In early December 2020, Google published its trends for 2020, listing the top searched terms, people, news stories and more. It is no great surprise that "Coronavirus" was the top searched term and news story. Nor that Tom Hanks, Kobe Bryant or Kamala Harris were high on the list. What I found remarkable is that these trends were not reflected in the top searched terms for SIG's website in 2020. In fact, it was business as usual on our website. Sure "COVID" and "resiliency" and "remote work policies" made the list. Website traffic and searches increased in volume, but our visitors were searching for the same topics and downloading some of our best case studies for help.
Here's just a short snapshot of some of the trending searches in 2020:
Category Management
Most sourcing professionals know what category management is and a critical mass of our members practice category management at varying levels of maturity. This SIG blog summarizes our resources in one location and is one of our most visited pages. Members frequently download our Template for Building a Business Case for Category Management.
Performance Measurement
No doubt Sourcing and Procurement have performed a critical role in business continuity and resiliency during the year of the pandemic. Our members often request information on how to measure their organizational success. In the past we have conducted benchmarks to measure spend under management and other key indicators, published scorecards, and showcased sample dashboards.
Analytics
I started at SIG in 2010. Shortly thereafter, the term "Big Data" began to flourish. BI skills were now required of new hires, and data-driven decision-making exploded. It helped to increase the profile of Sourcing and Procurement and gain that all important seat at the table. The SIG Resource Center contains many excellent case studies on procurement analytics. Such as this great presentation on upgrading from spreadsheet analytics, this case study of procurement analytics and trends and don't miss this great series on KPIs.
What tools do you use to analyze and report on your sourcing and procurement data?
This is a topic that never goes away and is a great measurement of a sourcing organization's maturity. How you measure it, how you report it, how you track it, how great you are at measuring, reporting and tracking, is of serious consideration. Start here with a listing of incredible blogs, then take a look at this white paper on how to use this key metric to elevate Procurement's impact, and then read a little more on how to find value beyond the cold hard numbers.
If you know anything about SIG, it's that we bring together some of best and brightest (and generous) minds in the business. Many of our visitors searched for "advisors" or "consultants" or "service providers" for specific initiatives and categories. I thought I'd take a moment and highlight a few of the female leaders in this category.
If you're looking for advice on how to build, measure or improve your third party risk program, your expert of choice should be Linda Tuck Chapman. Here's a great presentation she did with Prudential on categories, assessments and thresholds.
Or perhaps you're working on improving your sourcing strategies for services spend. The SIG Resource Center contains many fantastic insights from Amy Fong at the Everest Group, such as this presentation on Seven Overlooked Opportunities in Technology Sourcing.
Mary Zampino, Vice President – Content, Research & Analytics
Mary Zampino is the Vice President – Content, Research & Analytics at SIG and has over 20 years of experience in information technology and over 15 years of experience in sourcing. Prior to joining SIG, Mary worked at Enporion, where she was responsible for the analysis, configuration, execution and award evaluation for over one thousand sourcing events, across a diverse range of direct and indirect categories. Mary is committed to customer service and considers information sharing and usability the top priorities for any project or organization. Mary holds a Bachelor's Degree in Information Science from the Florida State University and has completed certifications in Health Information Technology and Requirements Gathering.
In early December 2020, Google published its trends for 2020, listing the top searched terms, people, news stories and more. It is no great surprise that "Coronavirus" was the top searched term and news story. Nor that Tom Hanks, Kobe Bryant or Kamala Harris were high on the list. What I found remarkable is that these trends were not reflected in the top searched terms for SIG's website in 2020. In fact, it was business as usual on our website. Sure "COVID" and "resiliency" and "remote work policies" made the list. Website traffic and searches increased in volume, but our visitors were searching for the same topics and downloading some of our best case studies for help.
Here's just a short snapshot of some of the trending searches in 2020:
Category Management
Most sourcing professionals know what category management is and a critical mass of our members practice category management at varying levels of maturity. This SIG blog summarizes our resources in one location and is one of our most visited pages. Members frequently download our Template for Building a Business Case for Category Management.
Performance Measurement
No doubt Sourcing and Procurement have performed a critical role in business continuity and resiliency during the year of the pandemic. Our members often request information on how to measure their organizational success. In the past we have conducted benchmarks to measure spend under management and other key indicators, published scorecards, and showcased sample dashboards.
Analytics
I started at SIG in 2010. Shortly thereafter, the term "Big Data" began to flourish. BI skills were now required of new hires, and data-driven decision-making exploded. It helped to increase the profile of Sourcing and Procurement and gain that all important seat at the table. The SIG Resource Center contains many excellent case studies on procurement analytics. Such as this great presentation on upgrading from spreadsheet analytics, this case study of procurement analytics and trends and don't miss this great series on KPIs.
What tools do you use to analyze and report on your sourcing and procurement data?
Create your own user feedback survey
Cost Savings
This is a topic that never goes away and is a great measurement of a sourcing organization's maturity. How you measure it, how you report it, how you track it, how great you are at measuring, reporting and tracking, is of serious consideration. Start here with a listing of incredible blogs, then take a look at this white paper on how to use this key metric to elevate Procurement's impact, and then read a little more on how to find value beyond the cold hard numbers.
Create your own user feedback survey
SIG's Partners and Community Influencers
If you know anything about SIG, it's that we bring together some of best and brightest (and generous) minds in the business. Many of our visitors searched for "advisors" or "consultants" or "service providers" for specific initiatives and categories. I thought I'd take a moment and highlight a few of the female leaders in this category.
If you're looking for advice on how to build, measure or improve your third party risk program, your expert of choice should be Linda Tuck Chapman. Here's a great presentation she did with Prudential on categories, assessments and thresholds.
Or perhaps you're working on improving your sourcing strategies for services spend. The SIG Resource Center contains many fantastic insights from Amy Fong at the Everest Group, such as this presentation on Seven Overlooked Opportunities in Technology Sourcing.
And if 2020 has taught us anything, it's the importance of collaboration. Kate Vitasek of the University of Tennessee has dedicated her professional career to building business models to reflect the benefit of close collaboration with your suppliers. I recommend this case study on How GuideWell Implemented Sourcing Business Model Theory to Drive Better Sourcing Initiatives and this white paper (really a primer) on Unpacking Sourcing Business Models: 21st Century Solutions for Sourcing Services.
The SIG Resource Center is a benefit of SIG membership and has over 5,000 tools, templates and resources for sourcing and procurement professionals.
Mary Zampino is the Vice President – Content, Research & Analytics at SIG and has over 20 years of experience in information technology and over 15 years of experience in sourcing. Prior to joining SIG, Mary worked at Enporion, where she was responsible for the analysis, configuration, execution and award evaluation for over one thousand sourcing events, across a diverse range of direct and indirect categories. Mary is committed to customer service and considers information sharing and usability the top priorities for any project or organization. Mary holds a Bachelor's Degree in Information Science from the Florida State University and has completed certifications in Health Information Technology and Requirements Gathering.