With the closeness and ownership of the supply base the Procurement function has a decisive role to play in shaping the company’s Environmental Social Governance (ESG) footprint and contribute to the Net Zero targets for greenhouse gas. Creating Procurement with Purpose is an important part of Procurement Done Right.

As Procurement transforms beyond cost from a reactive to a proactive function it is vital to further develop Procurement skills within the organization. Procurement needs to excel at many different and new areas such as data science, change management and partnerships. Establishing an internal bespoke Procurement Academy in line with long term goals will be a corner stone in creating a Procurement Done Right function.

Companies are facing more challenges today than ever and Procurement can be part of the strategy to handle these challenges. Procurement could play a center role in increasing competitiveness by e.g., mitigating cost increase, securing sustainability targets, enabling digitalization on company or functional level, and ensuring a flexible supply chain. When Procurement is Done Right, the Procurement Strategy is an integral part of and aligned with the overall business strategy.

A Procurement Done Right functions of today needs to balance the instituted cost focus with possibilities to leverage the supplier base to add value. A Category Management approach is a proven methodology to use for cross-functional teams to address spend categories with the objective to optimize cost. A more collaborative approach with Supplier Relationship Management is a great way to balance the cost focus with possibilities to drive improvements and encourage innovation.