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A Procurement Compendium
The Procurement Compendium is a collection of short articles relating to procurement and supply chain management, first published online via Spend Matters and Public Spend Forum websites. They aim to inform, provoke, occasionally educate and sometimes even amuse. Although procurement is the broad theme, topics range from Machiavelli's thinking on change management to "licensing the procurement profession" the James Bond way; from the reasons for David Cameron's EU negotiation failure to why technology should revolutionise category management; and from consultants over-charging to advice on speaking at conferences.
280 pages, Paperback
Published September 11, 2019
About the author
Peter Smith
3 booksPeter gained an MA in Mathematics and Management Sciences at Cambridge University, then joined the Mars Group and held a number of procurement roles there before becoming Procurement Director (CPO) successively for Dun & Bradstreet Europe, the Department of Social Security, and the NatWest Group. He is a Fellow and was 2003 President of CIPS (the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply) and has served as a non-executive director of two large public sector organizations and a growing private firm. He worked as a consultant for some years, advising major government and private sector organisations, then from 2010 -18 was Managing Editor of Spend Matters UK/Europe, read daily by thousands of procurement professionals.
His first co-authored book, “Buying Professional Services”, was published by the Economist Books in June 2010; his second book, A Procurement Compendium, was published in September 2019, with another book will be published by Penguin Business in late 2020.
His first co-authored book, “Buying Professional Services”, was published by the Economist Books in June 2010; his second book, A Procurement Compendium, was published in September 2019, with another book will be published by Penguin Business in late 2020.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 5, 2019
Excellent and wide-ranging collection from one of the UK's most experienced Procurement Practioners
I've known Peter for a long time and he certainly has the experience to pull off a volume such as his recently published Procurement Compendium. Unlike many practioners, he has a gift for writing, and his gentle humour and appreciation for seventies music is not obscured by what can be quite a dense topic.
Initially I was sceptical that this format would work well : an assembly of blog postings from a variety of sources and vintages sound as though it could be disjointed. But the concept mainly works, as most do not show their age, such as a chapter of reflections on what is good procurement practice, which are still as relevant as the year in which they were written, although putting the original date of the article would have been helpful. I particularly enjoyed a piece based around The Prince, who warns any new executive that “the innovator has enemies in all those who have done well under the old conditions”
The technology chapter could probably have been cut, as observations about Coupa from nearly ten years ago or a review of the product SAP InfoNet (which was discontinued) degrade quickly. Much more to my liking was a series linked to current affairs, which showcases Peter’s creativity in demonstrating how procurement has something to say about almost any item in your newsfeed: from Gareth Bale to the Price of Milk.
Although wide-ranging, I’ll allow Peter the occasional indulgence in one of his pet peeves, the price of Bankers fees in M&A. In a well-argued piece he points out that the 3% often charged is shareholder value just vapourised, and that any procurement team would never give such a windfall. ”Imagine the hysterical laughter if our cleaning contractors demanded 3% of the value of the company for doing a few weeks work”.
I have to confess to breezing through the chapter on the Public Sector, where Peter served a long sentence, partly as I wanted to get on to the chapter on Fraud. Several stories here were new to me, but in each case, after the horror there is a serious point: don’t assume it couldn’t happen in your own organisations. A check list duly follows.
A chapter called “Cerebral Whimsy” was a bit hit and miss, much more to my liking was the chapter which gave guidance to solution providers like my own company, SAP. Some great advice on how to “Get into the field of visibility” of a busy CPO, and a valuable section on how to write content for a procurement audience. I agree on most of the points, and we seem to have a joint pet peeve on the fatuousness of typical surveys. And yes “Consider it a privilege if anyone gives up a few minutes of their busy day to read what you have written” – like this review.
So, Peter’s first book is a great success, and I think he has at least one more in him, which is making a bit of a mockery of his “retirement” announcement.
I've known Peter for a long time and he certainly has the experience to pull off a volume such as his recently published Procurement Compendium. Unlike many practioners, he has a gift for writing, and his gentle humour and appreciation for seventies music is not obscured by what can be quite a dense topic.
Initially I was sceptical that this format would work well : an assembly of blog postings from a variety of sources and vintages sound as though it could be disjointed. But the concept mainly works, as most do not show their age, such as a chapter of reflections on what is good procurement practice, which are still as relevant as the year in which they were written, although putting the original date of the article would have been helpful. I particularly enjoyed a piece based around The Prince, who warns any new executive that “the innovator has enemies in all those who have done well under the old conditions”
The technology chapter could probably have been cut, as observations about Coupa from nearly ten years ago or a review of the product SAP InfoNet (which was discontinued) degrade quickly. Much more to my liking was a series linked to current affairs, which showcases Peter’s creativity in demonstrating how procurement has something to say about almost any item in your newsfeed: from Gareth Bale to the Price of Milk.
Although wide-ranging, I’ll allow Peter the occasional indulgence in one of his pet peeves, the price of Bankers fees in M&A. In a well-argued piece he points out that the 3% often charged is shareholder value just vapourised, and that any procurement team would never give such a windfall. ”Imagine the hysterical laughter if our cleaning contractors demanded 3% of the value of the company for doing a few weeks work”.
I have to confess to breezing through the chapter on the Public Sector, where Peter served a long sentence, partly as I wanted to get on to the chapter on Fraud. Several stories here were new to me, but in each case, after the horror there is a serious point: don’t assume it couldn’t happen in your own organisations. A check list duly follows.
A chapter called “Cerebral Whimsy” was a bit hit and miss, much more to my liking was the chapter which gave guidance to solution providers like my own company, SAP. Some great advice on how to “Get into the field of visibility” of a busy CPO, and a valuable section on how to write content for a procurement audience. I agree on most of the points, and we seem to have a joint pet peeve on the fatuousness of typical surveys. And yes “Consider it a privilege if anyone gives up a few minutes of their busy day to read what you have written” – like this review.
So, Peter’s first book is a great success, and I think he has at least one more in him, which is making a bit of a mockery of his “retirement” announcement.
Displaying 1 of 1 review