#7: Talent development

Although talent development obtained the least amounts of votes in our survey, there are few procurement executives who would argue the importance of having a plan in place to develop the procurement leaders of the future.
 

#6: Responsible sourcing 

How is this made, and where does it come from? These are important questions on the lips of both procurement professionals and the public. Although it has perhaps moved out of the spotlight slightly in the last 12 – 18 months, especially on the public stage, responsible sourcing remains a central pillar of Indirect Procurement’s responsibility.

#5: Taking advantage of digitisation

Organisations are rapidly digitising across the board, and Procurement is attempting to make the most of the operational advantages implicit in this change. The move to digitise in many cases means completely overhauling established business processes – this presents a significant opportunity for improvement, and is an essential element of a successful future for Indirect Procurement.

#4: Innovation in services

Procurement seek to lead innovation in the way that an organisation uses services, from HR, to IT, Marketing and beyond. This is an area in which Procurement has the potential to add real value. The fresh availability of external services can mean easy and comparatively cheap solutions with minimal risk, which is great for growing companies. 

#3: Operational efficiency  

While driving down costs can be done by negotiating better deals there is also some considerable importance placed on increasing operational efficiency. Doing so means making better use of available resources and ultimately saving money. 

#2: Value delivery

Just like beauty, value is often in the eye of the beholder. That being said, those with a progressive approach to indirect procurement increasingly look to consistently add tangible value to the categories in which they work and actively measure and target themselves on their ability to do so.

#1: Cost leadership

Perhaps unsurprisingly the number one area of importance for Indirect Procurement is in the area of cost leadership. Taking a strong stance on cost leadership is a significant driver of improvement to the bottom line and Indirect Procurement is expected to demonstrate its ability to drive meaningful savings.