Welcome to an exclusive two-part article series here on CPO Rising that will recap last month’s exciting Complex Spend Management: Best Practices in Contingent Workforce Management webinar, which was hosted by Ardent Partners and sponsored by Beeline. If you missed the webinar last month, click here to check out a recording of the event, which featured Ardent Partners analysts Andrew Bartolini and Christopher J. Dwyer. Today’s recap article features a discussion of the main themes and takeaways from the webcast. Stay tuned for the second article in this series, which will answer some audience questions from the event.

The average procurement function manages nearly 61% of its overall spend. The other 39%? Think of it as procurement’s next big opportunity for better spend visibility and spend control. To take it a step further, think of this big opportunity as something that’s readily available for the taking.

Complex spend categories are an everyday and operational component of the modern business. These strategic categories, which include contingent labor, business travel, marketing materials and services, telecom expenses, etc., represent a “next great frontier” for the typical procurement unit looking to improve their strategic impact.

The February 17 webinar not only highlighted the role of complex spend management within the framework of the average procurement function, but also honed in on one category that has been forcing Chief Procurement Officers around the globe to reevaluate existing strategies and programs: the contingent workforce (also known as non-employee or non-traditional talent).

Amongst other topics, the webinar featured in-depth discussions of:

• Ardent’s Contingent Workforce Management Framework. Developed in 2013, Ardent Partners created the industry’s first full-scale framework that would allow organizations, regardless of size, scope or sector, to build a contingent workforce management program that could address all of today’s various extended labor types, such as independent contractors, freelancers, professional services, and SOW-based labor. For the procurement professionals in attendance, the Framework could be leveraged as a blueprint for developing an effective program.
• The role of VMS technology in today’s CWM world. There are several major solution types in the CWM world, including Managed Service Providers and services procurement. Vendor Management System (VMS) platforms have evolved just as much as the CWM industry itself, so much so that they are now seen as a “nexus” for all facets of CWM programs, from SOW management and identity management to business analytics and talent management.
• Why today’s economy is centered around a flexible workforce…and why it will continue to grow in the years ahead. Nearly a third of today’s total workforce is comprised of contingent labor and non-employee workers, a figure that jumps to nearly 50% within the next three years. What does that tell us about the contingent workforce? It’s not going away anytime soon; in fact, the idea that work will migrate to where it’s done best is reason enough that in the greater war for talent, the reliance on non-employee workers will continue to grow in the years ahead.

Last month’s webinar also featured discussions around the evolution of procurement’s involvement in and impact on contingent workforce management, the complexities of SOW management and what hot-button issues could be problematic in the years ahead. Click here to check out the webinar, and be sure to stay tuned to CPO Rising for Part II of the webinar recap series.

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