New Tool to Measure (and Manage) the carbon footprint of your supply Chain

Reducing the amount of carbon imbedded in the raw materials we source can be a very good thing – especially if it helps us meet our Corporate Social Responsibility goals as supply-chain professionals (not to mention helping the planet).

Virescent and ProPurchaser have just developed a tool to measure and manage the carbon footprint of a supply chain. And, we are pleased to announce that our blog readers are invited to take out a free, 3-month trial.

Chinese Rebar hits 5-1/2 month low as Iron Ore sags

Shanghai rebar fell to its lowest level in more than five months on Tuesday, stretching its losses into a third straight session, amid thin Chinese demand that could prompt producers in the world’s biggest steel market to curb output.

The most briskly traded rebar contract for October delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange touched a session low of 4,055 yuan ($640) a tonne, last seen on Nov. 30, before closing at 4,090 yuan, down 1.1 percent.

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Rubber Plunges to a Four-Month Low on Greek Impasse

Rubber plunged to a four-month low as the political impasse in Greece increased speculation that the nation may leave the euro, deepening an economic slump in the region and weakening demand for the commodity used in tires.

The October-delivery contract slumped as much as 5.1 percent to 265 yen a kilogram ($3,317 a metric ton), the lowest level for a most-active price since Jan. 6, before settling at 270.1 yen on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange. A slump this month has trimmed rubber’s 2012 advance to 2.5 percent.

via Rubber Plunges to a Four-Month Low on Greek Impasse – Bloomberg.

Beating the Budget Blues

Most Purchasers are called upon each year to prepare a budget for the products they buy. Given the uncertain marketplace, estimating Suppliers‘ prices is a tough job. It’ easy to go wrong, easy to make decisions you’ll come to regret.

Ths article will help you survive & thrive in this career minefield.

via Beating the Budget Blues on Propurchaser.

Commodities Rally Over?

The changes to the supply-and-demand picture, and the recent declines in prices, have ignited a debate over whether the so-called super-cycle in commodities is over—or, at least, is heading for the back-end of the cycle. Raw-materials markets are notorious for going through such periods of scarcity and then glut, sending prices on wild rides.

Commodities fell to nearly two-year lows last week, measured by a widely used benchmark, prompting investors to ponder whether the massive rally that began in 1999 may be faltering.

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Commodities Erase Gain for Year in Worst Run Since 2008

Commodities fell for an eighth straight session, wiping out gains for the year, after data from Asia showed a further slowdown in industrial output.
The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Spot Index of 24 commodities headed for its longest slump since December 2008.

It dropped to 640.46, the lowest since Dec. 22. As of 3:15 p.m., the measure had fallen 0.9 percent at 641.92, down 0.5 percent since Dec. 31. The last annual decline was in 2008, before a rally that saw the gauge double over the next three years.

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U.S. sees surge in corn stocks, fewer soybeans

Record-large corn and rice crops are forecast worldwide, with corn up 9 percent and rice up marginally. The wheat supply would drop by 2 percent and soybeans stocks will rise by 9 percent but still not as much as traders expected. It would be the sixth year in a row for record world corn production.

The U.S. Agriculture Department‘s first estimates for this year’s harvest and next year’s demand showed that domestic corn stocks will surge from a near record low this year to a seven-year high by September 2013, aided by expected record yields this year as farmers sprinted to plant an early crop.

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Natural Gas Stages Rally, Not Recovery

The energy worlds most hopeless case just twitched an eyebrow. But natural gas isnt ready to leave intensive care just yet.
Having plunged below $2 per million British thermal units in April, front-month gas futures have since bounced 27%.

This reflects rekindled hopes that bloated gas inventories might moderate. These typically get run down during winter and rebuilt over summer, peaking in late fall.

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Team to Wrestle Costs Down

 The arithmetic is simple: profits are being squeezed. Finding ways to drive down costs lower than your competition’s has become more important than ever.

Here, we describe a different approach to supplier negotiations that might help you gain an edge.

via Create a tag-team to wrestle cost down on Propurchaser.

Sustainable Procurement – Supplier charter

One way of integrating sustainable procurement into your supply chain is to start a the very beginning and put a ‘supplier charter‘ in place.

Set out your companies CSR priorities, send these to your suppliers along with a questionnaire asking them to evaluate how they perform against each of the priorities. Once you start collecting information and forming a constructive dialogue with your suppliers, it becomes possible to implement your CSR objectives through your supply chain.

How to implement a supplier charter