July 13, 2018

Here's a look at where Source One's cost reduction experts have been featured this week!

New Whitepaper Series:
Source One's new whitepaper series picks the brains of Supply Management's most celebrated thinkers and leaders. The five-edition series includes the experts' takes on the hot topic of Procurement transformation.Using their collective decades of experience, the leaders analyze the subject through numerous lenses and drive the conversation forward. Check it out to absorb some actionable best practices for refining your Procurement department. 
Jim Baehr of Sourcing Strategies Group provides his thoughts on Supply Management's continued strategic evolution. Looking at the overall progress of Procurement Transformation, he suggests that both its definition and function have matured and evolved over the last few decades. Baehr charts these changes while reflecting on Procurement's current state, using this insight to forecast what's in store for Supply Management. 

When pursuing a Procurement Transformation, it is unfortunately common for many organizations to experience shortcomings. Phil Ideson and Joe Payne discuss the source of these disappointments. Both agree that Procurement's typical mission, motivations, and mindset are the likely causes. Procurement must adjust and reflect the way it views and presents both itself and its role in order to completely transform its operations. 
A comprehensive Procurement Transformation is no small task. Often, organizations target specific areas of their department's operations in order to make the process as seamless as possible. The thought behind this is that focusing more areas that more obviously require attention will allow the organization to utilize their time and efforts more efficiently and provide greater strategic value. However, every critical component of the function must be analyzed and aligned in order for a complete, successful transformation. This includes Procurement's people, processes, and technologies, as aligning these components is an essential task to ensure both short and long-term value generation.

Consistency is key when developing an optimal Procurement function, especially when it comes to  effort. Procurement Transformation is just the first step in the pursuit of reaching the full potential of the function and making continuous growth a cultural imperative. The complete process needs constant attention, unceasing momentum, and an innovative spirit. Vendor Centric's Tom Rogers, Sourcing Innovation's Michael Lamoureux, and Source One's Diego De la Garza talk about what's in store for the ‘transformed’ Procurement team.

Part 5 - The Last Word (For Now)
Procurement Transformation: Industry Perspectives comes to a close with Jennifer Ulrich, Source One's Procurement Transformation Lead, touching upon additional areas and final insights on the subject. She highlights the vital importance of reporting and metrics, noting that these aspects are essential for building a business case in Procurement. Proper utilization of these factors, Ulrich says, is necessary to help keep teams motivated throughout a Transformation and help make Procurement's evolution part of a broader conversation.

Recent Blogs:
Customer Service Advice from 18 Small Business Consultants
Leigh Merz, PATLive, July 11, 2018
18 different consultants, ranging from accountants to content-generators, contributed their experience and suggestions to enhance customer service channels. Topics ranged from communication channel responsiveness, to intent listening, to creative branding. Source One's Leigh Merz touched upon the idea of using customized communication to establish a personal connection with a customer. She emphasized the importance of understanding that every client and organization needs to be looked at from an individualized perspective- everyone has different strengths, weaknesses, goals, etc.

A Matter of Perspective: Taking an Abstract View of Procurement
Kaitlyn Krigbaum, SIG, July 10, 2018
Source One's Kaitlyn Krigbaum discusses how a wealth of knowledge can actually impede creativity for some procurement professionals. The struggle arises from in-depth experience in one specific subject area, clouding one's vision and thought horizon. Krigbaum highlights the importance of thinking outside the box and embracing fresh perspectives in order to produce procurement success. Implementing a culture of creativity, she suggests, can foster innovation and progress for any procurement organization.

Recent Podcasts:
The Source One Podcast picked the brain of Tom Rogers, the CEO of Vendor Centric. With supply chains becoming increasingly digital, global, and interconnected, risk factors continue to evolve every day. Rogers suggests that it is now time for Procurement to undergo an evolution of its own, meeting these factors head-on. Maintaining a prominent position within Vendor Management Committees, Procurement can enable risk management to become a part of an everyday, organization-wide conversation. Hear more about this potential in the full episode here.

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