Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “procurement”
It comes as no surprise that the procurement function is using big data to drive digital change. According to a recent survey of over 650 leaders in procurement, supply chain and finance from Europe and North America, 72 percent of respondents stated big data and predictive analytics as one of the top five priorities for their organisations. These organisations are investing heavily in technologies that, beyond cost savings …
Creativity is the final bastion of what it is to be human, the one thing that machines are not going to be able to do, and therefore our jobs are safe provided they require creative input. A new book out this month by Marcus du Sautoy, The Creativity Code, discusses to what extent computers can be programmed to invent and …
A new discount retailer opened its doors recently on UK high streets. The chain, known as ‘One Below’ initially opened four stores in Leeds, South Shields and Doncaster. All four sites were previously occupied by the failed discount retailer Poundworld but the link with Poundworld doesn’t just end there. One Below is the brainchild of father and son team Chris …
Welcome to the Spring edition of 4C Associates’ quarterly Oil & Gas sector update. With oil majors publishing their first set of quarterly results of 2019 (reporting Q4 2018), it has demonstrated that after years of fighting to gain control of costs, the industry’s ‘big-guns’ can finally get back to generating significant cash flows. Still, the question surrounding the long-term …
The Retail sector is going through profound, fundamental and on-going change. High street shops are closing at an accelerating rate while fierce online competition is squeezing already tight margins. Many retailers are responding by restructuring and transforming their businesses in different ways, but with such complex programmes there are many things that can go wrong. Here at 4C, we have …
2018 was not a great year for the retail industry. Increasing costs and diminishing footfall resulted in shrinking profits. However, there are numerous ways that retailers can look to improve their profitability in 2019 to reduce mounting pressure. Creating innovative private label ranges is one sustainable way to reduce costs whilst getting more customers into shops. From past experiences working …
To put it very simply, machine learning can be described as a way of algorithms using vast amount of data to find patterns. What makes it special? It can learn and self-improve. It sounds straight out of a Sci-Fi movie, but it’s true. It runs the world and most of us use it every day without even knowing. It powers …
Artificial Intelligence (AI), is a much used and abused term, potentially at the top of its hype cycle. In one of her recent speeches Theresa May identified AI as a major growth area for British businesses and Juniper research estimated that AI will save businesses $8 billion a year by 2020. AI is predicted to disrupt business and procurement over …
I had the time to visit a few shops recently and one grabbed my attention – I thought it looked fantastic! The shelves were crammed with a plethora of brands and own label products – at a quick glance, it looked great. I’d never seen another retailer stocking four brands of bagels (plus own-label), three brands of milk – all …
Welcome to the first of 4C Associates’ quarterly Oil & Gas sector update. This bulletin is aimed to provide you with a short overview of the current occurrences within the sector, as well as key information that is critical to anyone working in the industry. Included in the bulletin, you’ll be able to find crude oil prices, company updates, opinions …
