The second part of this week (and the reason for the late timing of this article) found me in London for two procurement-related events on behalf of BravoSolution (Bravo also sponsors this site). The first was a dinner for Chief Procurement Officers (and Heads of Procurement) at Gordon Ramsay in the posh Claridges Hotel and the topic of today’s article [Sidebar: The second was a networking event hosted by Bravo for all of the nominees for the CIPS Procurement Awards to be held in September].
(1) Delivering Improved Company Valuation
The call for the dinner at The Claridges was to discuss a new report written by Bravo and my opening remarks. The champagne-infused four-course spectacle of a meal was kicked off by the report author, Daniel Quinn, who introduced the report and provided a brief summary of it as well as his orientation and his approach. I followed with a commentary on the report and a broader discussion of CPO trends. Two quick points here – (1) The Bravo report focuses on the value of procurement leverage, a topic we’ve covered and discussed on these pages and in presentations and reports for many years prior. The report summary: An organisation’s procurement brings benefits far beyond saving money or raising quality standards. It can dramatically improve the valuation of the organisation as a whole. Those interested in reading more can find the report here (registration required). 2. Anytime you can find a reason to serve champagne to a captive professional audience, do so. It loosens everyone up and improves the networking between professionals who oftentimes have never met. The conversation in this crowd was quite lively and carried on throughout the night.
(2) Capital Assets
One lively discussion with a CPO overseeing a massive project approaching the scale of Boston’s Big Dig hit upon the importance of engineering expertise in helping understand and validate the proper cost of a capital item that has never been built before (and capital assets in general). This CPO’s view was that while a competitive bid process can certainly help establish market pricing, when it comes to newly designed/engineered pieces, components, assemblies, and systems, it is very valuable to have the specific engineering expertise to develop a “should-cost” model. I also learned from this CPO that 5 feet 11 inches is the ideal height for a male stage performer in the West End (or Broadway).
(3) Career Moves
When I graduated from business school, I never would have imagined all of the different turns my career has taken. On Wednesday night, I learned that I was not alone. Interestingly, few, and quite possibly none, of the CPOs at this dinner began their careers with a goal of working in procurement and ultimately becoming a Chief Procurement Officer. One CPO, whose father is a CFO, applied for a procurement position because she drawn to work for a specific employer not a specific job role. Others had similar tales, including one director who only very recently began working in procurement when the head of the procurement organization was made redundant.