It is an interesting time to be working in procurement; perhaps, more interesting than in any other era. This is true across all industries and regions of the world. Business and product cycles continue to fluctuate, placing greater pressure on all companies to make better decisions faster. For many, the speed of change within businesses is magnified by the volatility found in their supply markets. Globalization and innovation have allowed companies to develop new products, enter new markets, and increase sales, but they have also made things increasingly complex for procurement leaders around the globe. Leading Chief Procurement Officers are not sitting on the sidelines. They are in the middle of the action and they are, to be certain, making an impact.
The One Constant is Change
In many regards, the procurement function is universal. Most CPOs around the globe manage similar processes, share similar goals and challenges, and leverage similar tools and strategies to drive value. And the job requirements and responsibilities for most CPO positions have many similarities. But the old school idea that ‘this is the way we have always done things’ won’t work anymore. The CPO cannot be afraid to change, and must understand the role of technology in evolving work landscape. This is true for CPOs in private industry and for those in other countries. The role of the CPO keeps changing, constantly.
While the CPO role continues to evolve, for many enterprises, the role of the CPO remains one that is focused on change management – changing the way that the business buys things. For an enterprise to buy things more effectively at the right cost with better quality and service, the CPO has to change the way the business buys things. To be successful in enacting this change, a CPO must understand the culture of the larger enterprise, put the right talent in place to affect change, and have enough charisma to sell a vision. This is harder than it sounds, to start, the industry is low on talent. we are not minting many college graduates with procurement degrees. Each year, we are starting at zero. Many of the people in procurement today were put there because they couldn’t do anything else. Finding and nurturing the right talent will remain a top CPO challenge. At the same time, finding a CPO with the ability to energize an organization and make it thrive while driving change across the larger entity is a challenge for most businesses.
