Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much Helen Keller There is much to be said for independent businesses right now, but it can be a lonely place when greater forces are at play. The internet is supposed to have empowered the ‘little guys’ –...

As business manages its way through the after-effects of a turbulent 2020, every financial plan will involve careful examination of threats and opportunities.   So why are so many businesses failing to deal with the threat of Cyber Crime – despite endless news stories and regular warnings? To accompany this article,...

Almost half of businesses report having experienced a cyber-attack or breach in the last 12 months.   According to the UK Government’s own research, 39% of these attacks result in financial loss.   Insurers Hiscox put the typical financial loss for a business that is victim of a cyber crime at £42,000. In...

A year like 2020 can be seen as the perfect storm, a ‘blip’ and an inflection point.    What we’ve lived through during the COVID crisis is thankfully a unique experience in most people’s lifetimes.  But smaller scale crises are more frequent than we realise.  A recent study shows that companies can...

December 2019 seems a world away when I look back to writing Interesting Times? Just Get it Done! in the immediate aftermath of the General Election.    My theme then was that the only constant of recent times would seem to be uncertainty.  I mused that whilst economic uncertainty was undoubtedly a threat...

We have talked before about creating value through transformation in Enlightened Approach – Business Perspective.    Technology transformation is a big undertaking and many are put off.  The disruption, time taken to deliver, level of investment required can be enormous.   It also carries a lot of risk – 70% of digital transformation initiatives fail...

The COVID crisis has meant that governments worldwide have had to make spending decisions at levels rarely seen in peace-time and to build infrastructure and services in record time.   In the UK,  building the Nightingale hospitals in weeks was a massive feat of procurement and project management – lauded as “18...

In previous articles on cost reduction we have covered the full spectrum of approaches from Quick Wins to Changing the Way You Do Business to eliminate cost and simultaneously improve performance.   The spectrum roughly spreads from immediate and easy to complex and longer-term. One such approach that we...

JMCL’s Malcolm Smith has significant experience & expertise in a wide range of challenging sectors as a both functional leader and consultant. This, together with an engaging personality, means he’s a regular and popular speaker  – regarding Procurement and Supply  – on the conference circuit particularly for more thought provoking...