The Brave CPO Part 2 The Brave CPO: Dominant Stakeholders The Brave CPO: Dominant Stakeholders. That procurement must treat its stakeholders as customers in not in question. However, the notion that procurement must ‘Kowtow’ to these stakeholders for mutual benefit is absurd. While procurement must have a strategy to collaborate with stakeholders (touched upon in part 1 ) to build trust, … Read More
The Brave CPO: Managing Stakeholders
The Brave CPO Part 1 The Brave CPO: Managing Stakeholders The Brave CPO: Managing Stakeholders. In previous post I have talked about procurement’s internal challenges managing stakeholders and balancing their needs and wants with business requirements. To do this procurement must analyse its own goals and objectives and identify the key relationships necessary to attain these. Even if you’re meeting your … Read More
10 Reasons Why Companies Fail to Control Indirect Service Spending:
10 Reasons Companies Fail to Control Indirect Service Spending Many companies still fail to control indirect services as well as best in class organization. Here are some suggestions as to why they fail: 1. Tactical, not strategic focus 2. Lack of governance around the services spend 3. Fragmented spend & performance data 4. Inability … Read More
Sourcing Process Under Pressure
Sourcing Process Under Pressure Last week SM reported on a new sense of urgency in public procurement. The European Commission called on buyers to use an existing “accelerated procedure”, to cut tendering times by 57 days and as a result help deliver major projects faster. The purpose is to improve the economy by helping suppliers win business quicker, something that … Read More
Network Capable’ Buyers Needed:
Network Capable Buyers Needed: Network Capable Buyers Needed: “Is there a cause-and-effect relationship between the level of supply management networking and the performance of the supply chain—and ultimately the business”? 1. Key notable points from the report: Supply management’s ability to prove its strategic relevance and impact on corporate performance depends on its degree of integration. However, other functions … Read More
FSC Rules based risk management in the sourcing process:
FSC Rules based risk management in the sourcing process: FSC Rules based risk management in the sourcing process: The drive to develop leaner supply chains and introduce global sourcing has resulted in extended, more complex and vulnerable supply chains. The same pressures have also seen an increasing trend for many companies to adopt single sourcing to maximize their pricing leverage. … Read More
Relationship Management in the Supply Chain Finance (SCF) Domain:
Relationship Management in the Supply Chain Finance (SCF) Domain: Relationship Management in the Supply Chain Finance (SCF) Domain: Whilst it is critical for all companies to reduce their net working capital requirements to ensure sufficient liquidity in their business, it is also critical that they do so in a joined up way and not in isolated actions that put their … Read More
Contributing to the CEO’s Agenda: Procurement and Growth
Contributing to the CEO’s Agenda: Procurement and Growth Contributing to the CEO’s Agenda: Procurement and Growth. For the last year’s, growth and not cost savings has been on top of most CEO’s agendas. At the same time, they associate procurements contribution to the organization as delivering cost savings. This perception is clearly very damaging to procurements claim to play a … Read More
Negotiation: Managing the “Chumpion” Syndrome
The “chumpion” is a name give by sales people to the person(s) on the inside of the buyers organization that sales people befriend in order to reach out to his or her peers, dependents and superiors, to secure allies that have the ability to influence, move and marginalize procurement. The “chumpion” therefore, is at the heart of managing “back door … Read More
Beyond Cost Savings – Reprise
In an earlier post, I talked about the need for procurement leaders to move beyond cost savings. On my travels, it seems that many procurement leaders are still struggling to get their message across. So, if procurement cannot define its value then why should it be taken seriously by anyone else? To close the gap between procurement and the strategic … Read More