It is difficult to accept a change – still, the political order we were used to is out of balance. Unleashed East-West conflict is here to stay at all levels and dimensions of our personal and professional lives. We need to accept that supply vs. demand disorder will take longer than expected, as the reshaping of new geopolitical forces will last for decades.
The procurement profession will again need to change itself. There will be no break after the epidemic, there will be a struggle and plenty of hard work in procurement. We must value the efforts of many procurement professionals as the job becomes tough.
In many organizations, supply chain/procurement is topic number one these days. As a result, companies will need to make an extra effort to maintain the delivery of goods and services at competitive prices and required quality.
The good news
Procurement will gain additional importance, hopefully closely followed by corresponding budgets and genuine management attention (which we have not seen in the past). Actions need to follow:
– The increased pace of technology adoption to increase efficiency, transparency, and new ways of working/collaborating
– Raising strategic competencies of procurement teams to address business needs adequately
– Market Intelligence will be a key driving force in enforcing informed decisions
– Fast-moving strategies for categories, suppliers, and risks to address permanent changes in market challenges and business requirements
A crisis again is an opportunity for procurement functions to upgrade. Cost reductions are losing priority. There will be other languages in many companies.
It is a revolution, and it is good, as evolution was unable to change the role and perception of procurement. However, the new matrix in which procurement operates shall allow that desired change.
At Cirtuo, setting Category Strategy standards in the past couple of years, we have seen many large corporations taking necessary steps in that direction. The majority of the companies are not there yet. I hope your management will have wisdom and act fast to change it for the better.
