In our recently published Strategic Planning Guide – one of the most eagerly awaited content drops of the Procurement Leaders content calendar – a thought-provoking data point suggests that revenue generation is back on the CPO agenda.
Of the many ways leaders can drive value to the enterprise, top-line contribution hasn’t always been high on the list, mostly because for the last several years extinguishing fires has been priority number one, two and three.
That seems to be changing. Overall, revenue generation has leapt two positions from last year’s survey to become the fourth most important strategic deliverable, with around one-fifth of respondents naming it their top priority.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, savings, resilience and speed of execution occupy the top three priorities (in that order) but it’s a notable development and one that has piqued my interest for several reasons.
First, and most importantly, this is a piece of quantitative evidence that adds to the growing collection of more anecdotal examples of how procurement is shifting the balance between savings, resilience, value creation and innovation.
Examples from our membership community, some of which I’ve shared here, include stories of dedicated innovation headcount, the removal of savings as a metric for significant proportions of a procurement team, greater collaboration with stakeholders to bring suppliers in early and an increase in the number of members who are launching dedicated innovation programmes.
As an aside, it’s great to see our members hosting top-to-top supplier-innovation events too – a number of examples of which have happened of late.
As an unapologetic fanboy of supplier-enabled innovation and the power that is available – and often untapped – within the supplier ecosystem, it’s a welcome and reassuring return for the function.
If you think that I’m being fanciful and naïve and am missing the reality of what stakeholders and CFOs demand of procurement, I’d understand. But I would also question the longer-term viability of a CPO obsessed with deliverables that are ripe for automation.
For procurement, the future’s bright – but only if we look well beyond its traditional boundaries. It’s gratifying to see a growing number of CPOs are doing just that.
To receive weekly insights from the Procurement Leaders community, sign up to the CPO Crunch newsletter using the link at the top of this page.
