Where you’ve gotta use that P-Card, use it wisely !!!

Where you’ve gotta use that P-Card, use it wisely !!! 😇

Personally I’m not a big P-Card proponent, expensing at ease & reconciling later. Deemed mostly an anti-procurement maneuver in firms driven by a structured spend under management philosophy.

People often turn to a P-Card when:

1. The Source to Settle process seems daunting.

2. The expense was classified a Tail spend , meaning no one found it on a cross catalog search or internally managed SKUs or even inventory to pull off a stock transport order.

3. Urgent buy , had to go non linear to fulfill an outage or need.

4. Marketing spend for promotional merchandise which is unique and urgent requiring a P-Card to the rescue.

In my career, I’ve led these P-Card optimization projects.

They are on every CPOs agenda irrespective of the company’s spend economy of scale.

Some countries don’t even accept

P-Cards legally, forcing adoption of an alternate buying channel.

Now coming to some of the creative usages of a P-Card

- [ ] I’ve seen that it can be ghosted and act as an immediate escrow to facilitate a payment for several categories where seasonal demand required timely fulfillment.

- [ ] I’ve also seen it orchestrate some interesting Spot buy fulfillment scenarios triggering after the fact Purchase orders or auto flipped invoices with machine learning closing the gap of reconciling Level 1,2 & 3 metadata from the incurred expense.

-[ ] Stringer spend where photographs & videos or news anything that you’d expect as a news org can be built on your company’s official App for Stringers to choose and upload and get paid instantly via the P-Card & later reconciled

- [ ] Blockchain smart contracts using state transition modes flipping the expense from one P-Card to another P-Card based on the category compliance for Consortia contracts in the area of Commodity Trading agreements requiring quick response with Machine executed settlement scenarios.

We can go on with justifying usage or rebut to stifle potential innovation where applicable for P-Cards.

If you have to use it, just use it , retrospect patterns & stay cautious & track frivolous usage.

Happy reading

Image credit: -> me 😀

Don’t focus on your goals, rather build better behaviors

Don’t focus on your goals, rather build better behaviors 

I saw this TEDx video the other day in how far compounding does to someone’s good behaviors in achieving a task that one never assimilates as theirs, in their heads.

I’ve compounded in my head from that video about “how breaking down a goal into fractal good show up behaviors led to mastering & finishing up an unthinkable task”.

Having said that I always used to read about NFTs and thought that this was something that could be me 

I am not a layer on layer NFT person however I am that NFT person that can manifest an image in my head to a pixelated approach to a MVP that can host as a NFT asset.

I always had the iPad and the Apple Pencil with me at all times in my bag & all I did was take notes notes & notes.

One day I just scribbled a logo for one of my blogs & then compared it with some real referential art on OpenSea and I was thrilled to commend myself to the quality of measurement it takes to host one and monetize it on a marketplace !

Trust me I’ve hosted 13 of what I created until now on OpenSea with likes all over them, haven’t sold a single piece as am still learning the growth hacks to drive traffic & attention towards them.

I was inspired by the thrilling Korean show the Squidgame , I manifested all the games into one graphic NFT from compounding improvisation from bottom right to top left.

All with an iPad and a Apple Pencil 😊

I don’t care if they ever get sold but it gave myself creative liberation to what it takes to swim in a Zone that you were always a watcher.

I took myself from watcher to practitioner with that one inspiring video that told me about how you can swim in uncharted territories and gain the transferrable skill along the way !

I am going to try and apply these good behaviors to all those procrastinated aspirations on my bucket list.

I’m not shaken that I have zero offers on NFTs or requiring someone’s acclamation, I’m gonna keep going keep practicing compounded behaviors & hey maybe some day I’ll get there 

Join that journey with me , pull those ambitious gigs off the shelf, make marginal improvements along the way to fruition then it’s time for you to check this video out for inspiration by Stephen Duneier, https://youtu.be/TQMbvJNRpLE

stay blessed be happy 😊 & healthy 

Cheers 

Tridip

NFT collections : https://OpenSea.io/tridipchakra

The next Creative Commons Credit goes to you

 The next Creative Commons Credit goes to you 

In my last few posts I’ve been giving Creative Commons credit to myself, which is funny but surreal …..for photos, doodles , graphics & random art form(eg. logos, icons & more) that I’ve created. 

It’s become some sort of hygiene factor for me to go look into my own content archives where I’ve either gotten creative, artistic or even wild with my imagination !

I use my creations for my blogs , my T-Shirt graphics & the adoption project platforms are impromptu trust me 😊. I rate myself 2/10 at where I stand today with content generation, quality & sustainability…trying to  get 1% better every day…
Below is a picture i took on a snow storm day aftermath when icicles were forming. Heavenly view, refreshes me all the time, who gets CCC = me ☺

Moving on ….

What is “Creative Commons Credit” ?

Creative Commons is a system that allows you to legally use “some rights reserved” music, movies, images, and other content — all for free. CC offers free copyright licenses that anyone can use to mark their creative work with the freedoms they want it to carry.

Your responsibility is to give the attribution for the usage.

Check this link to see how to give attribution for Creative Commons credit to the artist/creator How to give attribution - Creative Commons

Creative reference points 

I’ve always given the much deserved Creative Commons credit to every content creator for any content of theirs I’ve ever used…

I still go pick icons from the Noun Project where I don’t have a image or an idea yet that fits the graffiti in one frame.

The simplicity of Noun project motivates me till the day to try something during long meetings scrubbing my imaginations on either plan paper , an old tissue or my iPad doodle apps.

It intrigues me everyday, how brave artists are , the way they think and substantiate a thousand words into a form of art.

With the birth of NFTs I’ve seen the same artists discovering & migrating to a new platform & a new category , thereby expressing libertarian outputs and monetize it.

Charity begins at home , I now have the confidence whenever I point & shoot or simply sketch, my work can be reusable , I am my biggest critic & my biggest fan 😊. I express gratitude for my soul to have thought about something that appears on some form of work of mine that means something  to me, someone , somewhere….

Everyone has a artist buried inside , until they ignite fire , who knew that a coconut seed can result in a gallon of oil when it fights its way out of the soil that has all the necessary encapsulated magic to amalgamate in the end product …so my friends without more fluff & pomp let’s go.

1. Take a few pictures with our point & shoot cameras or even our sophisticated gear while we are at the moment of the moment.
2. Let’s take a piece of plain paper 📝, gather our pencils ✏️, markers , water colors , sharpies and start from the center or corner and doodle or art away our mind at the moment 

Let’s just bring the artist out in us 

Let the creation begin ! 

Time to give yourself “Creative Commons Credit”.

I’m just waiting for someone to use mine & give me CCCredit , time to show some Altruism , when the world needs it the most.

Love all, pray for world peace ✌️ 

MyNFT collections on OpenSea.io

Some of my fav images i will share soon, please feel free to use them 😬

& finally me 😊

A Happier You, "serendipity of opportunities"

Image courtesy = me, this is my NFT 

Almost everyone in this pandemic has tried to look for core happiness from all activities in the boundaries of the new workplace, the new school = your Home

It goes without evidence that "When you are the happiest, you will accept anything and take it across the finish line, but when you are low/sad you will deflect and resist and procrastinate even the smallest if asks"

Why?

Just like how humans have cut down forests to civilize and form habitats of living, we have encroached into the spaces of our home to be able to operate "Business As Usual" during a worldwide pandemic.

Our home has become our new office, Our home has become our new school with different participants trying to achieve the same goal = Survive and keep the lights on, keep life on the PLAY Mode and not the PAUSE mode.

Having said that, the initial days were tough, but then there was a stabilization curve and then kicked in the real litmus test mode of being able to sustain yourself and operate happily and efficiently.

Most of us have found this phase to be the most challenging. What made the difference, was the ability to make lemonade when life threw lemons at us.

A Healthy Mind is a Healthy Body is a Happier you

Just like the body, the mind is the pillar of physical well being and the temple of cadence for you and everyone in your vicinity , many people turn for help looking inside , while they should be looking outside…

Also man is a social animal , why are you being otherwise and sulking in that corner , get up get out.

We all have walked the tough path of the pandemic and have socialized after some normalcy with our small bubbles and never realized that your mojo lies outside those bubbles.

So when god has given you all that you wanted like a work from home perpetual for many and conditionally for many , some of us have juiced out the offering , some of us have been procrastinating heavily on a start date…

Returning back to Mindfulness

…here’s what has worked for many including me to churn a crisis into a "serendipity of opportunities" …I’d recommend some if not all from this list below 

1. Getting lost, yet being mindful with "Long nature walks with your journal" : choose a time between 5 and 8 AM, carry your fav book or a journal , choose a walk path that burns out 90 minutes of your time and your picturesque should be nature staring at you, take some pictures along the way, talk to yourself (loudly or internally). When you are bored doing that stop find a bench , sit down read your fav book or an article or simply journal your thoughts….
   FIND A TRAIL, FOLLOW THE ROUTE, THROW A STONE in a discovered puddle
   
   
   
   

   
   
   
   
2. Music amalgamation: “The right music lights up your soul releases dopamine and ups your BDNF levels …..you surely have some form of digital music player like a old iPod, good old Walkman or just your Pandora, Spotify, Gaana or some app of your choice. Get wired in with your pods or your over the year and just sit in a place or take a walk and listen to 5-6 songs in loop , I promise you will come out of it happy as the music will stay in you echoing peace…..
   
   
3. "Breathing" Specifically Bramhri Pranayama(breathing exercise) : This specific pranayama opens up your Ajay chakra one of the 6 chakras of your body that resides in your head area.. Follow the below guidance video if you are familiar with Hindi at 19:12 of the video of Baba Ramdev here ………for the non Hindi understanding folks follow the below guide a) keep both your index fingers on your forehead your thumbs jamming your ear and your middle thru your pinky on your eyes and on the exhale on take loads of oxygen in and hold your breath for 10 seconds on the exhale out with loud chants of Om exhale….do this 10 times you will see flashes of your head channel opening , ideas that were in the back of your head suddenly appear in the front , if you were struggling with the solution to something feel that and the answers will appear in your eye forehead realm …quickly take your book and pen your thoughts and your energies coz this energy release is for few minutes only to be specific about 3 minutes…(It raises mental energy and pumps inner peace in bursts)…trust me on this you will thank me later…
   Bramhri pose
   
   Image credit: https://www.kaivalyayogaschool.com/
   
   
   
   
   
4. Reflection time : for those of you who use the iPhone you would have seen a new “reflection” mode in the Breath App : I was trying to tether the difference of breathe vs reflect and I’ve now understood it and gained perspective…before it used to be just breathing, but now you can run a segment on mindfulness for the time period that you can be most connected with yourself to reflect in the beginning or the end of the day. Try it and during that reflection period end, just pen down in your journal or a piece of paper or even your notes app on all the ideas, improvements, do's / don'ts that appeared in and out of your consciousness. I hate to use the word addiction, as its a negative attribute, i would say it will become a inspiring habit. 
   Other mindfulness apps are Headspace, Zen a Friend, Calm 
   
   Image credit:  9to5mac.com
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Zoom Out not Zoom In : I know we are all eFatigued being on umpteen zoom calls at work but hey i'm just asking for one Zoom call a month with your soul buddies that are struggling to collaborate with you in person with sharing something that you would have otherwise done on a bar table/a nature walk catch-up a morning bike ritual or some other conglomeration. This is a fact , don’t you miss this?, if you do then after the family is asleep setup a time, topic and some content to catch-up and chill with your herd…this will dissolve the agony aunt in you and fill the voids that you’ve been missing, mix a happy hour 🍻 in the Zoom Call and clink your buckets virtually for happiness & peace …

I have a few more methods I’ve adopted like a good night sleep, a picture on your table that gives you instant happiness, making music with your children, making those procrastinated phone calls, kicking humor into office calls that are uptight at times , over delivering on work and making yourself in-dispensable, attending almost all live or recorded conferences.

I think other than these...what works for many is rigorous exercise, like a run or a elliptical workout also instantly makes you happy as the brain releases BDNF (Brain derived neurotrophic factor hormones) that are guaranteed to make you happy.

I will leave you with this image that i had taken when me and my son planted tomatoes and the saplings just came out of earth staring at us with a smile, we smiled back...love yourself, stay calm ..peace !!!

Deconstructing Journaling “Dear Diary”

 

Have you stopped for a second, closed your eyes and reflected “What am I grateful for” ???? , every one at some point have a dear diary :).

…let me tell you a story before I delve into my deconstruction of Robin Sharma’s 7 reasons to JOURNAL and also parts of it are influential translations from #Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey. 

Create/own your content 

I am a point and shoot photographer, the Phone enables me EVERY SINGLE TIME to unleash my curiosity to discover subjects OF RELEVANCE. 

WHY DO I SAY SO ? 

….Why use someone else’s content when you can use yours and give yourself Creative Commons credit..😊

I POINT AND SHOOT & capture them on the go to use for all of my blogs, articles , white paper , tweets, Instagram posts what not, it gives you content to appreciate your magnitude of creativity…

Take a moment to recognize YOU , you are SPECIAL , you are CREATIVE. 

…Back to journaling 

Always ask yourself how to deconstruct what went right or wrong to introspect and constantly change your self. That great tool for deconstructing is journaling 

I’ve collated my understanding from the gurus on journaling that I write very regularly off late:

1. Journaling organizes your thinking : vague thinking leads to vague production , clarity brings mastery , so don’t fall prey to that a structured you will get you to your dreams faster manifesting it to reality , hence : write that down !
2. Journaling fosters hope : adversity is an opportunity to mastery. Journaling is your pre-production template …write it , pre commit to it and nature will make it happen…you will galvanize your confidence.
3. Journaling allows you to repeat and relive your favorite experiences: let’s deconstruct this with your life example (Write an experience really short)
4. Journaling Imprints deliberate gratitude : most of us rarely rest on our laurels or call out gratitude which is literally a muscle we all suffer from exercising…we literally take life for granted, scientifically & psychologically that feeling is called hedonic adaptation..after you have accomplished that milestone, feeling or dreams we rarely care about that anymore , a new car becomes old in a matter of minutes in your head…the only way we can rescue that beautiful feeling is by journaling deliberate gratitude for what we have and what others might not…
5. Journaling helps you process through and release LOW ENERGY EMOTIONS: 
6. Journaling accelerates Exponential learning Sustainability : when you write what you learnt it intrigues you for a follow up on scaling that learn process …you bring your best side forward , you will rock your craft when you realize that your have subconsciously 
7. JOURNALING ALLOWS YOU TO RECORD YOUR REMARKABLE LIFE : everyone is built for remarkability, Journaling allows you to visit your timeline in your own words your own graffiti. Every attribute is captured in a every scene of your life …when you read through that aggregation at your final frontier or any junction midway you know what you have sown to this day and IT WAS YOUR STRORY IN YOUR WORDS.

What are you waiting for ? All the supplies you need are staring at you 😊

A diary, a pen, a computer , an intent 

…peace !!

Stay safe stay well….

PS: thanks to my childhood friend and my best friend for giving me a Fresh diary on my India visit (old traditional diaries that businesses put out every calendar year House of Colors)

COVIDs “deep impact” to Procurement and SupplyChain, Is Blockchain one of the answer(s)?

Covid-19, the genesis of 2019’s outbreak & vivid outcomes challenging mankinds chapter of survival and an “art of preparation” for what can continue to remain a “new normal” for a while.

In the past few months I’ve been reading almost every single post from the McKinsey desk on how procurement and SupplyChain are impacted with COVID.

Every article is a must read and pretty much, every article demonstrates its append of the seriousness as the virus 🦠 outbreak itself.
Believe me, its not in your face sarcasm, but McKinsey at the end of the article asks you to click on something called “The Next Normal”, how companies and leaders can RESET for GROWTH beyond Coronavirus.
Image courtesy By Saurus Icon, ID , the Noun Project

I’m a SupplyChain and Procurement professional and it hits me the most when I see myself scrambling to get PPE for my own family’s safety , i've consumed almost 2 100 qty Masks and Nitrile glove supplies and have put them on a repeat replenishment (monthly)....the new normal also includes the way I shop online from multiple stores and then stock up , not hoard , replenish time to time.

The day the groceries show up at home is a day of implicit workout to move them from Door to Garage and then Garage to Refrigerator ....phew what a new normal we have been exposed to.

Even on the work front , the SupplyChain has beefed up to welcome a new streak of fast track vendors that can meet the needs during the pandemic , new ways of order ack. to safe delivery to  safe receiving , note the word SAFE has become an append to the business process. I think the new Covid streak supplier on-boarding questionnaire will be something like:
Do you deliver in a Socially Distanced mode?
What are your safety norms when it comes to ensuring Safe handling of goods?
How are the Warehouses ensuring sanitized handling of goods?
How quickly can you ship us from a quarantined zone?
Can you change/divert your truck/fleet cross docking zones to non-Covid zones?

…there are endless questions like these that are slammed on the Supply and Distribution network.
(First time I received something like my renewed passport without a POD or a Signature, not even a eSignature at the door, in a Socially Distanced manner”).

Primarily, SupplyChain(s) are at the epicenter of the outbreak with exposed warehouses, Warehouse personnel, etc. 
I don’t think any SupplyChain algorithm was ever built to handle a global pandemic that needs to cater to the enterprise where the work/goods need to be re-programmed to a non Covid location which is not at risk, does a location like that exist, I dont think so.

Risk mitigation doesn't look random to any Random Forest Machine Learning algorithms given every iteration is Covid prone.

In an over-simplified manner, I want to “unquote” that all of my reading has manifested into some of the below strategies like:

(a) Knee Jerk reactions of the SupplyChain.

(b) Near term strategies of the SupplyChain.

(c) Long Term strategies of the Supply Chain

And lastly.

(d) Phase(n) "net new recurrence mitigation" strategies of the SupplyChain.

(e) New Workplace re-design for a pandemic based future.

(f) New Remote working strategies where possible.

(g) New Leadership vision, empathy and appetite to deal with an Outbreak oriented task-force/workforce.

(h) Pandemic Agnostic SupplyChains.

there are several, but these happen to be trending techniques for survival.

I don't even want to detail out each one, as this post can get heavy and emotional at the same time :-).

Just like how we make the adjustments on the consumer side RISK , likewise a similar phased combat for the enterprise side RISK MITIGATION strategies are making copies of itself to keep pace with the virus.

In some cases, phased re-opening of workplaces for non essential workers are also adding to the chaos amidst the essential pieces that have to work for the show to go-on. 

First thing that has been put as a disaster recovery KPI is Supplier Management, followed by decentralization strategies for Distribution Network decentralization planning, re-hashing data governance, scrutiny of data, Provenance and Forensic evidence of the Track and Trace trust co-efficient...and more.

Notice the word Decentralization is also making copies of itself to the top of the priority checklist.
I think Blockchain was built to narrate the importance of Data Decentralization and its speed and accuracy and trust in a time-bound equation.
Blockchain’s favorite word to ensure risk mitigation via decentralization, provenance, track and trace are the answers to illustrate trust in parties that participate in commerce.
I think Blockchain was built for something like this and it will become the priority in the short term working with AI and ML and IOT.

Real physical SupplyChains cannot physically  decentralize, but the underlying systems can be, the underlying data can be and also IOT can help place that evidence on the ledger that proves that the Supplier/Warehouse/Parties in a commerce transaction are meeting the COVID standards of Social Distancing based commerce needs that can be trusted, without demonstrating trust.

Resiliency of people, processes are in a tandem grind like ping pong balls colliding with each other, but we have found a way, we always will and that is the hope I am leaving you with.
We just need to stay focused, be brave, be sensible and keep it together.

I will continue with future posts on Covid and the SupplyChain series of blogs to follow.

Is Procurement really new to Blockchain concepts like State Transitions, Smart Contracts & Consortiums ?

Is Procurement really new to Blockchain concepts like State Transitions, Smart Contracts & Consortiums ?

Procurement is not new to automated state transitions, can you guess why ?

Intelligent Procurement Processes.

• eAuctions demonstrate the native needs of smart contracts where bidding rules can be defined in a way where we can go straight from source to settle. 
• Release orders both scheduling agreements and POs resulting as release orders off of a Operational contracts are native state transitions.
• Sourcing strategies to cut POs off a RFQ/Quota Arrangement, Source List,Info record are also state transitions with some programmed and forecasted intelligence.
• MRP runs, intelligent forecasting algorithms that transition state based on inventory re-order points coupled with IOT based shelf driven ordering, driving Scheduling agreement or POs or Contracts are a thing of the past.

Image courtesy #thenounproject By Nithinan Tatah, TH

These are just some working examples of how procurement is demonstrating state transitions based on rules and logic to drive an end state automated decision or follow-on process 

What’s not locked in these state transitions is tokenization, consortium based organization and business process structures, that too is not a big deal if procurement goes the extra mile with “settling embed” in the source process at all logical end point state transitions.

How can procurement align with Blockchain 

...procurement still has underlying trust issues when it comes to 

• contingent staffing of verified resourcing.
• ATP commitment from suppliers.
• SupplyChain disruption due to changing dynamics of external factors affecting SupplyChain like epidemics (Corona virus SARS Ebola etc) or Brexit or some outlier like GDPR.
• Business Network, OnPremise based ERP systems to Consortium based Sourcing, Distribution and SupplyChain systems.

Viewing Business Networks as lean Consortiums as a head start for transformation

When we talk about the above processes we are still locked in via a business network like Ariba or Coupa or Trade-shift pretty much that most enterprises are locked into ....

....just coin a thought in your mind if each of these self contained enterprise ledgers were consortium driven based on some logic that brought them all together..

A scenario where eAuctions could be consortium operated or even operated in DLT/Blockchain mode where if nodes that bid on contracts that never depended on the security of one node being one company rather being decentralized and distributed consortiums of subscribed enterprises .....

If you were looking at FINALITY for settlement of the winning bid that is a given assuming everyone understands what staking means in the scheme of things 

We can have a new eAuction type called Proof of Stake eAuction where bidders stake a part of the bid and act as validating nodes on the eAuction to ensure there is competition and trust manifestation in the complete transaction....I think it’s just a configuration of 2 addl. parameters to an already state machine process with an added layer of trust running on a private or semi permissioned private blockchain ....

Conclusion

In closing I’d like to state that what if the business networks all came down due to a hack on the cloud that hosted these business networks, we still have a Decentralized Distributed network of Participating nodes comprising of Suppliers , Customers , Freight forwarders , shippers , container companies , warehouses, clearing houses , banks and financial SupplyChain entities that will keep the show on....

Procurement was never new to Blockchain concepts ...it’s an extension to an already intelligent process that …exists with some form of state transition intelligence across business objects.