PROCUREMENT OPTIMIZATION BLOG

The best strategies in the world don’t make a bit of difference if they never get executed. As most people in business have experienced, one of the biggest roadblocks to getting a project done is to get the support (e.g.,…

The use of reverse auction tools has been on the rise for several years, but the results have often not lived up to expectations. In fact, without careful upfront planning and engagement of both enterprise stakeholders and suppliers, reverse auctions…

More and more, we see the heads of procurement identified as the chief procurement officer (CPO) in recognition of their increasingly strategic role. How are CPOs achieving the organizational change required to deliver greater strategic value? This is the third…

If you are getting ready to implement a new technology or process within your organization, there is, unfortunately, a high probability user adoption of the change will be less than successful. Experts agree adoption is a common issue: According to…

Engage: [verb] occupy, attract, or involve (someone’s interest or attention) Stakeholder engagement can ‘make or break’ a project. If there were a project success manual (oh, how we wish!), “The Importance of Engagement” would be the first chapter. Engagement has…

Imagine a scenario in which an organization has made an investment in an enterprise-level Strategic Sourcing software package of some kind, and it is not getting very much of a return on its investment. The software may be standalone or…

Many organizations are undergoing Procurement Transformation processes with two – to four-year maturity cycles. To help executives plan and lead such initiatives, as well as help those who are contemplating significant Change Management initiatives, we have come across several common…

IBM Study: Top Chief Procurement Officers Drive 22 Percent Higher Profit Margins In case you missed it over the summer, IBM presented evidence that you may want to use in making your business case for procurement optimization: companies with top…

Over the past decade, all organizations have become increasingly reliant on 3rd parties to support growth and a wide variety of business functions that were previously handled internally. While this has led to cost savings and has enabled companies to…

Many organizations lack visibility into spend because of disparate processes, technologies and workflows between departments and business units. Can an otherwise successful company suffer from erosion of profits and performance due to spend silos? The answer is an unequivocal yes….