The Christmas Edition — where we check our lists twice, decide if our suppliers are naughty or nice, wrap up another busy year in procurement. From all of us at BWD Consulting, we wish you a merry, well-compliant Christmas, and a happy, value-for-money New Year!

Ethical procurement is becoming increasingly important in our ever more complex, interconnected, and global economy. Implementing an ethical procurement strategy embeds values like fairness, transparency and sustainability in to the DNA of your organisations thinking regarding purchasing decision and that is a good thing.

Audits aren't just about catching mistakes—they're about building better systems, identifying inefficiencies, ensuring compliance, and uncovering risks. A good auditor will help you improve and grow your business so the next time an auditor comes knocking embrace the experience and improve your business.

We all have heard phrases like "right size your procurement function" and a "fit for purpose procurement solution". In this episode David explains that Procurement can be a balancing act and he does this by breaking down 11 challenges whilst also providing key metrics to measure your success.

Probity is the foundation of ethical business conduct. It means acting with integrity, transparency, maintaining confidentiality and fairness, and without bias in all decisions and that's why Probity is so important.

Many more companies are now focused on environmental responsibility and ethical sourcing and are integrating ISO 20400 into their procurement strategies to align with global sustainability goals. Listen in hear the benefits of this approach and how you can bring it to your organisation.

The "Best 6 Approach" is great model to assist you in getting the best from supplier management. It covers the critical aspects you need to know to leverage the true value from effective supplier management for your organisation.

In this episode David talks about when you find a good supplier, do not take them for granted. It is important to establish and maintain a good relationship which is beneficial to you both. The success of both businesses is reliant on each other.

In this episode David explains the process of achieving a successful negotiation. He will take you through the necessary preparation and all the important tips you need to achieve the win win outcome. Knowing that success is sometimes shaped differently from your initial thoughts.

We all have a responsibility to put in place environmentally sustainable business practices. It's our planet. It is amazing what can be achieved by putting in place plans to make the necessary incremental changes and the choice is yours. What are you going to do?