The Chief Procurement Officer’s priorities and challenges for 2023 are strongly featured in analyst firm Ardent Partners’ annual Big Trends and Predictions report. The report covers topics that range of geopolitical impacts on supply chains, inflationary pricing, A.I., and increased focus on ESG. It’s a must-read for anyone in procurement as they develop their strategies and spend roadmaps, set financial and non-financial target goals, and look for solutions to grow their impact.
From the perspective of improving the value of procurement’s performance, the report touches on a number of areas.
Savings is a Top CPO Priority – but Not a Measure of Procurement’s Total Value
Ardent shares that more than twice as many CPOs in 2022 said savings was a top priority compared to the previous two COVID-impacted years. However, as the authors acknowledge, savings doesn’t capture the true picture of procurement’s impact on the business. Areas such as non-financial performance, risk reduction, ESG advances, and more need to be captured in the performance reporting that is delivered to finance and other key stakeholders.
A More Proactive Sourcing Strategy Will Be Needed
Using spend data insights and other models to generate a pipeline of new sourcing opportunities is one obvious lever that procurement can use to drive more savings and business value. Getting those ideas queued up for a strategic roadmap on which to execute in 2023 should be a management priority.
Procurement Technology Proven to Provide a Strong Foundation
“The successful users of procurement solutions prove year-in and year-out the value that technology can play in helping scale a procurement operation and maximize its impact and performance,” you will read in the report. And while as a solution provider we couldn’t agree more, we also have customers who refer to our Performance Management platform as their “backbone” or “hub” of procurement management and reporting. The right solution has the power to bring true change and maturity advances to the organization.
CPOs Want Digital Intelligence
All of the digital transformation projects ultimately need to generate better strategic and execution support for the business. Getting great insights about your spend, projects, and outcomes are all areas where centralized, trusted data is needed. As the report states clearly, this type of data-driven knowledge “has become the CPO’s imperative.”
There is much more to explore in this thought leadership report, and as a sponsor, SpendHQ | Per Angusta is pleased to offer you a complimentary copy to enjoy and share with your team.
