June 29, 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 five-part whitepaper series gathers the insights and ideas of Supply Management's most celebrated thinkers and leaders. Leveraging their decades of experience, these experts look into the hot topic of Procurement Transformation. Highlighting numerous angles on the subject and moving the conversation forward, they contribute observations, suggestions, and actionable best practices for organizations of all maturity levels. 
Jim Baehr of Sourcing Strategies Group dives into Supply Management's continuous strategic evolution. He suggests that Procurement Transformation's definition has matured and evolved over the last few decades along with the function itself. Baehr notes these changes, reflects on Procurement's current state, and makes his predictions for Supply Management's next era.
Unfortunately, many organizations experience shortcomings while pursuing a Procurement Transformation. Joe Payne and Phil Ideson identify Procurement's typical mission, motivations, and mindset as the likely culprit. In order to truly transform its operations, Procurement must reflect and adjust the way it views both itself and its role. 
Planning a Procurement Transformation, organizations tend to target specific aspects of their department's operations. The thought is that focusing on the areas that need the most attention will generate a greater strategic value. No transformation can succeed, however, without attention to Procurement's people, processes, and technologies. Aligning these three components is essential for both short and long-term value generation.

Developing an optimal Procurement function requires consistent effort. Completion of a successful Procurement Transformation is only the initial step in the trek to reach the function's full potential. The process in its entirety calls for unceasing momentum, constant attention, and an innovative spirit. Tom Rogers of Vendor Centric, Michael Lamoureux of Sourcing Innovation, and Diego De la Garza of Source One talk about what's in store for the ‘transformed’ Procurement team.

Part 5 - The Last Word (For Now)
Source One's Procurement Transformation Lead, Jennifer Ulrich, concludes Procurement Transformation: Industry Perspectives with some additional insights on the subject. Focusing in particular on the critical importance of reporting and metrics, she suggests these aspects are essential for building a business case in Procurement. Ulrich holds that proper utilization of these factors will help keep teams motivated throughout a Transformation and help make Procurement's evolution part of a broader conversation.

Recent Blog: 
A Guide to Phased Procurement Technology Investments 
Anthony Mignona, Technology Advice, 6/27/18
Technology often looks like the obvious answer for optimizing Procurement's effectiveness and efficiency. Even the most strategic teams, however, can face challenges when identifying what is needed and how to obtain it. With limited resources and endless speculation, organizations can become quite overwhelmed in pursuit of best-fit technological solutions. Anthony Mignona outlines the factors involved in the process, providing insights and suggestions in order to make the search as painless as possible. 

Recent Podcasts:
The negotiation stage is one of the most essential and instructive steps in the sourcing process. It's here that suppliers truly begin to reveal their potential value as business partners. Though countless blogs and books have offered best practices for negotiating, they rarely discuss the point at which these conversations become a waste of time and resources. Senior Project Analyst Jennifer Engel knows that it's sometimes in Procurement's best interest to accept contract terms "as is" or walk away from the table altogether. She joins the Source One Podcast to offer her insights and outline a few of these scenarios.


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