Can Procurement continue to operate as it has for many years?
Can Procurement professionals continue to simply manage categories and focus all their attention on getting better deals from their supply chain?
I believe that the answer to these two questions is the same – absolutely not!
As the global economy sways in the wind almost daily at the moment, Procurement professionals have the opportunity to jump up, grab hold of the opportunity and drive change in the way that organisations think about and manage the supply chain.
Collaboration is the future and Procurement can and indeed should look to drive a collaborative spirit into the heart of every organisation (both private and public). Having worked with many organisations, I’m still surprised that;
- organisations still operate in silos – this is at the root of some of the issues in the UK public sector where departments do not collaborate at all
- category management is at the very core of procurement functions but this tends to focus on driving better deals with suppliers rather than looking at improving the end to end planning process
In future, we need to ensure that a collaborative spirit is applied across the whole organisation.
Collaboration is required throughout the supply chain process, from planning to ultimate delivery. It’s only when we get all of the key people (both internal and external) around the table to discuss openly the challenges faced by the organisation will sustainable solutions be found. Operating is a position of openness and true partnership is the way to go. Embrace every part of the supply chain to take maximum advantage of their expertise and knowledge.
Procurement functions are in an ideal position to take advantage of this opportunity – to become the conductor, the facilitator, the devils advocate.
Yes Procurement has a future, but not as we know it presently!
Collaboration is just one of the areas that I focus upon in the latest FREE three part video series, where I take a look at the four core elements required to deliver ever greater value from your existing (and future) procurement activities.
Click on the image below, sign up and watch the first video immediately….
