Times Are Changing: The Future of Supply Chains



“For time and the world do not stand still. Change is the law of life. Those who only look to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.” – John F. Kennedy

In order to develop a tactical procurement team that will add value to your business, you need to learn to adapt. Procurement has been done in the same way by contingent workforce leaders for years. However, the world of sourcing and contingent workforce management is transforming. Traditional sources dominate in contingent workforce management. While staffing suppliers, agencies and personal networks source most contingent talent today. But that is likely to change quickly.


During the 2000s, a few factors combined to cause additional changes in purchasing. Corporate social responsibility became critical due in part to the Internet, easier access to data, strategic sourcing and partnership working. Collaboration between procurement teams, colleagues and suppliers became more frequent. Professionals began to think deeper than cost and how to add value onto overall enterprise. Not to mention the rapid increase of outsourcing and global sourcing requires much greater levels of service contracting management.


It’s evident technology has affected procurement considerably. There has been progression from a focus on physical supply to much broader questions around value. We see, links between procurements effects inside and outside organisations, which developed from understanding both are important for procurement success. Although the world we work in has become much more complex and unpredictable, the internet provides more than enough assistance, to help us make sense of it.


The key to preparing for changes is anticipation, preparation, and the appropriate adjustments. Procurement is changing, so be prepared with these four ways to get ready.


  1. Share your knowledge: The most transformative objective to achieve will be making every member of the team better at procurement. Team performance will have a direct impact on your organisation’s bottom line. When you build a “procurement mentality” in your staff, you can increase compliance, reduce risk and create more cost savings.
  2. Be strategic: Procurement must move away from the presiding focus on unit cost reduction that is still the primary focus in many organisations. You need to play a wider and more fundamental role in the organisation.
  3. Expand spend visibility: Spend visibility is an important part to all changes in procurement. If you want to control supply effectively, you need to manage spend. Spend is what you pay and supply is what you get. To manage spend you have to see it.
  4. Be prepared to use technology: The speed of technological development is only going to get faster going into the future.. Procurement professionals need to be familiar with technology and know how to use it to manage supply chains and get great business results.

“The Times They Are a-Changin” – Bob Dylan

The Procurement Group

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