Functional capabilities: Elevating procurement in an age of disruption

In an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment, procurement teams have proven their value time and again during a period of almost unprecedented disruption.

But with new disruptors, additional pressures and heightened expectations, the tools and capabilities that have enabled procurement to reach this point may not be enough in future.

As businesses look to move into a new age, procurement functions face new disruptive forces and, with them, a fresh set of challenges. Now, leaders find themselves at a crossroads: the march of new technology could carry procurement with it, downgrading the function to a highly automated, scaled-down irrelevance. Alternatively, liberated from the assignments that have hamstrung the function for so long, CPOs can step forward into a new era of empowered, elevated procurement. An era in which procurement is a data-led, forward-thinking, trusted adviser that holds the confidence and attention of the enterprise.

New research from Procurement Leaders, published in partnership with Interos, reveals that for CPOs to translate this vision for an elevated procurement organisation into a reality, they must invest in and reimagine the foundations on which their functions are built, namely:

• People: Reshaping procurement talent to meet the demands of modern businesses, creating focused specialised positions to deliver on emerging priorities while embracing rotation and on-demand workforces.
• Process: Building beyond source-to-pay to embed procurement within the business and throughout the product life cycle – from design to disposal. Adopting flexible structures to react quickly and deliver new sources of value.
• Technology: Empowering staff through technology toolkits and the ability to shape roadmaps while developing data strategies that drive enterprise outcomes, establishing procurement as an insight engine.

Leveraging insights from Procurement Leaders roundtables, presentations, case study interviews and a comprehensive survey, Functional capabilities: Elevating procurement in an age of disruption provides CPOs and their teams with a blueprint with which to rewrite their function’s future.