Monthly Top 5 - April 2025

Archive | Upgrade to Premium | Advertise

Hi Readers,

With the craziness of the ProcureTech Cup in the last few weeks, I haven’t sent you a Monthly Top 5 in a while…

Today, we rectify that!

This month, a painful illustration of what “leading indicators” are…

• April 9th is when the US administration hit China with 104% tariffs.

• It takes about 30 days for goods to get from China to Los Angeles.

• We are at day 18 post-100%+ tariff…

What does this mean for Procurement and Supply Chain teams?

Let’s find out!

Every month, I comb through 1000+ articles across 40+ sources to bring you the best free procurement articles published that month.

I sort through the noise so you don’t have to.

📰 In this month’s edition:

• 📄 2025 Procurement Outlook Report (sponsored)

• 🔝 April 2025 Top 5

  • No. 1 - The Pacific Trade Route is A Lot Quieter Than Usual…

  • No. 2 - The Port of Los Angeles is Slowly Emptying…

  • No. 3 - The Craziest Election in Canadian History Wraps Up Tomorrow

  • No. 4 - Another Ding for Procurement Cards (PCards)?

  • No. 5 - Success Metrics for Digital Transformation in Procurement

• 🎁 Get access to my links database

Let’s dive in!

Note: Some of the content above is only available in the email version of this newsletter. Don’t miss out! Sign up for free to get the next edition.

No. 1 🥇

The Pacific Trade Route is A Lot Quieter Than Usual…

The ongoing trade dispute between the US and China is starting to have an effect on carrier traffic in the pacific…

25% of weekly transpacific service loops (the equivalent of a bus route) have been cancelled for late April and early May. In the equivalent weeks during COVID, 24% of these routes had been cancelled.

So What?

• “The ripple effect will hit consumers soon—and hard. Most summer goods are already on shelves, but inventory for peak retail seasons like Back to School and the holidays is at risk.”

Blank Sailing Spike After Tariffs: What It Means for Your Supply Chain
by Flexport

No. 2 🥈

The Port of Los Angeles is Slowly Emptying…

“On April 24th, the founder of a media firm that tracks shipping trends reported that daily volumes [at the Port of LA] this week are equivalent to Thanksgiving and Christmas Day — the two slowest shipping days of the year.”

So What?

• It takes ~30 days for containers to go from China to LA. 55 to New York by sea.

• This means no economic effects of what was done on April 10th until about May 10th.

• All this will start in the Los Angeles area. After about 2 weeks, it will hit Chicago and Houston…

• The US is speeding towards a brick wall but the driver of the car doesn’t seem to see it yet…

Huge Decline at L.A. Port Is a Hit to Truckers—and a Stark Warning of Coming Tariff Damage
by Fortune

No. 3 🥉

The Craziest Election in Canadian History Wraps Up Tomorrow

In October 2024, the Conservative Party of Canada was poised to cruise to a landslide victory in the upcoming election (+20% in the polls).

This was essentially true until the US administration announced their Feb 4th tariffs on Canadian goods (and then delayed implementation to Mar 4th).

This single issue has completely changed the political landscape, leading to the craziest voting intention swing in Canada’s 158 year history.

One the main talking points for the candidate now in the lead?

So What?

While the chips aren’t counted yet, if that’s not a leading indicator of Canadian sentiment (and subsequent action), I don’t know what is…

Canadians Despise Trump and Distrust US
by Politico

No. 4 🏅

Another Ding for Procurement Cards (PCards)?

I’ve been telling you to Stop Using PCards for a while now…

But I just loved Peter’s recent article which takes a look at PCard usage in the context of a recent UK public sector review of their usage.

Even if the context isn’t relevant to you, this was article was great at pointing out that PCards are a payment method but that they probably shouldn’t be a purchasing method.

Details in the article.

Government Procurement Cards – Wasteful or Wonderful?
by Peter Smith at Bad Buying

No. 5 🎖

Success Metrics for Digital Transformation in Procurement

I’m always reminding you that 80%+ of digital transformation initiatives keep failing to reach their initial objectives…

But what should those objectives be in the first place?

The last installment of a 5-part series on procurement digital transformation by Spend Matters covers this very question.

Defining Success Metrics and ROI in Digital Transformation: A Procurement Perspective
by Bertrand Maltaverne at Spend Matters

Get a gift this week… 🎁

Each week I spend several hours crafting this newsletter entirely for free. It'd mean the world to me if you could share The Pure Procurement Newsletter with just 1 person who you think would also enjoy it.

Here's your unique referral code that you can copy and paste: https://newsletter.pureprocurement.ca/subscribe?ref=PLACEHOLDER
(You need to be subscribed and logged in for the link to work)

When you refer 1 subscriber, I’ll give you access to the Monthly Top 5 Link Archive!