The effects Covid-19 have on global Supply Chains (SCs) offer an excellent opportunity to display real Procurement value in all markets, as this strategic role drives professional to high rock companies and community operations.
The influence of Procurement on essential areas:
- Chief Executive Officers (CEO) must consider the goods and services the company requires to keep business’ SC flowing and to prevent possible disruption when fulfilling customers’ demands; to figure out the level of such risks and how to apply emergency strategies to stay away from them. Prioritising the spending in all sectors is vital for the company to bring light into this outburst.
- The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) quickly brings together the latest income predictions and deals to support the best-spend outline for the organisation. He/she requires for the right to modify methods and course of action to stop people from spending more than the only-just-defined-budgets permitted.
- The pro looks for support for financial plans just adjusted, and assure the establishment of the authorised process; to opening quick re-negotiation with suppliers and explore new-short-term contracts that enhance flexibility, whilst reallocating spends into new focal points. Beyond Marketing, Manufacturing, Sales to Services, they need assistance in replacing their expenses and in doing their part to support your company weathering the storm.
- Your Suppliers want to grasp where the company withstands around disposition to carry on with projected-order levels, and whether you will pay for formerly approved conditions. They demand to know how their money-flow will impact the relationship among stakeholders and what will change or not. They need the Procurement leader to help them in establishing how they could best overcome the sudden outbreak.
Procurement community must work together.
There is an urgent need for the Procurement group to collaborate by sharing experiences and data via webinars, phone calls, bulletin boards; to support society via well-timed programs, such as hand-in-hand sourcing, much-required-safety goods and equipment for everyone. Procurement forms part of the Supply Chain Management field; it secures the goods or services the company needs. Then, other role-players in the SC make sure they reached their intended destinations further down the SC. Procurement is, by all means, a support function, adding much to strategic leaderships within C-suites.
What do Procurement leaders bring to the SC?
· They manage teams responsible for different processes within Procurement and give support to the C-suite.
· They give a significant push to efficiency and security to make more resilient systems.
· They carry on endless planning meetings; use data better to prevent future disruptions.
· They warrant organisations the product and material quality, quantity and availability, at the right time.
· The leader ensures that the whole process adheres to polices, keeps costs within budget, and certifies compliance.
· They manage the purchasing deals whole process.
· They carry out market analysis to get the best deals.
· He/she must evaluate contracts to ensure they comply with legal requirements.
· They are responsible for getting goods and services at favourable prices within budget, by comparing prices from different suppliers, looking at market changes affecting prices; update information on suppliers and variety of products and prices.
· They prepare purchase orders according to the company’s set policies to ensure all comply.
· They keep watching out the compliance and implementation of relevant laws at all times and are responsible for staying updated of changes in legislation, as demanded.
· They must make sure suppliers can deliver goods and services in an agreed-quantities-qualities-timely manner, as delays and low quality could affect the business in many other areas.
· It is of significant importance for managers to coordinate Procurement staff operations daily.
· They must plan out schedules to set priorities for tasks and deadlines, and fulfilled then accordingly.
· They have to detect substandard goods or services not delivered.
· It is advisable holding a regular meeting with staff and vendors to discuss progress.
· Their job is keeping data updated relating to items purchased, cost prices, delivery info, and inventory lists.
· Procurement leaders are responsible for reports, including budget allocations, planned spend and actual spend, to support management decisions taken.
This kind of job requires a leader who counts on great staffs, with communication skills, well-organised, and detail-driven, in real-time; easily-structured to combine data from several areas.
Total-time is quite vital for Procurement, as it refers to supply time; for instance, the total time of production, the time between ordering and delivering a product to your end-consumer.
Driving innovation into your Procurement management encompasses collaborating with your supplier; you need to build up common-standardised frameworks, crucial to finding the best solution.
Helping to save our environment
Every Procurement function will drive supply innovations – including saving our environment and sustainability. Innovation includes the transformation of businesses into digital operations, which help Procurement managers to scan every single object to use optimal packaging, avoiding almost 50% of dead-space from millions of packages delivered every day. It reduces the effects of emissions to the air, plastic use, shipping and storage requirements.
Monitoring factory emissions in real-time can fuse satellite images with Machine Learning; organisations can collaborate within a global context to build up a more manageable-sustainable-fair world.
Final comments: the perfect time is now for Procurement professionals to influence both your company and the future market; embrace technological advancement and combine AI and data strategy to accomplish your sustainability and resilience targets. Combine your professional skills with specialised tools, assisting internal and external shareholders and considering customers as associates; you will have endless opportunities to inspire meaningful changes to redefine your place in business for everyone’s benefit.
Are you willing to become the Procurement expert your corporation is demanding?
Dave Food
Prophetic Technology
M: +44 7775 861863
Photo credit: Markus Spiske / Unsplash