In recognition of Open Access Week, which was last week (Oct. 23 – 29), Cottrill Research is honoring research resource providers that make available information and data of value to procurement professionals free of charge.
With roots in the scientific and scholarly communities, Open Access Week is celebrated to bring awareness of the benefits of opening up access to research. The movement got started in response to a growing belief that the traditional publishing model creates barriers and limits access to research.
In the business community, research providers and organizations are increasingly understanding the value of offering open access options to information (though copyright restrictions remain). These providers are enlightened. By offering free access to portions of their data, they are indirectly communicating not only how much they value their own information, but also how much they value the users of their information. When providers and organizations offer free data, it makes it easier for researchers to consult more than one source for decision-making. Utilizing multiple sources of data guarantees greater authority and accuracy of information. Information providers that break down barriers to information by offering flexible subscription options at reasonable prices, in addition to open access data, truly have the best interest of their users in mind.
With a focus on supply market intelligence here is Cottrill Research’s honor list of information providers, organizations and government agencies that offer key open access research offerings that are helpful to procurement researchers. The list is not inclusive and selecting honorees was challenging as there are many excellent offerings.
Top Honorees
Beroe – Beroe LiVE
Beroe is a provider of procurement intelligence and in February 2017 launched its excellent free on-demand procurement/market intelligence platform that covers over 250 direct and indirect categories. Each Category Intelligence report covers market, supply, cost, pricing analysis, cost data, TCO models, supplier details, performance benchmarks, macroeconomic and regional trends impacting market dynamics, in addition to category-specific negotiation and sourcing advice. In October, Supplier Ratings was launched that allows the 4,000+ companies on the platform to rate thousands of suppliers.
Buyers Meeting Point
It is doubtful that any other profession has a resource that is as valuable as Buyers Meeting Point is to procurement. Managing Editor Kelly Barner, with her keen and exceptionally knowledgeable eye, monitors, filters and highlights, through notes on webinars, articles, and other blogs, the major themes and trends in which procurement and supply chain management professionals need to stay on top of, along with offering guest contributor articles.
Institute for Supply Management – ISM Report On Business
Institute for Supply Management (ISM) publishes the highly-respected Report on Business which is comprised of two monthly national economic indicators reports. The Manufacturing Report On Business is released on the first business day of every month. The Non-Manufacturing Report On Business is released the third business day of every month. The Manufacturing Report On Business tracks the PMI, changes in new orders, production, employment, supplier deliveries, prices, inventories, order backlogs and new export orders, and imports. Regional reports are developed by ISM affiliates.
Spend Matters
Spend Matters was the first blog and social media site in the procurement and supply chain sector. It focuses on spend management issues and has greatly expanded its offerings to include research and analysis. Spend Matters publishes a voluminous amount of free research, as well as premium content. The Spend Matters Almanac, a buyers guide for the procurement and supply chain industry, in addition to the Spend Matters 50 Providers to Know and Spend Matters 50 Providers to Watch are examples of open access offerings. MetalMiner’s Annual Metals Outlook Report and current Monthly Report: Metal Price Index Trends report can be downloaded for free and Public Spend Forum offers a wealth of valuable information.
Honorable Mentions
A.T. Kearney
In addition to timely articles, A.T. Kearney publishes The Assessment of Excellence in Procurement (AEP) series and co-publishes the annual ROSMA Performance Check Studies. The Global Services Location Index study tracks the offshoring landscape in 55 countries. The Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index globally ranks which markets are likely to attract the most investment in the next three years. The Global Cities Index ranks the world’s most influential cities.
CB Insights
The CB Insights tech market intelligence platform analyzes millions of data points on venture capital, startups, patents, partnerships and news mentions. CB Insights’ data helps companies predict emerging trends, see their competitors’ strategy playbook, and identify growing industries. CB Insights offers a large number of data-rich open access infographics, market maps, and Research Briefs such as “The Industrial IoT: 125+ Startups Transforming Factory Floors, Oil Fields, And Supply Chains,” and “Mapped: Top Travel Tech Startups Around The Globe.”
HfS – Horses for Sources Blog
HfS Research is a research and analyst firm for business operations and IT services with a mission to offer services that buck the legacy analyst model. The name, Horse for Sources, is in reference to a horse-racing term: “certain horses run better on certain courses” (Aug. 10, 2008, Phil Fersht). The blog was published first, then followed by the forming of the research-focused website. The blog posts are filled with data gleaned from HFs’ many research offerings, including the BluePrint landscape reports.
ISG – ISG Index
ISG is a global technology research and advisory firm that publishes The ISG Index, which quarterly reviews the global IT services market relating to outsourcing transaction structures and terms, industry adoption, geographic prevalence and service provider performance.
ManpowerGroup – Total Workforce Index
The Total Workforce Index (TWI) is a workforce analysis tool that helps organizations determine the relative ease of sourcing, hiring and retaining workforce skills in competing labor markets around the world in terms of availability, regulation, cost efficiency, and productivity.
My Purchasing Center
My Purchasing Center is a comprehensive and current source of news and information that is of value to procurement professionals and supply professionals. The website has articles, blogs, white papers, webcasts, videos, podcast interviews, supplier profiles, and a bookstore. The articles are filled with helpful forecasting and trend data, including proprietary pricing, from knowledgeable professionals.
Various United States Government Departments: Agriculture, Energy, Labor
These government departments, along with various others, produce the base data used for market analysis by many research organizations. A few examples:
- Bureau of Labor Statistics – Producer Price Index
The Producer Price Index (PPI) measures the average change over time in the selling prices received by domestic producers for their output. - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) – Energy Data
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is the foremost source for comprehensive historical and current energy data. National and international statistics are provided for petroleum and other liquids, natural gas, coal, electricity, nuclear and uranium, and renewable/alternative fuels. - Agricultural Transportation (USDA and TSD) – Agriculture Shipping Data
As part of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Transportation Services Division (TSD) assists agricultural shippers via market, regulatory and transportation disruption reports by tracking developments in truck, rail, barge, and ocean transportation that move food from farm to table and port to market.
