Worldwide procurement under pressure

Although we often discuss the benefits of procurement and how it can save businesses money (and there has been a lot in the news of late to also back-up these claims), the latest report on the Supply Management website indicates that the profession could be in for a shock.

According to a global study by Zycus, while procurement has benefitted from rising performance benchmarks for the last four years, this year they seem to have universally fallen. This is in part, the study claims, due to greater global economic stability putting more pressure on procurement professionals to control their spending and defend profitability in this changing economic environment.

Aggressive business growth strategies are gaining traction in 2015 and leaving procurement behind; therefore a new focus on cost control, supplier performance, supply chain risk management, process optimisation and internal relationship building will help to secure procurement’s future.

Technological upgrades were also listed as another area of focus for procurement specialists looking to the future. Although the majority of survey respondents claimed their technology was suited to their current needs, around 33% did believe their tech to be old and not suited to their future growth plans. Better technology was also listed as key to helping produce better cost savings and performance levels – again, helping to ensure the future for procurement is positive.

The study concluded with the question as to whether procurement organisations were “standing at an important crossroads, where imperatives, focus areas, and activities must shift if procurement is to continue along its transformation journey.”

What do you make of this change in procurement’s future? Do you think professionals and organisations as a whole are doing enough?