Strategic Sourceror

Sara Lee's profit plummets on rising costs

Strategic Sourceror 2/3/2012 8:10:00 AM

Food giant Sara Lee said weak sales in North America affected the company's performance in its latest fiscal quarter, sending earnings tumbling 44 percent. The Wall Street Journal reports the Illinois-based food giant raised food prices last year in an effort to offset a jump in commodity prices. However, the move backfired as the company said American consumers pulled back as a result, reining in spending and foregoing purchases. The company's operating margin declined to 4.9...

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Sony posts disappointing earnings

Strategic Sourceror 2/2/2012 6:08:00 PM

Floods in Thailand and a strengthening yen are hurting Sony's profitability, the company said this week. Sony Corp. recently altered its annual loss forecast, affirming that the company's profit would be lower than expected. Japan-based Sony suffered through a difficult year in 2011, as the company had to rework supply chain management in the wake of historic flooding in Thailand, where a number of its suppliers are located. Procurement audits revealed its supplier network was more...

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Cost reduction initiatives bolster Whirlpool's profit

Strategic Sourceror 2/1/2012 6:08:00 PM

Whirlpool's cost reduction initiatives seem to have paid off for the appliance maker, as it released full year profit projections that exceeded analysts' expectations. Whirlpool said that a successful business cost reduction campaign and price increases would help increase profit margins in its new fiscal year. Executives from the company said that although it struggled in 2011 under the weight of rising commodity costs, it had improved supply chain management and instituted cost...

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Amazon says Fire sales scorching, but earnings disappoint

Strategic Sourceror 1/31/2012 7:08:00 PM

Amazon surprised investors by posting disappointing earnings this week, as surging costs continued to erode the company's profit margins. Seattle, Washington-based Amazon said Tuesday that profit in its most recent fiscal quarter plummeted 57 percent. Amazon's net income declined to $177 million from $416 million the same period the year prior. Sales, on the other hand, rose 35 percent to $17.4 billion. Still, analysts had projected sales at the world's largest online retailer...

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Carnival: Costa Concordia wreck could lower full year net income $175 million

Strategic Sourceror 1/31/2012 7:08:00 PM

The recent sinking of the Costa Concordia has already caused cruise ship bookings to plummet, among other deleterious consequences, according to reports. The Costa Concordia sank earlier in the month after it traveled into shallow seas. Tourists aboard the ship said that its sinking played out like that of the Titanic, with confused crew members directing passengers to remain in their seats – even as the boat began to split. The Wall Street Journal reports that Carnival Corp., which owns...

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Exxon Mobil benefits from high oil prices

Strategic Sourceror 1/31/2012 7:08:00 PM

Exxon Mobil posted earnings that surpassed analysts' expectations, as an uptick in oil prices fueled its quarterly profit. The Texas-based oil giant said Tuesday it benefited from significantly higher oil prices in its fiscal fourth quarter. Prices of the company's crude were 27 percent from 2010 between October and December, an uptick that helped fuel a 2 percent rise in net income. Exxon Mobil also noted full year earnings for 2011 hit $41.1 billion, representing a 35 percent jump...

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Beneficial rains send corn, soybean prices down

Strategic Sourceror 1/30/2012 7:08:00 PM

Corn and soybean futures fell on Monday following news that beneficial rains could boost crop yields in Argentina and Brazil. The prices of nearly all commodities have surged over the past few years, as flourishing demand from throughout the world – particularly emerging economies such as Brazil, Russia, India and China – outstripped supplies. U.S. companies have struggled amid a weak economy to offset price gains onto consumers, and have launched business cost reduction...

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Netflix picks up 220,000 streaming subscribers

Strategic Sourceror 1/27/2012 6:08:00 PM

Netflix officials said that an uptick in the company's subscriber base in its latest fiscal quarter helped fuel earnings. California-based Netflix reported robust quarterly earnings this week, surprising analysts' expectations. Netflix said that it signed 220,000 domestic streaming users in its last fiscal quarter, bringing its U.S. userbase to 21.7 million. The company noted, however, that it continued to lose customers in its mail order segment, affirming 2.8 million people ended...

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4G Race to the Top in 2012

Danielle Rosato 1/27/2012 4:52:00 PM

In 2011 it seemed clear that Verizon Wireless was leading the 4G race introducing their version of 4G LTE. The big question that is arising at the start of 2012 is what other players will begin to compete in this race? And how will other carriers deliver on 4G network and devices? Verizon Wireless started off strong last year with a powerful platform called LTE. Verizon’s LTE software includes approximately 10 equipped wireless devices, mobile hotspots, and tablet PCs. Although...

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Business cost reduction campaigns fueling airline earnings

Strategic Sourceror 1/27/2012 7:08:00 AM

The airline industry has struggled over the past decade amid volatile fuel prices, but two of the largest airlines in the U.S. reported strong earnings this week. United Continental Holdings and JetBlue Airway both posted fourth quarter results that surpassed the expectations of analysts. Experts assert that airline carriers have had to raise fees and reorganize under intense competition and a tepid economic environment. JetBlue officials noted the company's business cost reduction...

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Time Warner Cable posts strong earnings on robust high-speed internet segment

Strategic Sourceror 1/26/2012 7:07:00 PM

Time Warner Cable's earnings impressed analysts this week, as the company said its net profit surged 44 percent in its latest fiscal quarter. Time Warner is seeking to command an ever-larger piece of the high-speed internet market in the U.S., which is exceedingly lucrative for many businesses. The company is one of the biggest cable television providers, but its march into the high-speed internet market has already begun to pay off, experts said. The company posted a net profit of...

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Clarity

Joe Payne 1/26/2012 9:56:00 AM

In my experience, people rarely act in their own self-interest or even logically follow what they believe to be their own core values. The easiest demonstration of this is in our political system, where the new first choice of hard-core conservatives and tea party members is Newt Gingrich, a guy who believes in global warming, wants to take a humanitarian approach to immigration reform, is for strengthening the role of the executive branch at the expense of all others, and is on his third...

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J.C. Penney chief executive outlines company's plan to reinvigorate brand

Strategic Sourceror 1/26/2012 8:07:00 AM

J.C. Penney's new chief executive, Ron Johnson, has a history of orchestrating successful retail campaigns. In his quest to reinvigorate the department store, he plans to unleash all of them. Johnson arrived at J.C. Penney from Apple, where he oversaw the technology giant's wildly successful retail operations. Though making the jump away from technology and toward apparel may seem like a stretch, the same basic underlying principles apply. In his new role at J.C. Penney, Johnson...

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Record iPhone, iPad and Mac sales power Apple quarterly results

Strategic Sourceror 1/25/2012 9:07:00 AM

Apple, the world's biggest technology company, beat analysts' expectations with its latest quarterly results. The Cupertino, California-based company said on Tuesday that its profit in its first fiscal quarter more than doubled, the precipitous uptick fueled by the strength of its wildly popular iPhone 4S. Aside from its jump in net income, Apple also posted record revenue for its latest fiscal quarter, logging $46.33 billion in the 14 weeks ending December 31, 2011. Apple's...

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Customs to shutter inspection center at Brooklyn port, potentially driving up costs of bananas, beer

Strategic Sourceror 1/24/2012 8:07:00 PM

U.S. officials are planning to close a major inspection station in Brooklyn, a move that could ultimately drive banana prices higher. The New York Times reports that in an increasingly global trading environment, the transportation of goods is an exceedingly complicated endeavor. Delivering a piece of fruit from Latin America to New York is a calculated affair, as companies strive to drive profit margins through enhanced logistics tools. Customs officials have thrown a proverbial wrench...

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How flooding in Thailand is making hard drives more expensive

Strategic Sourceror 1/24/2012 8:07:00 AM

Though floodwaters have receded in Thailand, businesses across the globe are still struggling to contend with the resulting shock to their supply chains, The New York Times reports. Flooding in parts of Thailand last year affected technology companies throughout the world, prompting executives to overhaul supply chain management as critical manufacturing facilities were damaged. Makers of computers and other electronic equipment struggled in the wake of the serious floods to secure new...

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Chesapeake Energy to cut natural gas output, as hydrocarbon nears record low prices

Strategic Sourceror 1/23/2012 6:07:00 PM

Natural gas prices have plummeted over the past decade, prompting at least one large U.S. producer to drastically reduce output of the hydrocarbon. U.S. natural gas production has soared over the past decade, helping drive prices to exceedingly low levels. The biggest contributor to falling gas prices has been a surge in hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as fracking. Fracking is an exceedingly controversial issue in the U.S., as the federal government has thus far allowed...

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Quick Review: "Top 10 Technologies for Supply Management Savings Today"

William Dorn 1/23/2012 7:21:00 AM

Another new whitepaper came across my desk recently, written by Michael Lamoureux, Ph.D. (or as many know him, the doctor). After being pleasantly surprised by the content of the last whitepaper, I wanted to dig in a little quicker on this one. This paper, “Top 10 Technologies for Supply Management Savings Today” was sponsored by BravoSolution. A quick glance at the layout of this research paper will have you thinking that it is just a pure marketing brochure, but there really is some good...

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GE's fourth quarter profit rises 6 percent

Strategic Sourceror 1/20/2012 6:07:00 PM

U.S. industrial engineering giant General Electric impressed analysts and investors this week with its latest quarterly and yearly financial results. Connecticut-based GE, which manufactures products ranging from gas turbines to airplane engines, said that its profit rose in its latest fiscal quarter. GE's net income climbed 6 percent from the same period the year before, hitting $4.1 billion. The strong profit came during the company's fourth quarter and was buoyed by strong...

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Apple unveils detailed supply chain report

Strategic Sourceror 1/19/2012 8:07:00 PM

Apple is renowned for deft supply chain management, but the company is also notoriously tightlipped about its procurement operations – until now. The Cupertino, California-based technology giant recently revealed a list of its worldwide suppliers for the first time ever. Moreover, Apple officials affirmed they would strive to improve working conditions at companies with which it executes supplier contracts. Apple's current chief executive Tim Cook is an experienced supply chain...

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Goldman Sachs profit drops, still beats expectations on strength of business cost reduction measures

Strategic Sourceror 1/18/2012 8:07:00 PM

Goldman Sachs reported quarterly earnings this week, surpassing analysts' expectations even though profit slumped. The New York-based banking giant said Wednesday it earned $978 million in the fourth quarter, a figure 58 percent lower than the $2.23 billion logged in the same period the year prior. While net income plummeted, the financial giant's per share earnings of $1.84 beat analysts' projections. Goldman chief executive Lloyd Blankfein told investors that the...

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The SOPA and PIPA Blackout

Danielle Rosato 1/18/2012 9:05:00 AM

Over the past couple months two new laws were proposed by US legislators, the Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP Act. As of today, January 18, many websites are taking their stand against this act and are beginning to protest by blacking out information. The main objective of the SOPA act is to limit copyright infringement and Internet piracy on the web by giving US government unprecedented new powers. Thousands of websites are going dark today to protest against this Stop...

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2012 Blackout exposes the SOPA and PIPA sisters

Jenny Tsai 1/18/2012 2:31:00 AM

Wikipedia has announced on January 16 that they will be conducting a 24 hour shut down of its English version as a protest against SOPA and PIPA. This unprecedented and extreme act has served its purpose and drawn international attention to two brewing bills. In October 26, 2011, Lamar Smith and co-sponsors introduced the SOPA (The Stop Online Piracy Act) bill to the US House of Representatives. SOPA, if made law, will enable and empower US law enforcement's abilities to try and...

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Kraft announces job cuts as it prepares to split business in two

Strategic Sourceror 1/17/2012 6:07:00 PM

Kraft Foods announced plans this week to cut more than 1,000 jobs as it prepares to separate its business into two discrete segments. The Associated Press reports that Kraft will cut 1,600 positions in a business cost reduction initiative as it prepares for the split. Officials from the company, based in Northfield, Illinois, said a majority of the job cuts would affect workers in the U.S. and Canada in sales and a number of other business units. "Making these tough choices is never...

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A Review of "Spend Visibility: An Implementation Guide"

William Dorn 1/17/2012 2:49:00 PM

Now that the holiday season is behind us, I am finally starting to get caught up on some industry publications that have hit the market recently. Of course, "Managing Indirect Spend, Enhancing Profitability Through Strategic Sourcing" should be on everyone's reading list... but I digress. No, the real thing I wanted to talk about today was the recent FREE whitepaper "Spend Visibility: An Implementation Guide (pdf)", compliments of Michael Lamoureux, PhD (the doctor) and...

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