Blogs

Recently, we hosted an insightful roundtable event on the future of procurement and the skills that future CPO’s will need, with procurement leaders from a range of organisations. Discussions were thought-provoking, and covered a variety of topics. Most of the panel concluded that while traditional procurement skills are still relevant, modern CPO’s need to be able to do muc...

So, at last we have some clarity on the introduction of the off-payroll working rules – otherwise known as IR35 - into the private sector. Or do we? The Chancellor announced in the Budget that, to bring the private sector in line with the public sector, businesses will become responsible for assessing an individual’s employment status. However, he also announced that the ref...

Back in 2012, Deloitte produced a report outlining what procurement needed to do to transform itself by 2020. Deloitte’s report at the time suggested that procurement was a service provider, an integrator and was building sustainable transformation through category leadership, advanced sourcing and performance tracking. The vision for 2020 was a radical rethink which positio...

According to a recent Raconteur report in The Times on the future of procurement, the job of a CPO does not feature widely in children’s lists of the top ten things they want to do when they grow up. Hardly surprising I hear you say, but a CPO is arguably one of the most varied and challenging jobs in business – especially given the evolving nature of the discipline and the ...

Designing a world class strategy, significantly shaping and influencing markets with a multi-billion pound spend, providing strategic category direction and creating centres of expertise and excellence. These are just some of the activities carried out by specialists working at the Crown Commercial Service (CCS), an organisation that procures common goods and services for ce...

1st Executive's interview with the Automobile Association's Head of Procurement - Daniel Cox Following the appointment of Simon Breakwell (ex Uber & Expedia) as CEO in August 2017, The AA has commenced a complex transformation programme focused on revolutionising the customer experience through investing in and embracing new technologies. Procurement are heavily involved in ...

Look around your procurement department – how many members of staff are millennials? If the answer is very few then how is your procurement department going to remain sustainable and what is your organisation doing to attract and retain those professionals who will make up its future? According to a recent study by EY , by 2025, 75% of the global workforce will be made up of...

By now, you’ll already know that the enforcement of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is imminent. At present, data protection regulations typically classify suppliers as data processors, rather than controllers, meaning they have no primary liabilities. However, GDPR will make suppliers directly liable and also make it mandatory for data controllers to include s...

Threats to supply chains are nothing new. From cyber-attacks and floods to earthquakes and IT outages but now there are new threats on the horizon – that of trade wars, protectionism and tariffs. Consequently, according to a recent supply chain strategies report in The Times, the emphasis on risk management is going to sharply increase in the months ahead – and the approach ...

Procurement and sourcing processes have become increasingly digitised in recent times and next generation technology is set to transform the sector. In fact, consultancy firm The Hackett Group’s 2017 Key Issues Study found that 84% of procurement organisations believe digital transformation will fundamentally change the way their services are delivered over the next three to...