High Performance Through Procurement: The Role Of Technology

Procurement mastery - significantly outpacing competitors in areas such as sourcing, category management and supplier relationship management - can be immensely profitable. A recent Accenture study makes this clear: "Procurement masters achieve 30 percent higher savings than companies with lesser capabilities. Yet masters' procurement organizations cost about half as much to run."With such stellar potential, it's surprising how many companies never move ahead with a major procurement-optimization effort. To some extent, their reticence indicates old school thinking: "Procurement is basically a clerical function - a cost center. As long as we're reasonably efficient, there's more benefit in devoting our strategic energies to other things. Right?".