This Week in Procurement: Procurement's New Dawn

1.
MUST READ

Today’s “Must Read” is a post by Art of Procurement alumni Alex Short of Old St Labs. Alex pens a passionate piece where he shares his perspective that procurement-led innovation is “the future”:

“The best CPO’s out there are interested in value creation, innovation and competitive advantage. And guess what, procurement is perfectly positioned as the conduit to both the inside and outside world. Simply put, procurement touches every part of the business and could if positioned right not only re-connect our internal silos that so often hinder us, but also nurture and develop the supplier relationships to bring innovation and a wealth of knowledge into the business through seamless collaboration”.

I wholeheartedly share Alex’s view, whether it be as a centralized function or a decentralized pool of supply market experts.Today, I feel that our vision extends only so far as to become a business partner – someone who helps the business optimize their existing needs.

In my opinion, the real difference makers will be those who transcend the traditional procurement framework to become brokers of innovation – whether it be product (Direct Procurement) or delivery model (Indirect Procurement).

Do you agree? Check out the article, and then jump into the LinkedIn comments.Procurement’s New Dawn | Alex Short, Old St Labs

2.
OTHER INTERESTING ARTICLES

Procurious is really stealing the show this week with a ton of great content in the run up to their Big Idea Summit in London. At a minimum, I’d recommend you check out:

Do You Belong to a Procurement Dream Team? | Chris Cliffe, CJC Procurement

Three Economic Indices You Can’t Ignore in Procurement | Kelly Barner, Buyers Meeting Point

Resistance is Futile, Disruption in Coming! | Mark Stevenson, We Do Things Differently

The Coming Backlash Against Artificial Intelligence and How To Handle It | Manoj Saxena, Cognitive Scale

Should Procurement Pro’s Be Concerned About Global Trade? | Dr Linda Yueh, Economist, Broadcaster and Author

Elsewhere in the procurement blogosphere this week:

Supplier Rationalization, and Who Drops Out? | Claudia Roth, Unblandeur

The Importance of Vision, Messaging and Alignment | Scott Jancy

How to Win at the Digital Transformation of Procurement | Bertrand Maltaverne, POOL4TOOL

Cost Driver Analysis: Increase Visibility to Increase Savings | Stan Garber, Scout RFP

3.
PROCUREMENT & SERVICE PROVIDER NEWS

Deloitte CPO Survey 2017: Cost, Risk and Digital are Top Priorities to Improve Growth in Uncertain Times | Deloitte Press Release

(On next week’s Art of Procurement, I will be joined by CPO Survey Report co-author Lance Younger to go beyond the numbers)

Under New Owner and CEO, SciQuest Changes Name to Jaggaer | Lauren Ohnesorge, Triangle Business Journal

4.
ON THE ART OF PROCUREMENT

My guest on the Art of Procurement this week was Drew Polin, President of wireless expense reduction firm, OpDecision.

Our conversation was split into two different topics. First, we talked gainsharing, and what organizations can do to effectively lever – rather than be taking advantage of – gainsharing commercial models.

We then transition into wireless, as Drew shares some to the strategies and tactics that you can use to reduce your wireless spend in 2017, without having to change out your supplier.

Listen in:

Podcast: AOP 121: How to Reduce Your Wireless Spend Without Switching Suppliers

5.
OTHER STUFF

Are you going to be in London on February 22nd? If so, I highly recommend that you check out an after-work meet up hosted by Simona Pop and Bertrand Maltaverne. Simona puts on a mean event, so this is one you won’t want to miss out on!

I’m disappointed to miss out, but if you are in the London area you have no excuses!

After Work Meet Up Invite – Meet Up of Forward Thinking Procurement Minds

Until next time…