Yield Cartridges - The Smart Way to Lower Costs and Waste
Are your printers running out of toner too quickly? Extended yield cartridges can keep them printing longer, surpassing the highest page yields of national printer brands.
The Importance of High Quality Spend Data
More than ever before, we are in an age where #Procurement demands the following:
June 2021 Upping The Ante ProcuremenTalk ~ How Procurement is Adding Value
Hosted by Sarah Scudder with The Real Sourcing Network, the June #Ptalk recording is now available! #FOMO no more! You can get caught up everything you missed from this month's session.
Supply Chain and Environmental Sustainability: Do you know where your aftermarket printer cartridges come from?
There are countless articles being written these days about the ways companies are improving their environmental footprints on the world, from PepsiCo reducing its use of plastics to Goodyear's journey to a zero-waste landfill. But have CPOs thought of the impact illegally-cloned Chinese printer toner cartridges have on the environment or on their supply chain? Probably not.
For Procurement to Provide Maximum Value, Internal Stakeholders Need to be Heard, but also Listen
There is a lot of discussion happening about the high level of value that Procurement must provide in order to remain relevant. No longer is spend reduction or spend avoidance enough. For the corporate strategy to succeed, Procurement and their internal stakeholders must be completely aligned in order to reach goals for spend reduction, increased innovation, and increases in cash flow, etc.