Today’s article is the first of two articles from a report that we recently published, entitled, Collaborative Procurement: Using Relationships to Drive Influence and Results, sponsored by Puridiom and available for free download by clicking here.

Over the past couple of years, collaboration has taken on greater meaning within the business world, offered up as both a tool and a solution for the hyper-kinetic world where shortened product lifecycles, linked processes, global supply chains, and other forces rule the day. But collaboration is not mere hype; in fact, Ardent Partners research consistently finds that business leaders regard it as a top strategy for getting enterprises and procurement teams to the next level of performance. With so many stakeholders involved in the production of a widget – i.e., product development, procurement, suppliers, legal, accounts payable (“AP”), finance, treasury, and others – it is absolutely critical for procurement teams to collaborate with business stakeholders at every stage of the process. Indeed, the earlier that procurement gets engaged in a sourcing event, the earlier it can begin to influence stakeholders, align and link processes, pull more spend under management, and realize greater value for the enterprise. Put simply, enterprises and procurement teams can no longer afford to go it alone.

The new reality for enterprises in general and Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) in particular is that they are constantly asked to do more in a marketplace that has taken on new levels of complexity and velocity. In order to meet the organizational imperative of achieving better results faster and with fewer resources, the procurement team must find new avenues to add value to the enterprise. This focus on achieving better results without additional resources forces the procurement team to find innovative methods to meet their objectives. Meeting department objectives can be difficult in this era of restricted resources, but the procurement team can be well-positioned to achieve its goals.

The fact that a procurement team is able to achieve its goals, however, does not mean that it can do so alone – especially not with a reduced headcount and tightened budget. Here, collaboration across functional lines is absolutely critical; information shared between groups as diverse as line-of-business, treasury, AP/finance, HR, and product development can be leveraged for the benefit of all stakeholders – improving existing processes, sharing more information, making more accurate financial decisions, etc. Although collaboration is but one of several links to success (technology is another one), it can be the most accessible and cost-effective means to elevate the enterprise to the next level of performance.

With this in mind, Ardent Partners is pleased to present this report on collaborative procurement, which will discuss the key stakeholders that procurement must engage to drive both influence and results. Interested readers can download the free report by clicking here.

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Tagged in: Ardent Partners Research, Chief Procurement Officer, Collaboration, CPO, People, Process, Solution Providers, Strategy