The Global Procurement Strategic Sourcing Data Survey has found that one in two chief procurement officers (CPOs) have managed to reduce costs through the use of a sustainability program. The survey creators, Consero Group spoke to a group of senior procurement executives to discuss the current challenges and opportunities in the sector. According to the results, 49 percent said they had achieved tangible cost reduction in comparison to 33 percent who said the same in 2014.
The survey also looked at procurement as a whole and found that 40 percent of respondents said that they were placing cost reduction at the top of their priority lists for the next 12 months, closely followed by spend analytics (30 percent) and consolidation of the supplier base (29 percent).
When considering risk, 45 percent of CPOs said that supplier risk was their number one concern, along with other top areas of exposure such as commodity risk (24%) and contract risk (25%).
Supplier management was also sighted as being important to procurement leaders with nearly three quarters of those surveyed saying that they had a better relationship with their principle suppliers than they did a year ago.
Similarly, according to the report CPOs are feeling the pressure to have socially responsible strategies, but less than half of those surveyed said that they believed that their suppliers supported the demands of having a CSR strategy. However, the majority (58%) said that they anticipated more supplier-driven innovation over the next 12 months.
In a statement, Consero said that the survey revealed some key truths about the sector as it stands. “CPOs have a variety of challenges ahead, and their decisions will play a significant role in determining the success of their companies.
“CPOs will most likely focus their 2015 efforts on cost-reduction strategies and both talent acquisition and retention, in addition to continuing to improve supplier relationships. However, in order for these executives to achieve their goals, corporations will need to do a better job of arming CPOs with the resources necessary to get the job done.”
Reproduced from IMPA, 29/05/2015.
