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Empowering Decisions

A DEC representative once pointed out how the terms “conservation” and “efficiency” are often (wrongly) used interchangeably. The first means doing with less, the second means optimizing what’s available. Obviously, efficiency is a better way to go. The same can be said of procurement; instead of just trying to cut spend constantly, isn’t it better to manage that spend more efficiently (through P2P automation, for instance)? The result of a more stringent approach to spend management may very well be a noticeable, if not significant, increase in procurement ROI . We’ll show you a simple way to run those numbers.

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Some common themes from ISM and Procurement Leaders.

Last week I had the pleasure of sitting in on some great presentations at the Procurement Leaders World Procurement Congress 18 in London, as well as attending the Institute for Supply Management ISM2018 in Nashville, TN the week before. They provided the perfect opportunities to reflect on where Procurement currently is, and where it’s going (hint: agile procurement). It is remarkable how much it has evolved – and what the notable changes are – over the last 10 years.

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Instead of “recycle, reuse, retread” let’s talk about a reboot.

Memorization is a frontage road: It runs parallel to the best parts of learning, never intersecting. It’s a detour around all the action, a way of knowing without learning, of answering without understanding.”

— Ben Orlin, “When Memorization Gets in the Way of Learning,” The Atlantic, 9 September 2013

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Make built-in P2P budget management data part of your purchasing workflow.

Of the many topics that came out of the webinar we did with Ardent Partners, CPO Rising 2018: The Age of Intelligence, the idea that “you’re only as good as your data” is one of the most compelling. There are many aspects to exploring that idea. It doesn’t necessarily have to be some high fallutin’ thought leadership viewpoint, either; in fact, a powerful example of data visibility can be something as workaday as simplifying purchasing by integrating P2P budget management right into your procurement solution functionality. Easy is good, right?

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Face it sourcing, CPOs just aren’t that into you.

Last week, the team from Ardent Partners shared the results of their research: CPO Rising 2018: The Age of Intelligence in a webinar with Determine. This year’s report includes input from 324 participants, 62% of which are Director level, VP level, or C-level. No one industry accounted for more than 13% of the research data, although approximately 70% of the responses were from large (>$1B) companies in North America.

Of all the insights drawn from this initial look at the research results, one stands out to me as particularly compelling: sourcing is being de-emphasized as a spend management strategy .

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Succeeding in every phase to realize the maximum benefit.

When you’re trying to implement enterprise procurement technology, other somewhat related challenges have a way of floating to the surface. Many of them have been around for a long time, festering quietly in corporate silos, and any one of them can act as a barrier to forward progress and expanded visibility.

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