Welcome to the final entry of a three-part article series on the concept of “visibility.” The term visibility is thrown around quite frequently in the procurement and spend management worlds, and it is incumbent of today’s Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) to do all that they can to ensure that they enable visibility into corporate spending and provide other key stakeholders with the necessary insights into financials to help effectively forecast, plan and budget for the future. The third and final entry in this CPO Rising article series highlights the “future” of the average organization: how does current, real-time visibility translate into an ideal means to better prepare for the times ahead?

One of the many benefits of any “Big Data” strategy is the fact that, based on current data or figures, the executive team can paint a vivid picture of the future of the greater organization from financial, risk, and planning perspectives. For CPOs that rely on data-driven strategies to fuel their programs and initiatives, the very notion of “visibility” doesn’t just revolve around what is happening now…it’s also about what can happen in the future.

For the purposes of today’s final entry in our “Visibility: What Does it Mean for CPOs?” series, we’ll highlight how current visibility into various aspects of spend management, supplier management, and complex spend management can help the modern-day CPO (or other procurement executive) gain access to a picture of the future:

• Alignment of current talent (services, contractors, temporary workers, etc.) to current and future projects and initiatives. The new-found focus on “talent” across all stratospheres of the business world has forced the procurement group to apply supply management principles to its on-hand talent. The world of contingent workforce management requires procurement’s strong influence in the alignment of talent now…and in the future. Will current talent resources be enough (or hold enough expertise) to address projects that will kick off in 2015?
• Understanding the true ROI of business travel and corporate meetings. Business travel and corporate event budgets are on the rise, encompassing nearly 25% of an enterprise’s overall budget according to industry estimates. It is critical that the modern procurement department understand the true returns and value of these two complex spend categories to help better plan for the future. Which conferences are generating a satisfactory level of revenue? Which business trips have resulted in new deals or agreements with key suppliers? Can specific, underperforming events be pulled or canceled for next year’s slate? These are important, forecast-type questions that can easily be answered based on current and real-time visibility.
• Will current cash flow support critical, future projects and company initiatives? The convergence of procurement and finance continues to evolve at a rapid pace as both stakeholders rely on the other to support greater corporate endeavors. Visibility into cash isn’t just an issue for finance; the better the visibility into this aspect, the better procurement can prepare for future supply-based resources and the reality of how those suppliers will affect the financial performance of the greater enterprise.

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Tagged in: Chief Procurement Officer, Christopher Dwyer, Complex Categories, Contingent Workforce, CPO, Finance, People, Process, Strategy, T&E