A recent article on Supply Management highlighted the rising profile of procurement teams, following the supply chain disruption of the past three years, could be “just a blip”.
Research by Gartner found C-suite perceptions of the function spiked in 2020 but have since dropped back to levels lower than before the pandemic, with the suggestion that disruption had become “old news” for stakeholders.
Experts commented priorities have shifted, leaving procurement leaders with the enduring task of reminding the C-suite “that theirs is the only department capable of monitoring risk and adapting supply chain strategies as conditions evolve”.
Martin Smith, Founder at Talent Drive, adds his insight below;
“You would hope after the last 3 years that businesses can see the value more than ever on procurement, not just on commercial savings – but procurement driving supplier risk management, the ESG agenda, AI, digitalisation and business transformation. We have seen huge growth in procurement vacancies since the beginning of 2021 as organisations looked to rebuild and invest in procurement and would hope that will continue to grow at a steady rate in 2023.
We as a procurement community need to ensure we don’t revert back to procurement being perceived as purely a cost saving function and more of a revenue growth function which we should continue to invest in. With the uncertain geopolitical landscape and continued supply chain volatility, I would argue procurement is going to be needed more than ever as we look to navigate out of low economic growth and hopefully into a more optimistic outlook.
The article quotes Simon Geale, executive vice president of procurement at consultancy firm Proxima, who said it was “disappointing to see a slide” in how the function is viewed, but added: “I think we need to look at this in perspective. Supply chains have been a top priority for two years and rightly so, and a lot of corrective and proactive action has been taken.”
He said disruption and heightened working environments have “become the norm”, and “as such I think that procurement professionals are now expected to factor that into their day-to-day and strategic plans, delivering a more risk-adjusted strategy”.
Read the full article here – what are your thoughts on this topic? Let us know!
