From Procurement Police to the Chief Partner Officer
Cause and Effect of Past Practices
To continue our discussion from Part 1, let's consider the roles of cause and effect on evolving Procurement practices.
To continue our discussion from Part 1, let's consider the roles of cause and effect on evolving Procurement practices.
Well, many companies adopt automation in only one department of their business, while the rest of the department will rely on legacy systems. An automation platform cannot perform to its ultimate capabilities if the whole company is not on the same system. When you talk about company-wide automation, many companies are hesitant to deploy automation company-wide because it can require a lot of training and the system may not be user-friendly.
The world is entering its fourth Industrial Revolution, commonly referred to as Industry 4.0. While Western economies ruled the first three industrial revolutions (steam, electrification, automation), the economies that will dominate a 4.0 World are unknown. The future is up for grabs.
The traditional view of outsourcing has tended to see cost reduction as one of the primary drivers for any customer. The idea that the ‘total cost of ownership’ of a particular business function over the term of the outsourcing contract should be lower is very often part of the business case. Similarly, seeing outsourcing as a means of transforming a collection of assets on the balance sheet into a recurring service charge, and reducing (or at least apparently reducing) capital costs is another common refrain at the outset of deals.