In our previous post, we explored how The Hackett Group has come out with a comprehensive Procurement Agenda for 2015 and we looked at major areas of procurement focus, influencing indirect spend along with the top priorities. In our last part, let’s move ahead and conclude the core points for Asian Procurement Professionals:

Driving higher returns

Procurement teams across the globe will accelerate their powers through improved strategic sourcing, category management and supplier management thus bringing in higher returns and this seems to be a key trend especially in 2015. Asian procurement teams should follow the suit in order to remain competitive and allocate more resources towards strategic activities. This will in turn drive higher returns as compared to returns received tactical activities.

Supplier Management Strategies

2015 is a year of supplier management. Supplier Performance Management is a major task and the focus needs to be on the suppliers that provide the greatest return. Quantifying supplier collaboration efforts by analyzing the value contribution attained by supplier innovation is one of the emerging trends in supplier management initiatives apart from supplier performance scorecards. Procurement teams across all industries in Asia will thus improvise in measuring value, delivered beyond traditional cost savings modules.

Bottom Line for Procurement Professionals

• Expand procurement’s influence over indirect spend
• Enhance analytical & strategic intelligence capabilities
• Procurement budgets expected to remain flat
• Robust savings forecasted by end of 2015
• Supplier Innovation to play a pivotal role apart from common supplier performance management metrics

What does 2015 sound like in your procurement team? Share your views in comments below.

The Procurement Agenda 2015 report emerges from a recent joint survey conducted by Zycus and The Hackett Group. This survey, responded by over 200 procurement leaders and practitioners, reflects their growing determination to continue to drive sustained procurement savings and efficiency gains in the coming year.

Related Read: 

1. Procurement automation: How can it help in procurement transformation?
2. Understanding Blockchain in Procurement and Its Impact 
3. Zycus Procure to Pay Software
4. Procurement Best Practices– Top 10 Tips to Follow in 2023
5. Procurement Organization Structure– 6 Key Points to Consider
6. White Paper – Moving Procurement to the cloud for resilient and efficient operations