Procurement has the power to change the world. This is not a throw-away line, but rather the lofty ambition of the new-breed of commercially astute procurement professionals who find themselves responsible for much of their corporations’ spend. By unleashing their supply networks, procurement leaders can bring new models and disruptive products and services into sharp focus. In addition, they have the power to gear that spend towards indigenous providers, socially responsible suppliers, and partners with an environmental conscience.

Procurement professionals are in a position to truly lead the charge for being the change they wish to see in their industry.

This was the over-arching sentiment that arose from the series of think tanks run across Australia this November.

Facilitated by Pete Huggins, Director at A.T. Kearney, the think tanks brought together over 50 procurement professionals to uncover the pain points, opportunities and best practices for transforming today’s procurement functions.

The think tank discussion spanned a range of procurement hot topics such as attracting and retaining talent, supplier relationship management, and harnessing the power of big data and BI. Insightful takeaways from the think tanks will be captured in our annual Procurement Innovation Report (watch this space).

Here’s our facilitator’s take on some key insights heard during the Sydney think tank.

Soft skills still imperative but tech skills growing in importance

The group was very passionate about attracting talent, Huggins observed. As one participant pointed out, when there is no formal qualification for procurement in Australia, many graduates are left wondering what it is procurement actually does.

“It’s rare for people to leave university wanting to join procurement teams. So getting procurement’s name out to universities and finding ways to get graduates excited about it is one area that needs to be explored.”

There was significant debate among the group around the ideal skillset for a procurement professional: do they need technical knowledge of a category? Should we be looking for “soft” skills like persuasion and negotiation? Or are there core procurement skills that are needed to thrive in this role?

Have your say in the state of innovation in procurement. Complete this 2 minute survey to add your voice to these issues and see where you stack up to your peers when it comes to innovation.

“Persuasion, engagement and influencing still remain critical skills for procurement professionals. They need to be an authoritative voice in the business and these soft skills are absolutely necessary for achieving that. What’s emerging is the need for a technological or analytical skillset. There’s going to be a whole host of tools and technology available to the procurement professionals of the future and if they can’t utilise those tools, they’re going to be left behind.” Huggins pointed out.

Future of technology is bright but securing investment still a major hurdle

Procurement is too often stuck doing transactional activities, like small value contracts and contract renewals, says Huggins. He sees technology as the key to alleviating this. “I’m excited about the technology that’s going to free up procurement so they can do bigger deals and more strategic work.”

“Whether it’s buying platforms that connect you with a whole host of suppliers, or self-service models that empower the business to follow processes in an efficient way, there are a number of tools coming through that are going to unlock procurement from the tedium of transactional work.”

However, it’s not always an easy road for procurement professionals when it comes to securing investment for technology. Many of our think tank participants expressed their frustration at the hoops needed to jump through to buy technology to support procurement, largely coming down to the fact that they’re essentially a cost centre.

“Procurement are constantly measured by savings and they’re not sure the software they want to buy will actually get them that savings. In this respect, Procurement is stuck. Until they can prove the value of technology, I think they’re going to be limited in what they can do.” Huggins said.

Misalignment of priorities is damaging procurement’s brand internally

“Procurement’s objective is to maximise the value from their supply base. And that value is measured in the quality that’s delivered, the risk it was delivered through, and the price. And Procurement’s value really lies in balancing that quality, price and risk combination.” Huggins points out one of the stumbling blocks to proving this value to the rest of the business largely comes down to misalignment of priorities.

“Procurement can fall into the trap of putting their own priorities above the business’s priorities. This is understandable since procurement’s objectives are not always aligned with the business. But if procurement can start to see itself as a service function, there to enable the rest of the business, that’s going to remove a lot of these challenges,” Huggins concluded.

Have your say in the state of innovation in procurement. Complete this 2 minute survey to add your voice to these issues and see where you stack up to your peers when it comes to innovation.