For the past four years, Ardent Partners’ Procurement Metrics that Matter in 2020 has compiled the industry’s best and most widely-used procurement industry benchmarks and delivered them in a highly-accessible and visually dynamic way. For example, I’ve included look at how the top CPO Pressures in 2020 have changed since COVID-19 (see below).
I also wanted to share a snippet from the eBook with you today that focuses on the CPO’s change in focus brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. Before the coronavirus impacted procurement teams around the world, the CPOs’ top three pressures were the need to (1) drive a digital transformation, (2) improve processes, and (3) increase agility. In the immediate aftermath of the global pandemic, business needs and the CPO’s focus quickly shifted to (1) prioritizing cash management, (2) increasing savings, and (3) improving supply chain visibility. in times of great stress and uncertainty, companies revert to their more basic selves. This means that cash is now king again. This means that savings has become much more important to your team and to your CFO and CEO, as well as the Board of Directors. This also means that sourcing leaders will be reevaluating their suppliers and bringing many more RFPs to market sooner than originally planned.
Having gone through a similar and yet, entirely different, global emergency 10-12 years ago (the great recession), we are confident in saying that many of your company’s best opportunities over the next 12-18 months will play to your team’s (the procurement department’s) strengths. So, now is the time to to prepare and, ideally get started.
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