With the release of my 17th annual “State of Procurement” and Chief Procurement Officer research study, my team and I continue our two-decades-long dialogue with CPOs and procurement leaders. And one thing is clear: The competencies and capabilities of procurement organizations continue to evolve and expand.
Specifically, in this year’s report, CPO Rising 2022: The Data Revolution, CPOs are witnessing first-hand the progression of “The Data Revolution” that began several years ago. The sheer volume and production of data that is available and in demand across the enterprise is an opportunity for procurement to rise up and deliver greater intelligence to drive smarter decision-making and business outcomes. The age of advanced analytics will be a competitive differentiator for procurement departments across industries.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll take a deeper dive into trends around data and the opportunities that exist. Currently, CPOs and procurement leaders are still facing the toughest year in recent memory amidst the ongoing pandemic, dramatic supply chain disruptions, global conflict, and sharp inflation.
To Everything, There is a Season
The fact of the matter is that almost everything written about the pandemic and its impact has been understated. COVID-19 has been far more pervasive and globally devastating than anything experienced in our lifetimes and the full scope and breadth of its impact cannot be accurately gauged in real time. Ardent Partners expects the long-term impact of the pandemic will play out for a generation in ways that cannot be defined or understood today.
Now in year three, COVID-19 continues to linger and its near-term outlook remains unclear. For now, it remains a fact of life (and business) that CPOs and their teams must manage and mitigate the pandemic as it plays out amidst a very challenging business environment wrought with sizable operational and supply chain challenges and inflationary pressures unseen in decades. And, that is before getting to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, an utterly devastating event that is redrawing the post-Cold War geopolitical landscape in real time with tragic human consequences and severe economic ones.
The culmination of these major global events and an aggressive, multi-year, multi-pronged attack on globalization which includes greater trade and immigration restrictions as well as a deepening sense of nationalism (often driven by autocratic leaders) has altered the global trade landscape and procurement’s role within it. As heightened uncertainty and the actions of an increasing number of unpredictable actors continue to destabilize the geopolitical and economic world order, the work of procurement has simultaneously become more complex while growing in importance.
And though a difficult season for procurement professionals is here, optimism remains, with good reason, that they will navigate it well — “it’s not too late.” Increasingly, the supply chain impacts every business and most categories (including indirect and services), and many new factors of growing complexity must be considered to develop an optimal sourcing strategy. But in 2022 more CPOs (and their teams) than ever before are equipped to tackle today’s challenges with agility, grace, and aplomb. And they will do so while also starting to build the next generation of procurement departments, using data in many new and unforeseen ways.
Since this CPO Rising research series began in 2006 (this is not a typo!), enterprise executives in every industry have faced tough times and uncertain market conditions, and they have seen how procurement success can serve as the driving force to bridge the gap until the market strengthens and volatility recedes. Whether it is a pandemic that impacts the global population, a risk event with a devastating impact on a single industry, or competitive pressures that drive a single business to the brink of bankruptcy, the extraordinary impact that strong procurement results can have on operations and the bottom line can help the enterprise forge through difficult waters, ensuring continuity, driving resilience, and enabling recovery.
RELATED RESEARCH
Procurement Rising Podcast – The State of Procurement 2021 Address (Part 1)
Procurement Rising Podcast – The State of Procurement 2021 Address (Part 2)
The Intersection of Data and Sourcing
Use Cases for Data and Intelligent Procurement
