Procurement Gets Social with Suppliers

Throw away your Conan hammer! That’s the advice Jason Busch of Azul Partners and Spend Matters gave to procurement professionals at the 2014 Smarter Commerce Global Summit. His point: you can’t beat suppliers over the head to get what you want. Not that was ever an effective practice, of course, but that didn’t stop many in procurement from resorting to it.

Today’s business environment calls for a gentler, kinder relationship with suppliers. That’s not because we’re all more in touch with our feelings in this modern era, it’s because we have the social tools to make a new way of working together possible – and not just possible, but necessary.

Procurement workers and suppliers are now able to put social tools to use in order to collaborate earlier and more closely. This gives them the opportunity to reinvent the relationship and discover new information together. Busch gave an example: under the old model, procurement might say, “Our goal is to reduce costs three percent. We can work with you on that but that’s what’s expected of you.” Today, procurement should instead ask, “How can we drive innovation together in new ways, and what systems will enable that?” The cost reductions will follow.

The benefits will accrue throughout the length and breadth of the procurement-supplier relationship, whether when working on design, changing specifications, or adjusting service levels based on business needs. There's no longer any reason to resort to the hammer. Busch said procurement pros shouldn’t even keep the hammer as a backup – just throw it out. Conan might disagree, but then he wasn’t wielding today’s powerful social business tools.

from Social Business Insights Blog http://ift.tt/1iXVeNS

via IFTTT

Kaltura's Hi-Def Video Integration with IBM Connections

Survey: What Happens to the Chair? #FallsOver? #StopsShort?

Michela Stribling, Program Director, Social Business, IBM

Can a chair have personality? In this case of this chair, the answer is a resounding yes.

One of our latest “Made with IBM” TV commercials stars a cheeky office chair. The spot ends with the chair seeming to race toward a set of stairs, as the music in the background builds to a crescendo. But we never actually see the chair go over the edge. Talk about a cliffhanger!

So we asked ourselves, “What happens to the chair?” And then we thought we’d ask you. Here’s your chance to weigh in:

Does the chair go over the edge? Does the chair stop? Or do you have an even better and more clever suggestion for what happens to the chair? We want to hear from you.

from Social Business Insights Blog http://ift.tt/1r9HkKK

via IFTTT

Get 5 minute tips on IBM Connections -- every day!

A new post on SocializeMe: If you got here, you are either a regular subscriber to this blog, a fan of IBM Connections, or you are looking for tips and tricks to get the most value out of the enterprise social collaboration platform. Maybe you have a question on how to drive adoption, how to tune your email notifications, how to better structure your community navigation, or you are looking to learn more about IBM Connections.



Jim Claussen, a colleague of mine in IBM, has decided to take it upon himself and created the AskJim podcast to provide 5 minute answers to IBM Connections questions -- daily! For the past 4 weeks he's kept up the pace and has produced 30 episodes so far.



To listen in you can just do it directly from here (see below) or you can download the SoundCloud app for your mobile device (iOS and Android). You know you want to listen to these episodes while on the go, working out, etc.



Oh and if you listen to episode 14, you'll learn how to embed this podcast directly on your Connections community so that all your community members can get value out of it!!





Let me know what you think and send questions to Jim via Twitter if you want your own question to be answered.

from Socialize Me http://ift.tt/1jtcp7t

Shine When ‘Moments Matter’ – See How At Smarter Commerce Global Summit 2014

Please note that this was originally posted by Alisa Maclin on Smarter Commerce blog: http://bit.ly/1cYZfkG

Alisa Maclin, Vice President, Industry Solutions Marketing, IBM

On my return flight from IBM Pulse 2014 (IBM’s premier cloud conference) while watching the clouds pass and browsing shopping sites on my tablet to buy a raincoat I’ll need for an upcoming trip, I was again reminded how cloud-based solutions are transforming businesses and lives. A few tablet taps and, no worries, my new raincoat will be on my doorstep almost before I can unpack.

It’s exciting to think about what’s coming too. Capturing imaginations at Pulse was the Connected Car prototype demo. In the future, a network of these vehicles connected to the cloud would tap an array of real-time data from surrounding vehicles, upcoming traffic, road and weather conditions, and more to provide optimal routing and safe, fuel-efficient driving. New features can be added over the life of the vehicle, similar to adding an app to a smartphone. And, of course, many of the car’s functions and systems can be controlled or monitored via mobile devices.

Agility and innovation are keys to winning the race to differentiate. Whether delighting a customer in real time, reaching new markets, or collaborating with partners and suppliers across continents in the blink of an eye, every interaction is a moment of truth, and moments matter. From May 12-15, at Smarter Commerce Global Summit 2014 in Tampa, Florida, we will share how executives and professionals across industries and roles are using IBM Smarter Commerce solutions – nearly all of which are available in the cloud – to maximize the moment, and achieve a competitive edge.

For instance, Sanjay Gupta, Executive Vice President of Marketing, Innovation and Corporate Relations, Allstate, will share how Allstate leverages the power of Smarter Commerce. Many more exciting client speakers are signing up to share what’s working for their companies as well, and IBM experts will add their perspectives, and we’ll introduce some exciting innovations too.

More than 4000 are expected for the event. It will offer a unique agenda across marketing, customer experience management, eCommerce, procurement and supply chain management. I’d like to invite you to join us for an up-close look at the innovations that will enable you to shine when “Moments Matter” with customers and other key constituents. Hope to see you there.

from Social Business Insights Blog http://ift.tt/1m3WwJv

via IFTTT

Communardo Further Integrates Confluence with IBM Connections

A new post on SocializeMe:I've talked about integration of IBM Connections with Confluence in the past. Communardo has created 3 new integration points to bring together IBM Connections and Atlassian's Confluence. These integration points are important for organizations that may be using both products and want to provide more synergy between them. This is yet another example of IBM Connections as a social layer, where you can embed Connections into other business apps allowing you to bring social to the end users.



The integration points are:

• Surface IBM Connections' person card within Confluence ( this is available as a plug-in from Atlassian's Marketplace) allowing profile data to be kept in just one system (IBM Connections)


• Use the IBM Connections Activity Stream to connect the decentralized Confluence wikis to save time finding information and avoid switching back-and-forth between systems.


• Confluence work rooms will surface within the list of Communities in the IBM Connections interface to surface previously hidden work laces.

To see it in action, check out the 5 minute demo below:





To learn more, check out Communardo's product page.

from Socialize Me http://ift.tt/1osWUhu

The Code Behind My IBM Connect 2014 Keynote Demo - Part 3

A new post on SocializeMe:Alright, let's move on to the next piece shown at the OGS. If you want to know what this is, I would suggest you catch up with Part 1 and Part 2.



The next part I got ready for the keynote was people search. But I wanted to move away from the typical search results list. I wanted something more visual and easier to digest. I wanted results to be more visual, maybe like a slideshow of people cards that I could flip through.



After doing a bit of searching, I landed on another jQuery plugin, this time the Baraja plugin and it got me something like this:

So what's the magic here? Let's walk through the parts:



1. As usual, include the right JavaScript:

<script src="jquery-1.9.1.min.js"></script>

<script type="text/javascript" src="Baraja/js/modernizr.custom.79639.js"></script>

<script type="text/javascript" src="Baraja/js/jquery.baraja.js"></script>

2. Then the CSS for styling

<style type="text/css">

.homepage {

font-family: "HelveticaNeue-Light", "Helvetica Neue Light", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif;

font-weight: 300;

color: #444;

line-height: 1.2;

background-color: #f0f0f0;

}



a {

color: #1c8aae !important;

text-decoration: none !important;

}



.photo {

width: 100px;

height: 100px;

border-radius: 55px;

-webkit-border-radius: 55px;

-moz-border-radius: 55px;

border-color: #fff;

border-style: solid;

box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0, 0, 0, .4);

-webkit-box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0, 0, 0, .4);

-moz-box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0, 0, 0, .4);

}



.fn

{

font-family: "HelveticaNeue-Bold", "Helvetica Neue Bold","Helvetica Neue", sans-serif;

font-weight: 600;

text-decoration: none;

color: #444 !important;

font-size: 18pt;

}



.inputForm

{

border: solid 1px #e9ecef;

width: 280px;

height: 30px;

padding: 8px;

-webkit-border-radius: 15px; //For Safari, etc.

-moz-border-radius: 15px; //For Mozilla, etc.

border-radius: 15px; //CSS3 Feature

box-shadow: 0 0 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, .2);

-webkit-box-shadow: 0 0 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, .2);

-moz-box-shadow: 0 0 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, .2);

}



.searchEntry {

text-align: center;

margin: auto;

padding-top: 20px;



}



.searchResults {

padding-top: 20px;

width: 260px;

height: 600px;

margin: 30px auto;

}



ul.baraja-container li {

border-radius: 10px;

padding: 5px;

box-shadow: 0 0 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, .1);

-webkit-box-shadow: 0 0 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, .1);

-moz-box-shadow: 0 0 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, .1);

-webkit-user-select: none;

-khtml-user-select: none;

-moz-user-select: none;

-ms-user-select: none;

user-select: none;

width: 250px;

height: 250px;

margin: 0;

position: absolute;

top: 0;

left: 0;

cursor: pointer;

background: #f0f0f0;

font-size: 12pt;

text-align: center;

pointer-events: auto;

-webkit-backface-visibility: hidden;

-moz-backface-visibility: hidden;

-ms-backface-visibility: hidden;

-o-backface-visibility: hidden;

backface-visibility: hidden;



}



ul.baraja-container li img {

margin-top: 20px;

}



ul.baraja-container li p {

line-height: 1.0px;

}



ul.baraja-container li div {

text-align: center;

}



ul.baraja-container {

list-style-type: none;

width: 260px;

height: 310px;

margin: 0 auto 30px;

position: relative;

padding: 0;

}



.score {

font-size: 18pt;

color: #1c8aae !important;

text-decoration: none !important;

}



.bullet {

font-size: 8pt;

color: #666;

}



</style>

3. The placeholder where things will show up:

<body style="margin: 0;">



<div class="homepage">

<div class="searchEntry">

<input type="text" class="inputForm" id="searchBox" />

</div>



<div class="searchResults" id="searchResults">

<ul id="baraja-el" class="baraja-container">



</ul>

</div>

...

4. Call the API!

<script>

var $el = $( '#baraja-el' ),

baraja = $el.baraja();

baraja.add( searchResults ) );

baraja.fan( {

speed : 500,

easing : 'ease-out',

range : 100,

direction : 'right',

origin : { x : 50, y : 200 },

center : true

} );

</script>

The missing piece here is the call to the People Search API of IBM Connections to generate searchResults. I'll leave that as an exercise to the reader. Once I gathered all the data, I created a searchResult which would look like this (so that it matches the CSS I shared above):

<li><img class="photo" src="http://ift.tt/1d1wba7" alt="image1"/><br/><br/><div><span class="fn">Bill Ranney</span> <span class="bullet">&bull;</span> <span class="score">10</span></div><p>Sr. Business Manager</p><p>10 followers</p></li>

In terms of the score, that was work that we did based on the work with Marie Wallace. Check out her blog for more details.

from Socialize Me http://ift.tt/1d1we5Q