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Most recent newsletters
Spring 2013 editorial
Wednesday 20th March 2013
On many previous occasions I have mentioned that forecasting is a very complex and inaccurate business. As a statistician, I have never been comfortable forecasting a commodity movement without a good degree of accuracy...
Biofuel - efficiently using the land
Wednesday 20th March 2013
With fuel supply always subject to the whims of countries and markets far beyond the control of its own government and no domestic alternative, Germany has looked to the vast open disused spaces...
Sow stalls and battery cages
Wednesday 20th March 2013
Animal welfare is something close to many people’s hearts, especially it seems in the EU, where in the past two years two new pieces of animal welfare legislation have been implemented...
Mintec launches new reports portfolio
Wednesday 20th March 2013
We have used our 30 years’ experience, knowledge and understanding of commodity and raw material markets to produce a portfolio of comprehensive reports...
Market movements - March 2012 to 2013
Wednesday 20th March 2013
Sentiment has been mixed across commodity markets as concerns over the global economic outlook persisted, despite some positive news from China and the US...
Change series in a Datagain model
Wednesday 20th March 2013
When working with cost models in Datagain you may decide to change a series within your graph, perhaps to observe the effect of a substituted commodity...
Winter 2012 editorial
Thursday 20th December 2012
We are rapidly approaching the end of an eventful 2012. The New Year will bring a lot of forecasts by ‘experts’ on any topic imaginable. In my experience the ‘experts’ will be 80-90% wrong. Why is that? Let us look at a simple example…
Mintec gives ‘tyreless’ effort for 2013 charity event
Thursday 20th December 2012
In July 2013, four of our bravest staff members will be taking on the Snowdonia Charity Challenge and this great endeavour led us to stop and think a little about tyres and rubber.
New complimentary Datagain webinars
Thursday 20th December 2012
As part of our expanding training portfolio and in keeping with our blended learning approach, Mintec Training are very pleased to offer all Datagain subscribers access to our new complimentary monthly webinar sessions.
Intelligent Purchasing Course 2013
Thursday 20th December 2012
Intelligent Purchasing is a fast-track strategic category management event, hosted by Mintec and based on a fictional food manufacturing business.
Market movements - Nov 2011 to Nov 2012
Thursday 20th December 2012
Whilst the European economy appears to be successfully resisting any and all efforts at recovery, with a fall back into recession seen in Q3 2012, the US has had more promising signs with a continuing rise in consumer confidence and an improvement in the US labour market.
Datagain help - keyboard shortcuts
Thursday 20th December 2012
Most software packages have keyboard shortcuts designed to save you time when navigating through their features. Datagain is no different
30 years of commodity price movements
Wednesday 26th September 2012
In the editorial I have promised to look at changes in the commodity world in the last 30 years. Let us look at that world from a personal perspective. Working in procurement you are certainly a person who always strives to achieve the best deal (whether that is value or cost). In an abstract way let’s compare today in relation to the world 30 ago, you might well be surprised at number of good bargains available!
Datagain help - currency effects
Wednesday 26th September 2012
When we purchase a product or a service from a foreign location, you can pay in your own local currency or in that of the country of origin. In order to get the best value it is important to identify and quantify the effects of currency exchange rates.
Training for procurement professionals
Wednesday 26th September 2012
Datagain is widely recognised as a highly valuable tool when used to prepare for price negotiations. As a client we want you to get the most out of Datagain and the data contained within it. We have listened to your feedback and we now have three courses available
Autumn 2012 Editorial
Wednesday 26th September 2012
When Mintec was founded, Ronald Reagan was US president, Margaret Thatcher was the UK's prime minster, Gorbachev was struggling with perestroika and China was still in deep communism. Mintec celebrates its 30 year anniversary this month and we are still going strong!
Rare earth metals
Wednesday 19th September 2012
Have you ever wondered how energy saving light bulbs shine, the permanent magnetics in consumer electronics attract and repel or how catalysts, catalyse?
Market movements - Aug 2011 to Aug 2012
Thursday 13th September 2012
A clear differential has been opening up between rising food and falling non-food commodity prices in the last 12 months (August 2011 and August 2012). Food and feed prices have shown some significant increases year-on-year, mainly associated with the hike in grain and oilseed prices as a result of dry weather in Russia, the widely reported drought in the US and as a result of this year’s delayed and weak Indian monsoon.
Summer 2012 Editorial
Wednesday 30th May 2012
Recently the news in Europe has been dominated by the precarious situation of the Euro and has led me to think about impact on businesses should Greece potentially leave the Euro. Some organisations with close links to Greece would clearly suffer. However in most cases I do not believe we will notice a lot of change.
Papaya – The bare necessities
Wednesday 30th May 2012
Ever since I first saw the Disney classic The Jungle Book and heard the song The Bare Necessities Of Life I've wondered what a papaya is and why a Central American fruit cropped up in a film based in India.
Partnering global procurement events 2012
Wednesday 30th May 2012
Mintec is very pleased to announce that we will again be partnering with the Procurement Leaders Network (a global membership-led community focused exclusively for executive-level procurement, sourcing and supply chain management professionals) and participating in three important industry events this summer and autumn.
Crude oil and its derivatives
Wednesday 30th May 2012
Crude oil is formed under specific environmental conditions from fossils in a process which takes millions of years. It is used as a source of energy and also as a raw material for many of the products that we most commonly use every day. As long as we do not know how to produce less expensive substitutes for it on our own, it remains an almost irreplaceable, essentially non-renewable resource.
Market Movements - Apr 2011 - Apr 2012
Wednesday 30th May 2012
Worsening economic news in Europe and less favourable growth prospects in Asia have put a brake on world commodity demand and many prices were down year-on-year in the second quarter of 2012 as a result. Some positive US economic indicators were seen as the car industry has bounced back
Datagain help - saving graphs in Datagain
Wednesday 30th May 2012
One of the best reasons for saving graphs within Datagain is that when new information is processed by the system, they will automatically update with the latest data when they are re-opened and you can just as easily share them with your colleagues using the copy graph facility.
Spring 2012 Editorial
Tuesday 28th February 2012
How to understand numbers around us? That depends on the presenter. We would view with cynicism any number provided by a politician, yet we would celebrate the meteorologist telling us about a period of forthcoming glorious sunshine. We would look at the results of medical research with a certain leaning
Mintec returns to FiE 2011
Tuesday 28th February 2012
The 25th anniversary show of Food Ingredients Europe was held in Paris at the end of November and after a 15+ year hiatus and with much excitement, Mintec returned to the event. The exhibition which is now regarded as the platform for the development and evolution
Mintec films make their premiere
Tuesday 28th February 2012
Each year the Daily Telegraph hosts a select series of short films via the Business Club channel of their website. The series of films feature successful companies who have interesting and individual stories to tell, which business leaders can learn from. Mintec were invited to tell their story
Spring lamb
Tuesday 28th February 2012
Spring is fast approaching in Europe, the days are starting to grow longer, leaves are returning to the trees and new born lambs will soon be visible in the fields. In the next couple of months people will start to think about lamb on their plates too, as demand for lamb products in Europe reaches a peak during the spring months
Market movements - Feb 2011 - 2012
Tuesday 28th February 2012
Improved supply prospects and weakening demand has helped prices to fall for a wide range of agricultural commodities over the last 12 months. Production forecasts for the major food commodities have been larger than expected at the start of the season which has helped to replenish stocks
Datagain help - reporting from Datagain
Tuesday 28th February 2012
On a monthly basis we are required to produce management reports, category overviews and price movement reports, I am sure this is a familiar requirement within your own organisation. As valuable as the information is there is always a heavy time requirement to produce them.
Mintec public training courses
Tuesday 13th December 2011
With the installation of the Datagain system, training can be just as important as the data contained within it. However, over time we understand that new staff members are recruited and a key requirement in their role is to use and understand Datagain.
Winter 2011 editorial
Tuesday 13th December 2011
We have just returned from the Food Ingredients 2011 exhibition in Paris. For the past 25 years the event has been the platform for showcasing the development and evolution of the food and beverage industry and this year’s talking point was largely centred on stevia sweetener.
Launch of new Tender Reports
Tuesday 13th December 2011
As some of you may already be aware, we have been working to review and improve our commodity reporting. We are proud to announce that as of the 9 December our brand new Tender Report service has been launched.
Money matters for the wine cellar
Tuesday 13th December 2011
It’s that time of year again. Those few weeks of festivity when self-restraint can go out of the window, when one mince pie becomes two, the normal glass of wine, becomes two glasses which then rapidly becomes gallons. Although this may not be the case for yourself, I am sure the situation is familiar.
Market movements - Nov 2010 - 2011
Tuesday 13th December 2011
Although most commodity prices have continued to rise year-on-year, there is a definite shift in the pattern. This last quarter has seen increasing economic and financial worries fuelled by high levels of debt in Italy and Greece as well as political unrest in Libya and Syria
Datagain help – series selection and specification
Tuesday 13th December 2011
As you know, each of our subscribers have content of their Datagain system tailored to suit their business. The initial database is created through experience and understanding of your organisation and we aim to include all the series we think you might find useful; however this list does
Autumn 2011 editorial
Friday 30th September 2011
I have just read an old book called Green Rust written in 1920 by Edgar Wallace. It is a detective story revolving around a doctor who developed a germ which on application, instantly killed wheat fields. His idea was to set up a network of agents to destroy most of the world wheat crops ...
Apple harvest is looking rosy
Friday 30th September 2011
After what turned out to be a poor 2010 apple crop, the industry was looking forward to the 2011 forecasts. The estimates have just been released by the World Apple and Pear Association (WAPA), from a conference taking place in Ljubljana, Slovenia …
Important industry events
Friday 30th September 2011
Mintec Limited is pleased to announce that we will be participating in two important industry events this winter. The Procurement Leaders Forum in Boston, USA on the 9 November closely followed by the FIE2011 exhibition in Paris which is being held from the 29 November to the 1 December …
Understanding the professional buyer
Friday 30th September 2011
The last few years have seen a revolution in purchasing practices, largely the result of a massive increase in the knowledge of the buyer. No longer do they need to wait patiently for sales people to call, and when they do, it’s a fair bet that the buyers know more about the selling company …
Market movements - Aug 2010 - 2011
Friday 30th September 2011
The price of most commodities have risen year-on-year, but some falls have been seen in recent months fuelled by concerns over the health status of the world economy and the effect that this could have on the global demand for both agricultural and industrial products …
Datagain help - online training videos
Friday 30th September 2011
You may already be familiar with the Datagain help tutorials available at www.mintec.ltd.uk/help/. These are documents which explain a variety of tasks when using Datagain. We have now developed a series of e-learning tutorials that cover the same tasks …