Finding Tomorrow’s Procurement Professionals

The following are five observed trends that organizations are integrating into their procurement practices to better position themselves for weathering the current business landscape. These trends will allow supply management teams to deliver both immediate cost reductions and build long-term sustainable strategic advantages. The observed trends are:

1. Category-Led Supply Management

A current and key trend for strategic sourcing activities is the concept of “category-led supply management” (CLSM). This trend incorporates all stake holders, participating cross-functionally, in developing sourcing strategies that focus on corporate objectives, moving beyond simple cost containment.

2. Expanded Scope to Include Services

A focus on impacting services spend has emerged by strategically managing indirect spend and suppliers.

3. Skill-set Balancing

“There is an App for that!” Organizations are rationalizing staff, looking to do more with less, asking those who remain, to do more, faster. Training and developing resources is one of the top areas of focus for most human resource officers.

4. Sustainability & “Green” Sourcing

Companies are held accountable for the actions of their suppliers; there is no excuse for irresponsible behavior within your supply chain, be it pollution, labor mistreatment, or sub-par quality testing. Building an expertise in this area will be critical to Procurement organizations being able to maintain their leading role in executing corporate strategy.

5. Business Process Outsourcing

While tactical activities have been outsourced for quite some time, companies have begun to evaluate options to outsource the management of core category spend. This is especially true for categories that are strategic and large in size, but not necessarily driven by unique, proprietary specifications. Relationships should be driven by metrics such as Vested Outsourcing principles.