Coordinating Stakeholders in a Procurement Is a Big Problem
In its first phase, procurement technology digitized the business process, but it didn’t radically change it. Instead of email and spreadsheets, there were systems, many of them integrated as Enterprise Resource Planning tools. These systems did nothing to transform the way organizations purchase goods and services, even as they made execution more efficient. For some […]
Group Purchasing Organizations Serve Suppliers, Not Buyers
Everyone is familiar with Costco. It is a staple of North American life. It is a club. Individuals or families pay a fee to become members. The purpose of the club is, “To continually provide members with quality goods and services at the lowest possible prices.” It is a buying club focused on bulk purchasing of a limited number of […]
Elastic Procurement Is Better than Traditional Procurement
A good procurement event is one in which the buyers find the best combination of problem-solution fit, a reliable supplier, and a reasonable price. We call this value-for-money. Problem-solution fit refers to the degree to which the good or service purchased fixes the problem that motivates the procurement. The buyer’s objective function is to maximize […]
How to Make Digital Procurement Transformation Succeed
Digital transformation involves implementing technology to effect change. This shift we seek may refer to improved business processes, products, or business models, or some combination of improved outcomes. At a high level, it involves two phases: implementation, followed by continuous improvement. According to apocryphal reports, it fails 70% of the time. Yet, businesses still keep […]
How Can Procurement Attract and Retain Talent?
I often remark that “nobody grows up wanting to be in procurement.” Maybe somebody out there did. I have not met them yet. When children are in school, they dream of more glamorous occupations: professional athlete, entertainer, politician, and now, influencer. Of course, not everyone is suited to be these things. Perhaps they lack the […]
Joint Procurement Does Not Have to Be Slow
Every large sourcing event is now a team event, as we wrote about previously in “Procurement Is a Team Sport,” quoting Gartner: “The typical buying group for a complex B2B solution involves six to 10 decision makers, each armed with four or five pieces of information they’ve gathered independently and must deconflict with the group. […]
Procurement Is a Team Sport
Procurement, especially for complex purchases, involves groups of people from different functional areas within the buying enterprise. Here is Gartner: “The typical buying group for a complex B2B solution involves six to 10 decision makers, each armed with four or five pieces of information they’ve gathered independently and must deconflict with the group. At the […]
Interoperability Is a Force Multiplier for Procurement
In science fiction movies and television everyone speaks English. Often, there is a convenient poetic device called something like the “Universal Translator” that enables beings from wildly different backgrounds to communicate. Human Being H can speak to Vulcan V. Through some magic, H hears English and V hears Vulcan. How boring would shows like Star […]
Procurement Is Investment
I have had several careers. I started in finance trading foreign exchange options for a bank right after the British Pound fell out of the Exchange Rate Mechanism. This was a great opportunity to learn. It was the blue collar of trading. It was an extension of the money-markets. These weren’t the gods of the […]
Subscription Pricing Is the Wrong Business Model for Procurement Technology
[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_spacing=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]Developing a pricing model for any service is a tricky thing, but following the Global Financial crisis, […]