MONDAY 1st NOVEMBER 1999: Outsourcing Procurement - A Good Idea?
We start working on the Redgrave project with the Andersen Consulting team. Their main people on the project are the two Mikes. Mike E...
By Peter Smith
We start working on the Redgrave project with the Andersen Consulting team. Their main people on the project are the two Mikes. Mike E...
This looks like a good day for a trip to Bath to help daughter with her school project on the Georgians. The Costume Museum is to my...
I stayed in the Midlands last night in order to visit the Carwin print factory and warehouse facility in Southam, near Rugby. Carwin are...
I don't sleep very well or deeply with the expectation of the day ahead, so it is not too much of a shock when the alarm clock goes off...
I'm in my office in King's Cross when Bernard Horn rings, around mid-afternoon. He is straight to the point. "The defence document is...
Another functional heads meeting with Sir David and Ron Sandler. It looks at the moment that we are just about OK on our '99 commitments...
Meet Jim Mann, IT supremo, and ask him what has been going on with this Xchanging company. He explains the concept as John did, but says...
Through top-secret fax transmission*, I receive the report from our ex-Bank of Scotland friend. There is really nothing of great interest...
Meet with John Paddick and hand in my homework, saying we think we can close down Cheadle by year-end and therefore hit the plans I have...
I meet an ex-Bank of Scotland purchasing manager who has written to our Chairman and offered to do some work for us, which might be...
It is a perfect autumn day. We go for a walk around Virginia Water (named after my daughter, or at least that's what we told her when she...
I talk to J and our Human Resources adviser about the warehouse in Cheadle. We think we can do the closure, or at least most of it, by...
I hold a briefing for my team to go through the organisational changes and just generally update them. I tell a few key people about the...
Richard Delbridge's monthly working lunch for his direct reports is held today. I wasn't going to go, as I am not going to be part of his...
The NatWest offer for Legal & General formally lapses today; there is not really any way it can be pursued given the current situation....
Over the weekend, I work on our justification for the £10 million e-procurement savings in 2000 for the defence document. That is really...
Friday is dress-down day in our purchasing office at King's Cross so I'm in cords, a casual shirt and an old blazer. I guess I'm not the...
Bank of Scotland announces more about the bid. They think they can cut around £1 Billion from the annual costs of the new group within 3...
I contributed to a report on Financial Services purchasing that one of the big consultancies were putting together a few months ago on...
We get a call from one of my managers at 9 am to say his train has been turned back towards Reading and he doesn't think he will make it...