CFO.com: White Papers

Nortel Responds To The Walmart Sustainability Product Index

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

The UN Brundtland Commission published its seminal report on sustainable development in 1987, defining sustainable development as "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Since the report was published, the breadth and depth of sustainable development has expanded significantly. A significant development in sustainability business practices in 2009 was the announcement by Walmart of their Sustainability Product Index. Nortel welcomes the Walmart program and we are publicly providing our initial response to the survey to share our sustainable priacies with the larger public. There has been considerable interest in the Sustainability Product Index, with a concentration in the United States and North America. Nortel actively supports sustainable activities and is publicly providing our initial response to the survey.

Navigating The Cleantech Stimulus: An Executive Checklist

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Although the U.S. government's stimulus plan will infuse the cleantech industry with grants and tax incentives, it also creates a shift in the industry. As the sector moves away from its entrepreneurial and venture capital roots, even companies that don't partake in the stimulus will feel the effects. Navigating the cleantech stimulus: an executive checklist points to eight key factors cleantech executives need to address.

Insights For Life Sciences Businesses: Funding Strategies

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

The past twelve months have undoubtedly been challenging for many life sciences businesses, and the outlook - while showing signs of improvement ý promises to remain difficult for some time to come. Navigating this environment and securing funding may require making difficult decisions. Nevertheless, past economic downturns have shown that businesses that survive such periods emerge stronger.

Insights for life sciences businesses: Funding strategies offers important ideas and recommendations to help life sciences executives develop effective short- and long-term commercial and investment strategies to help your company through these difficult times. The white paper explores current funding trends, how to align with the right commercial partners and alternative funding sources.

The Value Of Network Monitoring

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Network management incorporates device monitoring, application management, security, ongoing maintenance, service levels, troubleshooting, planning, and other tasks - ideally all coordinated and overseen by an experienced and reliable network administrator. Yet even the most knowledgeable and capable network administrator is only as good as the network information that is visible, and that he or she can manage and act on. Administrators need to know what's happening on their networks at all times, and as this paper explains, that's where network monitoring comes in.

Must-Have Metrics

Fri, 01 May 2009 04:00:00 GMT

This Must-Have Metrics Guide by Jonathan Casher, President of Casher Associates addresses why you need metrics, presents a framework to develop them and recommends ten key metrics that every Accounts Payable organization should consider.

Is Strategic Sourcing Ready For Construction Bidding?

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Purchasing roles are evolving from traditional commodities procurement to also managing project-based services such as construction bidding for real estate, development and facilities management efforts.

Many of the world's most popular brands have followed this trend, some more effectively than others. There seems to be two rather diverse approaches in this transition; either use current sourcing tools to approximate the work flow of project-based services, or add a point solution that is more suited to the unique attributes of construction bidding.

As detailed in this paper, construction services procurement is very different from commodities sourcing, so different in fact that each process requires their own technologies to get the most efficient and effective approach and outcome to the problem.

Tuning ERP and the Supply Chain for Profitable Growth

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:00:00 GMT

The supply chain is, of course, the primary processing mechanism of every manufacturing company. But today, it is a multifaceted, multi-company, multinational structure that makes it the most complex management challenge found in any enterprise. Supply chain management (SCM), a critical part of any enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, no longer means just making sure that the right materials and resources move to the right place at the right time. It also means ensuring that the sequences of events involved in producing goods and distributing them to customers are tuned optimally. This white paper will discuss how ERP can optimize your supply chain to satisfy customers, minimize costs and maximize profit.

You can put lipstick on an ERP, but it's still an ERP!

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

In today's dynamic business environment there is more pressure than ever to deliver sustainable value growth to stakeholders and the growing enthusiasm for corporate performance management (CPM) solutions can be seen as a direct result of these increased demands. Given the amount of money that businesses have invested in ERP over the last ten years it is not unreasonable that the initial response of many finance teams to CPM is, "Can't we do this with our ERP?" Indeed, many vendors implied their ERP solutions would provide exactly the type of benefits that are now ascribed to CPM systems. ERP platforms drive bottom-line profitability through efficiencies in the back-office processes they automate. CPM solutions reduce cycle times, optimising resource usage and delivering improvements in data integrity. The difference between these applications is that, CPM platforms are designed to enable the enterprise to execute its strategy and to monitor the results on a day to day basis.

Seven Reasons Why Software Licensees Choose Third-Party Support

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Provocative headlines from recent articles and analyst reports show resistance to the high cost of software support and maintenance: "Have Oracle and SAP Hit Tipping Point with 22% Fees?" "Oracle Fees for Maintenance and Support Under Fire." "ERP Maintenance Dissatisfaction: Is It Short-Term Economic Grumpiness or a Flawed Business Model?" Because today's mature, stable enterprise software from Oracle and SAP requires much less support, the cost of software maintenance and support should be falling. That's not the case, as annual fees for vendor support range from 18-22% of software license costs, and are charged on software not in use. Third-party software support delivers better service at much lower cost, allowing global organizations to reduce their total cost of ownership and apply more of their IT budgets to strategic business initiatives.

The State Of Engineering Leadership Education Programs Worldwide

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Engineering leadership education is emerging as a hot topic in engineering institutions worldwide. But according to a review of international "best practices" in engineering leadership education, a lack of resources, expertise, and formal networks in the nascent field is causing concern in a profession threatened by a diminishing focus on the notion of the "engineer-as-doer". Commissioned by the Bernard M. Gordon-MIT Enginering Leadership Program, the new white paper reveals that the vast majority of engineering leadership education programs are based within the U.S. and most are relatively new (developed in the last five years). The white paper highlights the distinct divide between the U.S. and the rest of the world in both attitude and approach to engineering leadership education.