The strategic sourcing process is key for all companies, as it allows them to obtain better negotiations with suppliers, increase savings opportunities, reduce costs and reduce the materialization of risks inherent to the supply chain.
However, in the day-to-day work of the Purchasing areas, some practices can be generated that may affect their optimal performance.. In this article we tell you about three common behaviors and how to avoid them to continue driving the strategic transformation of procurement departments:
1.Do not invest in the areas of Procurement
Senior management often consider policies that include a high percentage of savings to boost the organizations' profits.
Many purchasing managers are committed to this purpose and in order to set an example to other areas of the company, they begin to reduce their own operating costs. This often leads to increased workloads in the purchasing teams, decreased responsiveness, increased complaints from user areas and escalating noise in the company.
In this case it is key to remember that successful sourcing processes require investment in personnel, technology and change management. A more successful strategy is to set out a clear strategy for the fulfillment of the Purchasing area's objectives, including tactics and necessary resources.
Failure to measure area commitments
One of the objectives of the Purchasing areas is to comply with the Service Levels with other users and areas of the organizations. However, they are often not analyzed so that they correspond to the reality of the area. As a result, on many occasions commitments are made that cannot be fulfilled, so delivery date promises are postponed.
In this case, The workload, available resources and time required should be realistically assessed before making commitments. In addition, the use of technological tools can be implemented to measure SLAs, analyze purchasing planning in detail and automate operational tasks to free up the purchasing team's time.
3. Believing that technology solves everything.
There are undoubtedly technological platforms that help procurement teams increase their efficiency, transparency and productivity. However, it is often overlooked that one tool alone will not solve all the critical points of the area.
Therefore, when planning the acquisition of platforms for Purchasing automation, in addition to first understanding the critical needs, it is necessary to budgeting for change management as well. This process is often underestimated and it is key to measure the amount of effort to understand the needs, train, communicate the change and provide support to the user areas.
Considering the best technology, change management and the necessary resources, success will undoubtedly be achieved in the projects of digital transformation of the Purchasing areas.
Source: GEP publications.
