Strategy . Influence . Innovation . Process

“Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run There’s still time to change the road you’re on.” From Stairway to heaven by Led Zeppelin CPOs everywhere can learn from this line from the classic track in tackling purchasing’s own “chicken or the egg” dilemma: Without a top level mandate, [...]

Thames Water’s £2.5bn procurement outsourcing deal with Efficio has recieved significant attention and has received praise for its boldness and innovative “integrated” model. The deal with Efficio outsources Thames Waters strategic and operational spend in a five-year contract to manage £500 million spend a year. Problem is (for me at least) Efficio had previously led [...]

Procurement is now front & centre of the business world. So when will CEO’s place it at the centre of their business strategy? If ever there were a set of conditions to emphasize the procurement functions strategic place in business and the modern world, it is the current maelstrom of recession, sovereign debt, gathering inflation, [...]

So far I personally have been impressed with Cameron, who has not been afraid to focus on the big issues; PS procurement being one of them. However, his recent remarks condemning public sector buyers as the “enemies of enterprise” are akin to blaming the foot soldiers rather than the generals setting strategy. There is much [...]

The start of 2011 has seen a debate about procurement’s challenges as the combination of austerity drives and economic recovery converge.
 
Some commentators say the profession risks falling back into obscurity once the recovery really gathers pace. I share this concern, which was heightened by the recent SM Poll showing that cost reduction remains the number [...]

While buyers have had to manage rising commodity prices over the past decade, a whole generation of buyers have had no experience of high levels of inflation and significant price increase requests across all spend. For their more experienced colleagues – who were at work in the 1970s and 1980s – dealing with such requests [...]

Here is our first ‘best of’ – a four part review of our thoughts and comments in 2010.  Here in part 4 we profile: ‘Procurement Capabilities’ The Corporation as a Negotiating Entity (Part 1): A three part guide for CEO’s, CFO’s and purchasing leaders on developing a corporate level capability to negotiate Here in Part [...]

Here is our first ‘best of’-  a four part review of our thoughts and comments in 2010.  Here in part 3 we profile: ‘Government Procurement’ David Cameron – The Brave PM? Prior to the election Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor known as the Oracle of Omaha, was quoted in Business Week as saying he doesn’t [...]

Here we argue that procurement must first adopt the right self image before it can convince others of its value: First impressions Procurement professionals are indoctrinated into the profession with messages such as “you have to take the internal customer along with you”, “you have to persuade them” and “you have to get their buy-in [...]

Part 2: Innovation & Technology Here in our first ‘best of’ -  a four part review of our thoughts and comments in 2010. Here in part 2 we profile ‘Innovation & Technology’ CPO’s:Don’t miss the innovation opportunity Procurement has achieved great things with the strategic sourcing process. It provided a uniform, robust approach to sourcing [...]