The Patient Protection and Affordability Care Act (ACA) is a complex law, and its directives around staffing relationships—buyer (company) and supplier—engender uncertainties on the part of both buyers and suppliers of contingent talent. It is important that companies and suppliers coordinate to ensure they have the correct systems and processes in place to avoid misclassification of workers, understand the employer mandate and what is required, and are prepared to “pay” the consequences if they fail to adhere to the stipulations set forth in the ACA. This White Paper examines six issues that should comprise every ACA checklist—for companies and suppliers—and maps out recommended next steps for organizations uncertain what to do next.

This paper examines tail spend management, a sourcing strategy that is gaining in popularity among procurement organizations that are looking for new ways to control spending, drive compliance, gain transparency, and generate savings. It explains the concept of tail spend and the challenges around controlling it. In this paper, we explain why companies can achieve more sustainable results by outsourcing the management of this part of their spend to an experienced, third-party provider.

ProcureCon Indirect, the leading event for the 7th year in a row for innovation in Indirect Procurement Transformation and Category Management, surveyed its audience of 310 attendees to uncover trends and challenges surrounding contingent workforce management. ProcureCon’s research team worked with enterprise vendor management provider, Beeline, to produce a report on the findings. Some other interesting points include: - 56% of respondents reported that their procurement teams were not properly staffed, though the same number of respondents reported that their procurement teams are comprised of 26 people or more. - Of the procurement professionals who said that the transition from tactical to strategic is behind schedule, 43% have been operating their systems for less than a year. Click on the image at left to download this exclusive free report on the challenges and trends shaping the procurement industry, and see how your own firm stacks up against other procurement institutions making strides in contingent workforce management.

Whitepaper: New Procurement Models and Supplier Risk Management Practices   It is no longer a secret that the procurement division can provide business value beyond simple cost savings. Procurement departments have evolved in order to shoulder the rapidly increasing burden of strategic responsibility.Centralized organizations have taken the place of independent, decentralized purchasing and supply management entities. These modern structures enable businesses to streamline their operations and bring their procurement programs to scale.   In this whitepaper, we use primary research to analyze new procurement models and supplier risk management practices.   Click on the banner to the left to download!

It is no longer a secret that the procurement division can provide business value beyond simple cost savings. Procurement departments have evolved in order to shoulder the rapidly increasing burden of strategic responsibility.Centralized organizations have taken the place of independent, decentralized purchasing and supply management entities. These modern structures enable businesses to streamline their operations and bring their procurement programs to scale. Click on the banner to download!

ProcureCon's Generation X & Y Benchmark Study provides compelling insights to the characteristic dynamics of the two groups, of their interaction with the baby boomers and draws, often surprising, conclusions of how these interactions work. Compiled in consultation with the ProcureCon Advisory Board, Jeff Ariz (PG&E) and Julianne Nachtrab (Agile-1) by Carina Kuhl (ProcureCon).

How Procurement Can Deliver More Effective Agency Compensation By Al Roehl, President StepAhead Consultancy There has been a lot written about agency compensation. Most of it deals with trends, the pros and cons of different types of agency compensation systems, principles or best practices. The briefing provides a “How To” roadmap for understanding and getting to a more effective “fee based” deal (as opposed to media commissions) with your agencies. This “How To” guide is based on the knowledge generated from applying best practice behaviors (and avoiding destructive ones) to hundreds of agency and client compensation agreements across many different client types, agency types, deal structures, and geographies representing both clients and agencies.

Benchmark White Paper: Energy and Utility Procurement Utility bills are in the top 5 categories of spending for many companies. The following report provides tangible benchmark information that will help you in developing a more strategic approach to managing energy to drive savings. Topics for discussion and takeaways include: How to approach energy procurement and management based on your organization's energy needs? Is it beneficial to engage third parties in managing utility bill payments and auditing your energy programs? Considerations to tackle the enrgy demand side as well as supply to drive savings.

White Paper: Broadening the CPO Mandate Through Procurement BPO In every discussion we have regarding extending the scope of procurement’s responsibility, chief procurement officers (CPOs) face the same three questions: How will your customers and procurement staff collaborate? Do your procurement professionals have sufficient category expertise to add value? Are there enough skilled procurement professionals within the team to handle the volume of buying? Until recently, the answers to these questions have been routine: policy, process, technology, hiring, and training. However, the reality of execution is more complex.

According to Roy Anderson, former CPO, State Street Bank, the next generation of procurement may move strategic sourcing to a third party because the skill sets within procurement are driving toward holistic program management and value-based sourcing. In this video interview, he explores the new standard skill sets that he thinks procurement professionals must have today. The question has now become "are you good enough to ask the right questions?"

An Emptoris and ProcureCon whitepaper “If you’re not leveraging your supplier’s resources, your competition is,” says Bob Hellem, VP, Indirect Procurement, ConAgra Foods Inc. His point is just one of the many topics discussed in the exclusive ProcureCon/Emptoris whitepaper below, which outlines the elements that will continue to define the procurement professional of the future. As Hellem states, one very important distinction of today and tomorrow’s procurement professional is the fact that s/he must understand how to get more out of the supplier than a quote. The whitepaper was compiled from a VIP luncheon organized by ProcureCon and hosted by Emptoris, which brought together procurement officers from companies like Boeing, Cushman & Wakefield, Paramount Pictures, The Home Depot and more. Additional topics and trends outlined in this whitepaper include: The evolving skill sets of procurement professionals A different, holistic approach to growth Potential for internal departmental rotation How to deal with the growing trend of employees changing jobs every two yearsDownload the whitepaper to find out how the procurement professional will continue to change and what you must know to keep up.