Why Your LinkedIn Profile Might Be Holding You Back for Procurement Recruitment opportunities Over the past few weeks, I’ve spoken with a number of highly skilled procurement professionals, people with impressive CVs and deep experience across sourcing, supplier management, and contract negotiation. But there’s been a common thread: many of their LinkedIn profiles are missing the detail that recruiters rely on to find them. As a Procurement Recruitment Specialist, I don’t just rely on job ads to find talent. Like most recruiters, I spend a lot [ Read More ]

Blackbook co-founder Matt Simpson talks to Relaunch Your Career podcast host Leah Lambart about the current job market and the challenges faced by job seekers and employers.

Resume Template As recruitment specialists, we see hundreds of job applications. So we understand the importance of having a clear, concise resume. Save time building and formatting your resume, so you can focus on what matters most - finding your next job. The editable resume template is built in an easy-to-read layout and comes with inbuilt tips to help you build your best resume. Download the Resume Template in Microsoft Word format (.docx) to start building your resume today. Download your free professional [ Read More ]

Coca-Cola European Partners’ $9.3 billion offer for Coca-Cola Amatil took shareholders by surprise but given the bottler’s underperformance over the past decade it was only a matter of time before Australia’s largest non-alcoholic beverage bottler was consumed by another Coke bottler. Atlanta-based The Coca-Cola Co acquired a majority stake in Coca-Cola Amatil in 1989 and as its major shareholder, major supplier and franchisor, it has been arguably calling the shots ever since, despite the company’s efforts to maintain the appearance of independence. Most of CCA’s [ Read More ]

False assumptions about hiring being easier now are driving incredibly unrealistic expectations around pricing that suppliers must push back on. Businesses are saying, “oh it’s COVID, we should be able to pay 10 grand less”, says Blackbook Executive director Clinton Holmes. And they’re asking recruiters if they have a “COVID recruitment rate”, he tells Shortlist, with the rationale that “it’s easy for you guys at the moment, you should cut us a deal”. The risk is that some recruitment agencies will offer “ridiculous rates that we’ll never [ Read More ]

Our onboarding process makes it easier for contractors and employers. Sourcing Contract Opportunities The bulk of contract opportunities are not widely advertised. Employers often go directly to agencies for efficiency on short term assignments. Working with a specialist in the contractors area opens up a section of the job market that is not advertised on job boards. Rate Negotiation Most people have in mind what their annual salary expectations are but converting this to an hourly or daily rate can be daunting. With regular [ Read More ]

An online logistics company backed by AFR Rich Lister Ruslan Kogan is considering raising external capital or an initial public offering after investing $40 million into robotic fulfilment centres. eStore Logistics, which delivers more than 20 million online orders a year for pure-play and omni-channel retailers including Kogan.com, Temple & Webster, Myer and David Jones, is opening two state-of-the-art fulfilment centres in Melbourne which use AI-enabled robots to help speed up deliveries. The two-year, $40 million investment will double eStore’s capacity, from about 35,000 square metres to 70,000 square [ Read More ]

The COVID-19 crisis has upended local and global economies, disrupted supply chains and prompted politicians and the global citizenry alike think about what sort of world we want to live in. The immediate focus is on economic recovery but the subsequent focus on reform represents an opportunity for meaningful change. In Australia, our manufacturing and knowledge sector capabilities provide an opportunity to re-think the pre-COVID economic paradigm that places little value on waste, inequality and environmental destruction. It is time to use our strengths [ Read More ]

We are currently experiencing demand from our customers across Australia and NZ for a range of temporary and contracting options. Due to this we are working with several strong candidates across these key areas: Demand Planning Supply Planning Warehouse management Transport Scheduling Inventory Control Continuous Improvement Supply Chain Project Management The benefit of working with Blackbook Contracting Solutions Payroll system and ability to onboard contractors very quickly As a specialist we have a deep knowledge of the functions, meaning we have an extensive pool of [ Read More ]

You may not realise it but the Tim Tams you nibble on in front of the TV once the kids are in bed are made in the western suburbs of Sydney, the Cheerios your kids eat (or spill) are made at Wahgunyah in north east Victoria, and the Don footy franks are produced at Castlemaine on the Victorian goldfields. These are just three examples of the goods made by the nation’s biggest manufacturing sector, the food and grocery manufacturing industry, which makes goods generating [ Read More ]

Coles partners with Microsoft to ‘transform’ shopping experience Coles is partnering with global technology leader Microsoft to transform its shopping experience through artificial intelligence (AI). The strategic partnership will see Coles adopt enterprise data platform Microsoft Azure to deliver a more personalised and data-driven customer experience. The cloud-based system will provide advanced analytics across the supermarket business and enable the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in its physical stores and throughout the supply chain. Read more on our LinkedIn page.

Oomami to bring farmers’ market experience online. Australia’s food and grocery sector is a $114 billion industry, but one that is mostly in the hands of a few major players. Figures from IBIS World show that in most food sectors a handful of large corporates generate over 50 per cent of industry revenue with thousands of smaller producers generating less than half. Jump over to our LinkedIn page to read the full article

FMCG giant Nestlé has released a new snack bar, titled YES!, that’s packaged in recyclable paper. The company has for the first time created a confectionery bar in paper using a high-speed flow wrap technology. This type of fast production is usually used with plastic films and lamination. Nestlé said in a statement that this is part of its pledge to make all product packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025. The paper is from sustainable sources, certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and The Program for [ Read More ]

FMCG giant Mondelēz has announced it will acquire a majority interest in nutrition bar business Perfect Snacks. The company’s organic, non-GMO, nut-butter based protein bars and bites will join Mondelēz’ popular brands including Oreo, Cadbury, Milka, belVita and Tate’s. Perfect Snacks was inspired by Bud Keith and one of his children turned his original recipe into a brand in the US. It responsible for Perfect Bar, Perfect Kids Refrigerated Snack Bars and Perfect Bites Refrigerated Protein Snacks. In 2018, the business generated about US$70 [ Read More ]

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released new data on 11 June confirming manufacturing employment is on the rise with the March quarter having more than six per cent of all jobs in Australia were in manufacturing. The number of filled jobs in manufacturing has declined around 20,000 jobs in the past five years – from around 900,000 jobs in March 2014 to 880,000 in March 2019. However, in the past 12 months manufacturing jobs have increased to 16,000 jobs, and 10,000 in [ Read More ]

Woolworths is investing $30.05 million in global mealkit company Marley Spoon in a strategic partnership aimed at growing the Marley Spoon and Dinnerly brands. The five-year deal includes the purchase of $7 million worth of Marley Spoon shares by Woolworths, equating to a nine per cent stake in the meal kit company. Through the partnership Marley Spoon expects to benefit from Woolworths’ industry experience and large customer base and will work with its sourcing and supply chain teams. “The partnership gives us access to [ Read More ]

Australia’s Murray River Organics (MRO) has been granted a licence to grow low-THC cannabis in Australia. Agriculture Victoria gave the company the green light to grow the plant on its Nangiloc property, opening up opportunities for the vine fruit producer to enter this growing market. “The Australian hemp market is in its infancy; the Company now has the potential to be the first large scale grower of organic hemp in Australia to meet the strong demand in global markets,” MRG chief executive Valentina Tripp [ Read More ]

SIMEC Energy Australia (SEA), a member of Sanjeev Gupta’s global GFG Alliance, has signed a key strategic partnership with Shanghai Electric for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) for the Cultana Solar Farm project in South Australia earlier this week. According to the press statement on the GFG Alliance website, the agreement was signed by GFG Alliance executive chairman and CEO, Sanjeev Gupta, and President of Shanghai Electric, Huang Ou. Cultana is the first project of SIMEC Energy Australia’s landmark US$1 billion, 1GW dispatchable renewable [ Read More ]

With online shopping growing at exponential rates, it is inevitable that online shoppers will want to return some purchases, and until recently, returns have been treated by both shoppers and retailers as a hassle. But in 2019, returns policies can be make or break for retailers who are facing a dilemma – how to respond to increasingly demanding consumer expectations without killing their profits in the process. Power Retail has examined the issue in its latest Spotlight Series monthly report titled ‘Returns – The Profit Killer?’. The report [ Read More ]

Supermarket giant Woolworths will trial data embedded (or 2D) barcodes in stores from August 2019 to help reduce food waste and sales of expired products. The supermarket is collaborating with Hilton Foods and Ingham’s by putting 2D barcodes on fresh meat and poultry products sold at supermarkets nationally. “We’re proud to be the first Australian supermarket to invest in this technology, and hope it can help us further reduce food waste. 2D barcodes have immense potential and we’re excited to see how they will [ Read More ]

When Coles recently announced it was spending $1 billion on two state-of-the-art automated warehouses, it would seem a logical leap to assume that jobs in warehouses will very soon be a thing of the past. The reality is somewhat more complicated. It’s true: simple warehousing roles involving “packing and stacking” are already harder to come by, as supply chains change at a rapid pace. But these same changes – driven in part by the boom in online shopping – mean those with skills in [ Read More ]

As local industry looks to build on recent momentum, how do manufacturers plan to meet the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities awaiting them in 2019? Mark Goodsell, head of the Australian Industry Group in NSW, explains. Manufacturing entered 2019 with a lot of momentum built up over the past 2-3 years. With 85,000 jobs created by the industry in 2018, it was among the highest of any sector according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. It has been a period of growth [ Read More ]

New Zealand’s iconic ice cream company Tip Top has been sold to international dessert business Froneri for NZ$380 million. Fonterra CEO Miles Hurrell described the sale as “bittersweet”. “It’s been a privilege being the guardians of Tip Top, but it’s time to hand the baton to new owners,” he said in a statement earlier today. “The well-loved brand needs continuing investment and focused ownership to be sustainable for generations to come. It’s not something we’re in a position to do right now.” Hurrell confirmed Fonterra has [ Read More ]

The research report published on Poultry Meat Processing Equipment Market 2019 Revenue Analysis, Challenges Ahead, Industry Insights, Supply, Growth Drivers, Trends, and Forecasts 2019-2028. Poultry Meat Processing Equipment market research report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global Poultry Meat Processing Equipment industry for 2019-2028. The report contains several important factors to advanced market intelligence which play a crucial part in planning companies and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in Poultry Meat [ Read More ]

In the early 2000’s the All Blacks Rugby team was going through a rough patch. One of world sport’s most successful teams was knocked out of the World Cup and had allowed a drunk and disorderly culture to creep in. A new management team came in and before changing anything they recognised a need to place emphasis on personal character. They came up with the mantra ‘Better people make better All Blacks’. Poor behaviour would no longer be ignored because that person was a [ Read More ]

We sat down with a Software Development Manager from Planet Innovation to find out about the industry and jobs in software engineering, as well which skills are currently in demand and some of the challenges encountered. Why did you choose to get into Software Engineering? When looking at the other disciplines I found mechanical was limited to the psychical world and similar restrictions with electronics. What I found in software was a high degree of freedom and the challenges that come with it. What [ Read More ]