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www.bettermanagement.com

Supply Management, Dec 2, 2004 by Covell, Sam

WEBSITE

*****

The blurb on this website proudly invites you to "explore business issues, learn from experts, solve business problems and connect with thought leaders, industry visionaries and management resources".

So with much excitement I registered for full media access membership, the more extensive package of the two they have on offer. Both are free, although they do ask you for details of your business and you will be targeted by the sponsors of the site unless you opt out of various mailings.

The free items available are white papers, articles, research papers, newsletters, web seminars and video interviews, with more than 3,000 contributions from 250 sources.

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The content is excellent. Papers from Henley Management Centre sit alongside case studies from the US Navy. In the main, the content is centred on IT, financial services and processes that require measurement, but, for SM readers, there is an extensive library on supply chain management.

Members submit most of the material, so it is mainly from academics or suppliers with business tools to sell. The content reflects the interests of sponsors but there are some gems among the sales pitches.

The website also provides e-learning tools: the ones on offer when I visited were from Harvard Business School and cost about $185 each. There are also "master tool kits", which combine different formats (articles, seminars, e-learning courses and so on) aimed at helping you to understand quickly the critical issues in specific topics. Although the site accepts credit card payment from outside the US, all fees appear to be in dollars.

I also registered for newsletters on the website, and one has since arrived. It had some interesting points but content was largely provided by suppliers that had structured the articles around tools they were selling.

Overall, BetterManagement.com is easy to navigate round and its content relevant and of a reasonable standard, although it tends towards sales pitches in places. The initial excitement levels are back under control but the site is worth a look, particularly if you need to research how other companies have used various tools to solve their problems.

Sam Covell

Director of European sourcing Tyco

Business Services Industry

www.bettermanagement.com

Supply Management, Dec 2, 2004 by Covell, Sam

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