Procurement has come a long way. Ok, so sure there are those (myself included) who from time to time argue for the profession to be pushing for greater things and to be more honest about its failings, but it’s credit to the work of some outstanding individuals that today we can legitimately come together and discuss how best to impact shareholder value.
Partnerships and integrated relationships have long been touted in the academic and business communities as best practice procurement to drive long-term strategic advantage for particular categories. Yet, while the rhetoric sees no sign of abating, these relational approaches don't always live up to the hype.
As more procurement organisations join the fray to fight for a handful of individuals with the capabilities to take their functions forward, the message they’re selling them isn’t always one that can compete with other areas of the business.
Where would companies be without good procurement? It's worth asking - perhaps procurement doesn't always grab the headlines for the right reasons, but that's not to say that some of the most important facets of any business don't rely on effective purchasing and supply chain.
Last year I wrote about the tremendous opportunity procurement has to become a more strategic asset by collaborating more closely with finance. This has been a common theme in discussions with many CPOs regarding the future of procurement.
Let there be no mistake – commodity volatility is a huge opportunity for today's crop of procurement chiefs. Yet, even some of the most sophisticated purchasing organisations are looking nervous in the face of margin-eroding raw materials costs. So what do they do?
This guest post by Ivan Skoric, head of digital production at Charterhouse discusses the benefits of decoupling in digital marketing, looks for answers behind the recent report that procurement and marketing are still in conflict, particularly in relatively new areas of spend, such as digital marketing.
Some people truly believe that China is going to stop being the world's workshop. It's been discussed and debated for years – I've had my stab at the subject before and I've seen many prominent writers proclaiming the end of China as a low-cost sourcing destination. But no-one's been right so far: China is still number 1. Why?
It must be depressing to watch the smart and the ambitious flooding past your team on to other more glamorous roles. What makes it doubly frustrating for procurement, is that where they're missing out is often because of misconceptions about what procurement is or does. But are procurement chiefs doing enough to combat that?
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Steve Hall
