Over the last decade best-in-class Procurement departments have made the transition from executing tactical purchasing activities to supporting strategic company-wide goals, being seen as a valuable business function beyond achieving cost savings. As an essential piece to increasing a company’s competitive advantage and overall profit margin, organizations with a more mature Procurement department complete with well-defined metrics, category management plans, talent development strategies, and adequate tools reap the benefits of improved contract terms and conditions, swifter internal processes, and better vendor relationships.

So what does the process for evolving procurement functions look like for companies equipped with traditionally reactive approaches to purchasing? The truth is, transforming procurement operations looks slightly different to each organization. The starting block for all companies, however, is conducting a Current State Assessment and Gap Analysis.

What is a Currently State Assessment and Gap Analysis?
To know where you need to go, you must first understand where you are. Gaining understanding of your current procurement operations means assessing your human resources, tools and technology, metrics, and established processes. Some of the elements you’ll want to evaluate include current contracts, metrics, vendor relationships, sourcing procedures, etc. Commonly, internal surveys are conducted of key stakeholders to gain a sense what works and what doesn’t. With the help of third-party firms specializing in spend management, you can also learn how similar profile organizations approach supply chain management and procurement, benchmarking your operations against industry standards.

With this information in hand, an end-state vision can be formed addressing questions of how your strategic sourcing and procurement organization should look. From there, you can examine how your current procurement operations stack up against your desired end-state via a Gap Analysis. The ideal gap analysis will thoroughly outline areas where your supply management operations can improve along with the anticipated impact of results. With this gained insight both internal and external to your organization, a proper strategy for transforming procurement operations can now be formed.

Demonstrating Procurement’s Value
This October, Procurement Transformation Advisors from Source One Management Services will be speaking at ProcureCon Pharma and the Next Level Purchasing Association (NLPA) Annual Conference addressing how companies can enhance their procurement operations to drive more value. During the NLPA Annual event, happening October 24-25 in Pittsburgh, Associate Director Jennifer Ulrich will be sharing how Procurement groups can challenge the traditional role of Procurement and lead change within their organizations with improved metrics, improving talent management of internal resources, and leveraging external support.

Focusing specifically on demonstrating Procurement’s value beyond savings, Source One Director David Pastore is a featured speaker during ProcureCon Pharma, taking place October 26-28th in Philadelphia. Pastore joins as roster of impressive speakers including representatives from leaders in the Pharmaceutical industry such as AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Otsuka, and more. His session, title From Savings…to Value will cover key questions to consider when deciding metrics that will ultimately demonstrate the value Procurement delivers your organizations they serve, as well as advice for properly communicating that value to key stakeholders.
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