Procurement Focus: Deloitte – the global management consultant

The consultancy giant, Deloitte, allows clients to meet business goals by providing consulting, tax, audit, assurance and financial and risk advisory.

Founded in 1845 in London, Deloitte has experienced significant growth throughout the years and now serves more than 286,000 people in 150 countries. Deloitte works with the biggest companies worldwide and serves four out of five Fortune 500 companies.

However, Deloitte’s guidance has also been extended to procurement leaders worldwide through the Global Chief Procurement Officer Survey 2018 which offers an insight into the key themes facing procurement today. More than 500 procurement leaders from 39 different countries took part with an annual turnover reaching over $5.5trn. The survey portrayed a greater emphasis towards innovation while procurement continued to successfully demonstrate short-term savings and managing risk to enable growth.

Some of the key findings from the survey saw the top three business strategies for procurement leaders featuring cost reduction (78%), new products/market development (58%) and managing risks (54%). It was also found that 61% of procurement leaders provided better year-on-year savings performance than the previous year, and 73% of procurement leaders felt they have the backing of their respective organisations. With technology becoming an increasingly influential part of how businesses operate, 33% of procurement leaders believe that a key digital procurement strategy will allow for the successful completion of organisational objectives and value.

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The importance of leading rather than following cannot be underestimated, particularly in the supply chain space. Deloitte found that supply chain leaders are more likely to:

Recognise the importance of innovation: It was revealed that 96% of those surveyed identified innovation as being “extremely important” to growth.

Be early adopters of disruptive technologies such as 3D printing: 48% of supply chain leaders are more likely to utilise additive manufacturing extensively.

Use analytics extensively: 75% of leaders utilise optimisation software in comparison to 34% of supply chain followers.

Empower executive level leadership: 56% of supply chain leaders operate with a senior executive on the frontline of its supply chain function, in comparison to 33% of followers.

Connect the organisation: Around 50% of supply chain leaders own the six links connected with supply chain management such as; product development, supply planning, demand planning, sourcing and procurement, as well as manufacturing and logistics and distribution.

Develop talent strategies: It was also found that 88% are more likely to recruit supply chain professionals with analytics expertise and cross-functional experience.