As the business world becomes more interconnected, all procurement departments now find that they must remain “on their toes” in order to be competitive on a global scale. Procurement teams must become more agile and begin to look outside the enterprise’s “four walls” in order to find innovative ways to conduct business and drive value. Ardent Partners recognizes both of these competitive pressures on procurement, and as such will offer two panel discussions at the CPO Rising 2016 Summit that touch on these very topics.
On the first day of the event, Ardent Partners Research Director Christopher Dwyer will moderate a panel of leading CPOs to discuss procurement agility in the age of innovation. The panel discussion will include what it takes to make a procurement department agile, and the technologies that procurement teams can leverage to help with this goal. The panel includes Greg Brandyberry, former CPO for GlaxoSmithKline, who was instrumental in the pharmaceutical giant receiving a number of awards for procurement technology usage during his tenure; Kristina Johnson, Senior Director of Global Sourcing and Procurement for Marsh and McLennan, who has extensive sourcing and vendor management experience; Bob Kane, Vice President of Procurement and Contracts for Ogin, Inc., a sustainable energy company that aims to compete on a global scale; and Michael Arndt, Vice President, Strategic Sourcing at Welch Allyn (a Hill-Rom company).
During the afternoon of Day One, NASA Dept. Chief Acquisition Officer Bill McNally will take the stage along with several key NASA suppliers to discuss the supplier innovation programs that NASA has used to drive private sector advances and innovation in space exploration. A rich supplier innovation program can be key to an enterprise’s success, since developing innovative ideas can ultimately streamline operations. As a result, suppliers should be viewed as a source of knowledge and expertise that can be leveraged to competitive advantage and mutual gain.
Final Thoughts
An agile procurement organization is a responsive procurement organization, which can in some cases make the difference between addressing a problem quickly or allowing it to fester. Developing agility takes work, however, as does fostering an environment where procurement actively collaborates with suppliers to develop innovative ideas in order to foster competitive advantages on both sides of the equation. The panel discussions at the CPO Rising 2016 Summit are certain to leave attendees with a bevy of new ideas to implement in their own organizations. Join Ardent Partners and these leading CPOs on March 29 and 30 to learn more.
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