The Changing Face of Procurement Professionals

                                          

The Changing Face of Procurement Professionals

By Sathya Menon 

After the global financial crisis, companies are actively looking for skillful, qualified procurement professionals who can cut costs, optimize global supply chain functions and deliver potential savings.

Internationally qualified procurement professionals are the key to creating a cost-conscious culture in the organization. They are poised to become change leaders instead of mere order takers.

Ineffective governance, policies and procedures or a lack of appropriate procurement engagement usually result in faulty purchasing decisions. Companies who are not fully leveraging their spend, are leaving themselves open to business and commercial risk.

In many procurement departments, there is no sufficient focus on monitoring and tracking compliance with companies facing real challenges in maintaining control over both direct and indirect spend, and in supporting demand management activities.

Marketplaces worldwide are witnessing an unprecedented pace of change. As a result, businesses are rapidly re-evaluating their operating models and market strategies not just to withstand these market forces, but also to capitalize on them.

 Procurement professionals have a significant role to play in helping organizations achieve their objectives and prepare for the uncertainty ahead.

 Highly mature procurement departments have stepped-up their game, fundamentally changing the way they work with the business and – as a result – are increasingly taking a leadership role in helping drive growth and reduce costs across the organizations.

For the Procurement function to achieve a place at the table, more work should be done to align to key stakeholders and understand the business operations.

This means moving up the value chain to ensure that the function is involved much earlier in the decision-making processes and clearly demonstrating how active involvement adds tangible value to both the bottom and the top lines.

 The procurement process needs to be reoriented to include other value-added services to the business. This requires a culture-shift, taking procurement away from the tactical, category-focused culture that seems to dominate most functions, to one that is fully aligned with the organizational goals and active in the strategic decision-making processes of the business.

No doubt, Chief Purchase Officers (CPOs) and Supply Chain Directors will increasingly find themselves reassessing their operating models to squeeze greater value from their activities around the world.

 Handy Hints

·       Companies not fully leveraging their spend, are at risk.

·       Skilled procurement professionals can deliver potential savings for the company.

·       The highlight is on transforming from mere order takers to effective change leaders.  

 

(Ends)

Sathya Menon is Director, Academics, Blue Ocean Academy.