Thought Leadership Debate at the Emirates Stadium
The final Thought Leadership Debate, which took place at the home of Arsenal FC was a huge success with CPOs and Procurement Directors from blue-chip companies such as British American Tobacco, Britvic and Kimberly–Clark, discussing the limits of procurement and the skills needed to take the profession forward.
It was a lively two-hour debate and the statements below are just a few of the topics discussed. Have your say on the topics by clicking here and completing our comment box. A full write of the event can be seen in the 29 November issue of Supply Management.
What is the biggest limitation procurement faces in your organisation?
Natalie Frost, Senior Sourcing Manager, Fujitsu Services
"We want to be involved with everything, but we simply don’t have the amount of people to be able to do that."
What types of skills do you think are required or are currently absent in procurement staff? How can we address that? If budgets were no option, if you had the ear of the CEO, what would you do to address those skills shortages?
Ekke Kugler, Corporate Procurement, Blackpool Borough Council
"I moved from sales into purchasing in a manufacturing company and have a better understanding of how different departments interact. That helps me enormously to develop a rapport with other functions. We have the full support of the CEO, which is fantastic, but who changes the attitude at the bottom? You have to go out, see people, help them.
E.ON, the winner of the SM/CIPS Awards for best people development initiative, set up an academy for procurement. What do you do for knowledge and development?
Paul Bestford, Senior Director, Global Strategic Sourcing, EMEA Wyeth
"We have a European sourcing organisation spread across 42 countries. It’s great for our sourcing managers in each country to share knowledge and information on the process, etc."
Are there some areas we don’t as a profession want to be involved in because of a lack of technical skills or tradition?
Benjamin Schmittzehe, MD UK, Sustainomics Group
"It’s the law of diminishing returns. You stop investing in procurement when the incremental value they create is less than the cost of an extra person to do it."
Aside from the cost savings, are there any other ways that any of us have been able to demonstrate; either the cost avoidance or the risk avoidance elements of the department’s function?
James Ratcliff, Director, Sourcing & Supply Management, Kimberly-Clark Europe
"We try to measure success by our involvement in items relevant to the corporate strategy. For example, I’ve been invited on the corporate sustainability strategy group. Saving £25 million is much less relevant to the CFO/CEO than coming up with something that gives us an advantage in the marketplace."
These debates inevitably return to the issue of con.dence and recognition of the profession. Is this a way to go forward, just get on with it?
Pat Law, Managing Director, Hays Purchasing & Supply
"Get judged on your results. You’ve got to define what they are, and then to get judged on them you’ve got to communicate them out."
Want to have a say?
Click here to let us know your thoughts on the topics discussed.
