Future of Sourcing - Source-To-Pay https://futureofsourcing.com/tags/source-to-pay en New Source-to-Pay Strategies Emerge in the Wake of COVID-19 https://futureofsourcing.com/new-source-to-pay-strategies-emerge-in-the-wake-of-covid-19 <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/FoS%20Graphic%20%285%29%20%281%29.png"><a href="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/FoS%20Graphic%20%285%29%20%281%29.png" title="Source-to-Pay Strategies" class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-1918-Ax_8Kdy2Lz8"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/FoS%20Graphic%20%285%29%20%281%29.png?itok=7QBAr5PQ" width="624" height="325" alt="Source-to-Pay Strategies" title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-news field-type-entityreference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Related news:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/covid-19-proves-why-its-time-to-put-the-supply-chain-on-autopilot">COVID-19 Proves Why It’s Time to Put the Supply Chain on Autopilot</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>During the COVID-19 pandemic, companies have had to navigate unprecedented supply and demand chain challenges. In fact, industries were seeing increasing instability in this area prior to the pandemic&rsquo;s onset. Susan Lund, a partner at the McKinsey Global Institute, <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/operations/our-insights/covid-19-and-supply-chain-recovery-planning-for-the-future">says</a> even before COVID research conducted revealed that, on average, companies could expect to see a disruption to their production lines of one to two months occurring every three-and-a-half to four years.</p> <p>Organizations are needing to revamp their sourcing strategies to ensure agility, resiliency and stability, and a measured approach that reduces organizational risk. This requires automation, visibility, control and the consistent application of best-in-class source-to-pay processes.</p> <h1>Sourcing New Qualified Suppliers</h1> <p>Companies are responding with fresh procurement strategies to source new qualified suppliers. These include online auctions and sourcing events, dual sourcing/multiple sourcing strategies and leveraging procurement marketplaces such as Amazon Business.</p> <p>To increase the pace of sourcing and lighten the administrative workload, cloud-based supplier portals can be used to support request for proposals/quotes and online auctions.</p> <p>From a procurement perspective, a supplier offering favorable pricing may seem attractive. However, organizations must be cautious to vet suppliers as the present pandemic is imposing significant business challenges. Conduct thorough due diligence to ensure your supplier partner can go the distance and deliver while withstanding disruptions (such as additional lockdowns).</p> <p>Capabilities within supplier portals can help companies to qualify/vet and survey potential business partners to assess suppliers&rsquo; ability to comply with specified sourcing criteria. This streamlines the process of identifying new qualified suppliers to participate in sourcing events as well as making the process open to existing approved suppliers.</p> <p>Integration to external ecosystem partners to access procurement marketplaces such as Amazon, supplier insights through Dun and Bradstreet, and electronic signature validation through DocuSign empower the organization to streamline informed decision-making.</p> <p><center></p> <p><em><a href="https://sig.org/keeping-eye-supply-chain-risks" target="_blank">&gt;&gt;New podcast: Keeping an Eye on Supply Chain Risks&lt;&lt;</a></em></p> <p></center></p> <h1>Streamlining Supplier Onboarding and Contracting</h1> <p>Once suppliers are selected, a supplier portal can also help speed supplier onboarding and contract processing. Visibility in the source to contract award process brings increased utility to organizations practicing dual sourcing and/or multiple supplier sourcing. Additionally, organizations gain newfound capabilities to create and manage contracts with greater efficiency, visibility and audit control.</p> <p>A communication and risk management plan should be implemented for each new supplier. The potential risks of the relationship should be identified and then mitigated with sufficient compliance measures. These arrangements are then formalized with the signed contract. In the past, this was an enormously time-consuming, manual, paper-based process. Today&rsquo;s technology can auto-generate contracts based on pre-prepared information plugged into the system beforehand and from the RFP previously submitted to ensure supplier information accuracy.</p> <h1>Ensuring Performance Management Controls</h1> <p>Organizations need to understand the performance of their supplier performance base, which has morphed quickly due to COVID-19, so they can ensure they standardize on the best performing suppliers moving forward.</p> <p>Again, technology can play a role in supporting this vital activity by helping organizations establish milestones, enforce terms and conditions of the supplier relationship, and track metrics for supplier performance management.</p> <p>Key performance indicators (KPIs) and objectives should be set and tracked to hold suppliers to account, with agreed upon checkpoints in place for service level delivery and performance against the previously agreed upon service levels and KPIs.</p> <p>Ongoing supplier performance monitoring should include validation of:</p> <ul> <li>Receipt of timely deliveries of goods</li> <li>Product quality</li> <li>Stock availability</li> <li>Satisfactory customer service and communications</li> </ul> <h1>Invoice Set Up</h1> <p>Next, invoicing must be set up. Invoice automation can provide benefits in cycle time reduction and reducing late payments, especially if the new contract generates high invoice volumes. eInvoicing and 3-way PO matching can reduce fraud and support &ldquo;touchless&rdquo; processing to reduce accounts payable costs.</p> <p>In some instances (and per contractual agreements), organizations can gain early pay discounts. These are to the advantage of both the supplier and the payer, but organizations must be able to process and pay invoices quickly to support this strategy.</p> <p>Additionally, tracking cost savings secured with any new supplier should be communicated back to the wider business to showcase benefits to the bottom line.</p> <h1>Weathering Whatever Is Next</h1> <p>The COVID-19 pandemic may have been a black swan event, but it has exposed inherent risks and instabilities in the supply chain. It has put the need for procure-to-pay strategies to improve resilience and agility on the forefront of the C-suite agenda.</p> <p>Today&rsquo;s digital supply management platforms and tools improve operational visibility and streamline decision-making within an organization and with suppliers. This enables organizations to revamp their supply chains to successfully weather whatever is next.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/covid-19" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">COVID-19</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/source-to-pay" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Source-To-Pay</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/sourcing" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Sourcing</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/supplier-management" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Supplier Management</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/contracting" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Contracting</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/invoice" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Invoice</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="New Source-to-Pay Strategies Emerge in the Wake of COVID-19 - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="https://futureofsourcing.com/new-source-to-pay-strategies-emerge-in-the-wake-of-covid-19"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Mon, 01 Feb 2021 22:23:28 +0000 Shannon Kreps 1918 at https://futureofsourcing.com https://futureofsourcing.com/new-source-to-pay-strategies-emerge-in-the-wake-of-covid-19#comments 2020: The End of Procurement https://futureofsourcing.com/2020-the-end-of-procurement <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Copy%20of%20FoS%20Header%20Images%20%2818%29.png"><a href="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Copy%20of%20FoS%20Header%20Images%20%2818%29.png" title="Procurement in 2020" class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-1735-Ax_8Kdy2Lz8"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/Copy%20of%20FoS%20Header%20Images%20%2818%29.png?itok=1IJNPqZs" width="624" height="325" alt="Procurement in 2020" title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-news field-type-entityreference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Related news:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/3-essential-strategies-for-trusted-supplier-relationships">3 Essential Strategies for Trusted Supplier Relationships</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>A new year and a new decade brings about the end and the beginning of many things. Hopefully the new decade brings an end to the angry woman and cat meme as well as the retirement of the man bun (sorry, it&rsquo;s not my style). All kidding aside, the new decade brings hope, a chance to renew, a time to reflect and an opportunity to leave the past in the past.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>It is hard to imagine what 2030 will look like and even harder to imagine the amount of change supply chains will see in the coming years. In the next 10 years, could we see 3-D printing change how items are produced?</p> <p>Could we experience extreme automation of the entire source-to-pay process through IoT, RPA and AI?</p> <p>Could we, through data aggregation, have no more vendor masters or item masters to maintain?</p> <p>Could there be flying electric cars and drones changing transportation forever?</p> <p>The possibilities are endless for what is to come and it will likely change how we operate, relate, and add value within our jobs and lives.&nbsp;</p> <h1>It&rsquo;s No Longer <em>Just</em> Procurement</h1> <p>A change that I predict we will see in the coming years is the end of the term &ldquo;procurement&rdquo; to describe the organizations and functions that we perform. This is because &ldquo;procurement&rdquo; does not accurately describe the scope of what we do and the value we provide within organizations. The expectation of our organizations and what many already do today expands well beyond the buying and negotiation of goods and services. It includes risk reduction, social impact, sustainability, community outreach, innovation, revenue generation, demand management, process optimization and so much more.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Unfortunately when stakeholders and suppliers hear the word &ldquo;procurement,&rdquo; it harkens back to the days of old &ndash; piles of paperwork, POs, fist-pounding negotiations and price control. When the value we offer goes beyond the connotation of the word and our stakeholders are expecting so much more from us, it is time for a change.&nbsp;</p> <p>Maybe part of the problem with changing the name of what we do is there are seemingly no great alternatives to better describe it. Or maybe we are worried about using a commonly accepted name to describe ourselves. There are a couple of examples that could work and that are already being used effectively today. Below are some of the pros and cons of each.</p> <h1>Spend Management</h1> <p><strong>Pros: </strong>Some organizations and source-to-pay technology providers are starting to promote and use spend management as a way to describe what they do. Spend management includes overlooked categories like travel expenses and partnerships with third parties and promotes asking questions about these spending categories.&nbsp;</p> <p>It is clear to stakeholders that if they are going to spend money on anything, the spend management team should be enlisted to add value to that process. It is clear, concise and allows for a broader scope to be achieved.</p> <p><strong>Cons: </strong>It&rsquo;s too focused on spending money versus the bigger picture where there are opportunities to increase revenue, deliver process optimization, drive innovation or reduce risk.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <h1>Enterprise Optimization</h1> <p><strong>Pros: </strong>This term comes from the thought leadership of Ronald Wright and the crew at KAR Auctions around the value we provide. Breaking away from the spend-centric names, enterprise optimization expands to interactions with stakeholders and suppliers whenever there is something that could be more effective, efficient or cost less. These could be opportunities related to new innovations, anticipation and mitigation of business risk and sustainability.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Cons: </strong>Depending on the organization, this definition and name might be too broad, overlapping with other departments&rsquo; responsibilities. It will be important to define the scope of what you have the ability to tackle within the world of enterprise optimization that works in the current landscape.&nbsp;</p> <p>At the end of the day, these two options might work well for some and not others. Finding a name that accurately depicts the value you deliver, what your stakeholders want and that works within your company&rsquo;s culture is key. Think of the name of the function as a way to brand what you are trying to achieve, so be strategic and thoughtful. The name should help promote and inspire stakeholders to the new world of possibilities that can be achieved together.&nbsp;</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/procurement" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Procurement</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/spend-management" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Spend Management</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/source-to-pay" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Source-To-Pay</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/risk-management" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Risk Management</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="2020: The End of Procurement - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="https://futureofsourcing.com/2020-the-end-of-procurement"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Thu, 09 Apr 2020 21:46:14 +0000 Amanda Prochaska 1735 at https://futureofsourcing.com https://futureofsourcing.com/2020-the-end-of-procurement#comments Rising Star Interview: Zachary Greenberger https://futureofsourcing.com/rising-star-interview-zachary-greenberger <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Zachary%20Greenberger_FOS%20Individual%20Award_Interview%20Graphic.png"><a href="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Zachary%20Greenberger_FOS%20Individual%20Award_Interview%20Graphic.png" title="Rising Star Interview: Zachary Greenberger" class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-1601-Ax_8Kdy2Lz8"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/Zachary%20Greenberger_FOS%20Individual%20Award_Interview%20Graphic.png?itok=IVxRWdh4" width="624" height="325" alt="Rising Star Interview: Zachary Greenberger" title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-intro field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p>This October, the&nbsp;<a href="https://futureofsourcingawards.com/?__hstc=215510152.344406f4865c40604cf6029be7e958e0.1543422516683.1570547502174.1570550578443.637&amp;__hssc=215510152.4.1570550578443&amp;__hsfp=2721840510" target="_blank">Future of Sourcing Awards</a>&nbsp;will celebrate individuals newer to the industry whose thought leadership and expertise have shown promise that is likely to have a lasting impact on the industry. Below, read about Rising Star Finalist Zachary Greenberger.&nbsp;Zach currently leads global sourcing and procurement operations at Lyft.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <div> <h3><em>How did you get into this field &ndash; was it purposeful or by accident?</em></h3> </div> <div>A bit of both &ndash; my career started with a heavy interest in supply chain, and the desire to dive deep into and resolve complex business issues. After my first experience in strategic sourcing, I very intently pivoted to pursue a career with that focus. I felt there was a really unique ability with this type of role to influence critical decisions, develop a wide range of relationships and continuously expand my business knowledge.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div> <h3><em>In what ways do you hope to influence or transform the industry?</em></h3> </div> <div>I have aspirations to better incorporate innovative tech into supply chain and procurement systems. The industry has certainly made strides, but there is a lot more that can be done to innovate on the Source-to-Pay process. I see a pretty consistent gap between stakeholder experience and the oversight and reporting desired from a P2P system. I remain convinced more can be done to transform this space given the range of emerging technology we have available today. &nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div> <h3><em>Who are the mentors or role models who have guided you in your career?</em></h3> </div> <div>My father is my biggest role model and mentor. He&rsquo;s always been a great support system and sounding board for me to bounce ideas off of. He&rsquo;s helped keep me focused on the right priorities and objectives in achieving my career goals. Without his guidance I certainly wouldn&rsquo;t be where I am today. Other notable role models of mine are Liam O&rsquo;Connor, the COO of Zipline and a former supply chain executive at both Lyft and Tesla, as well as the Co-Founders of Lyft, John Zimmer and Logan Green.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div> <h3><em>What is something you wish more people knew about the sourcing and procurement industry?</em></h3> </div> <div>There is a common misconception that sourcing and procurement professionals are difficult to work with, and don&rsquo;t have aligned interests with their stakeholders. Truth is we desire to be trusted business partners, and only have the companies&rsquo; best interest in mind when providing feedback on a certain supplier strategy or transaction. It&rsquo;s important for those who aren&rsquo;t familiar with the industry to see us as business operators that can help them build successful strategies and navigate issues that may come along. &nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div> <h3><em>Looking ahead, what trends do you think will emerge in the sourcing and procurement space?</em></h3> </div> <div>I think we will start to see a more aggressive shift in the skill sets of sourcing and procurement professionals. It seems companies have always tended to seek out professionals with deep knowledge of certain commodities. Of course there nothing wrong with that, but I am finding that some of the best sourcing professionals are those that are generalists by nature, and just have exceptional business acumen which enables them to negotiate unique deal structures, influence stakeholders, and be a valued partner to the business regardless of the commodity. &nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>I am also starting to see procurement/supply chain play a more critical role in bringing business strategies to life. We will definitely continue to see sourcing and procurement move from a supporting function, to a critical decision maker.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div> <h3><em>What advice do you have for those who are considering a career in sourcing or procurement? </em></h3> </div> <div>If you are interested in a role that brings constant excitement, unique challenges, and the ability to never stop learning, you are looking in the right place. You will excel if you continuously apply previous learnings to each deal, and you will feel fulfilled to see each deal and relationship come to life and drive value to the business. There will be challenges as there are with any role, but your attitude towards those challenges will dictate the success you have in developing relationships and delivering results.</div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/supply-chain-management" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Supply Chain Management</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/strategic-sourcing" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Strategic Sourcing</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/source-to-pay" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Source-To-Pay</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/procure-to-pay-p2p-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Procure-To-Pay (P2P)</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/stakeholders" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Stakeholders</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/future-of-sourcing-awards" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Future of Sourcing Awards</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="Rising Star Interview: Zachary Greenberger - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="https://futureofsourcing.com/rising-star-interview-zachary-greenberger"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Fri, 13 Sep 2019 16:10:22 +0000 Zachary Greenberger 1601 at https://futureofsourcing.com https://futureofsourcing.com/rising-star-interview-zachary-greenberger#comments FSSC Expert Interviews eBook https://futureofsourcing.com/fssc-expert-interviews-ebook <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>In an interview with the Global process expert source-to-pay at Clariant SE and the Head of Global Shared Services Finance &amp; Accounting Senior Vice President at Heraeus Holding GmbH, SSON collected some interesting insights about employees involved in change processes and the centralization of functions. Read all German language questions and answers here for free: <a href="http://bit.ly/SSOW-FSSC-Interviews" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/SSOW-FSSC-Interviews</a></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/shared-services" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Shared Services</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/global-business-services-gbs" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global Business Services (GBS)</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/source-to-pay" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Source-To-Pay</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/finance" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Finance</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/centralized-functions" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Centralized Functions</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="FSSC Expert Interviews eBook - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="https://futureofsourcing.com/fssc-expert-interviews-ebook"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Tue, 31 Jul 2018 17:00:00 +0000 Stefanie Ullrich 1251 at https://futureofsourcing.com https://futureofsourcing.com/fssc-expert-interviews-ebook#comments Q&A: Gary Stoddard, Nitor Partners https://futureofsourcing.com/qa-gary-stoddard-nitor-partners <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Gary%20Stoddard%20624x325.png"><a href="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Gary%20Stoddard%20624x325.png" title="Q&amp;A: Gary Stoddard, Nitor Partners" class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-1044-Ax_8Kdy2Lz8"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/Gary%20Stoddard%20624x325.png?itok=hKPclBzk" width="624" height="325" alt="" title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-intro field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p><em style="outline: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Gary Stoddard is a Partner with Nitor Partners, whose single focus is empowering clients to achieve Source-to-Pay excellence</em><em style="outline: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">. Dawn Tiura, CEO and President of Sourcing Industry Group, got together with Gary recently to get his thoughts on&nbsp;<em><em>creating sustainability&nbsp;and the need for an integrated procurement environment.</em></em></em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <h2>Empowering Organizations to Create Sustainable Value - The Need for a Holistic and Integrated Procurement Environment</h2> <p><em><strong>Dawn Tiura: One of the things I first wanted to talk to you about is understanding a little bit about your history. How did you get to be where you are at Nitor? </strong></em></p> <p>Gary Stoddard: Prior to Nitor, I had both a corporate and consulting background. My corporate career was with Rolls-Royce in aerospace. I worked in many different countries, both in customer-facing and procurement roles. Initially the roles were managing the sales and relationships for some of the largest airline customers in Europe and America. Then I moved back to the UK to be in procurement, which 15-20 years ago, was not a common path.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><em><strong>DT: I agree, could you tell me more about that?</strong></em></p> <p>GS: Sure. Rolls-Royce is a very forward-thinking company and realized that improving the connectivity between sales and procurement greatly helps the business achieve its goals. In aerospace, the jet engine sales and maintenance deals for commercial airlines are quite complex and very long-term. A lot of modeling goes into accurately predicting the 20-year support needs and associated pricing structure. The performance of supplier provided parts that go into the jet engine play a significant role in this.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><em><strong>DT: At what stage of evolution was procurement at?</strong></em></p> <p>GS: Like other historically quality focused companies, procurement was fairly well advanced at Rolls-Royce. Spend analysis, category management, strategic sourcing, and supplier management were all aspects of procurement that were highly valued and understood by the organization. Also, the value focus was not just on cost - service, delivery, quality and innovation were just as important. Where the next stage of development was needed centered around improving the alignment of the procurement deal structure with the longer-term customer model. The company was looking to close that gap and improve the connectivity. To enable this change, the concept was to shift some of this product risk back down to the supply base and create more of a long-term, relationship-driven, risk and reward type of supplier environment. Often, for key engine components that were outsourced, only a small number of suppliers had the experience, capacity and certification to meet the high specifications. So in terms of supplier segmentation, much of this work was in the relationship / partnering quadrant. It was enjoyable to see the Procurement side of the business drive change through development of the risk and reward sharing contract structures, which really changed the whole alignment with the supply base, improved quality, service, delivery and also reduced risk.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><em><strong>DT: What was the next phase in your career?</strong></em></p> <p>GS: I got close to the ten-year point with Rolls-Royce and realized it was time to follow my dream of owning my own business - but I had never settled on exactly what that would be.&nbsp; My time in Procurement helped me see the need for these solutions and how to better manage suppliers across the source-to-pay spectrum, and my time in sales meant I was comfortable in generating business. So I set up a consulting company in England that was focused on the upstream aspects of procurement - spend analysis, category management, strategic sourcing, contracts and supplier management.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><em><strong>DT: How did that go?</strong></em></p> <p>GS: Thankfully very well! I did that for nearly five years and really enjoyed helping companies in many different industries. I realized that the work I did at Rolls-Royce, in procurement, was significantly further ahead than 90% of other companies. So very quickly I could see that my decision to leave such a great organization was going to be successful. The time then came to move back to America with my family. Shortly after the move I met up with Nitor and we found that we had a good fit. My experience was more on the upstream side of the Source-to-Pay spectrum and broader Procurement transformation. Nitor had already established a great reputation for experience on source-to-pay technology implementation. So 8 years ago I became a Partner / Owner of the company and that&#39;s how I ended up where I am today!</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><em><strong>DT: I know that Nitor is about empowering organizations to create sustainable value in the source-to-pay space. Can you tell me a little bit about how you approach that? I know you talk about the need for a holistic, integrated procurement environment. Can you share your thoughts on that?</strong></em></p> <p>GS: If I look first at upstream, over the last few years strategic sourcing became a bit of a buzzword in procurement. Companies liked it because they could showcase internally that they had saved X millions of dollars - at least at the surface level. However, most organizations that adopted strategic sourcing were still very tactical or reactive and it was being done in isolation. It wasn&#39;t really connected to the business operations needs - how they contract, how they manage suppliers or to how they transact with suppliers. It was very much a silo driven, reactive approach to sourcing.</p> <p>We have helped our clients look at how creating value is much broader than just the cost savings in sourcing and how it&#39;s important to connect the upstream environment - spend visibility, category management, sourcing, contracts and supplier management - to really create incremental value and enable a sustainable approach. In addition to establishing this broader value proposition of Procurement, we have also helped our clients address the downstream aspects of Procurement - driving contract compliance, enabling efficiencies in how the procure and payment transactions occur, and delivering improvements in cash management with suppliers. Without addressing and connecting these upstream and downstream aspects, for every dollar saved, only 60-70% tends to hit the bottom-line.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><em><strong>DT: Could you elaborate on the main ways you have empowered organizations to create sustainable value?</strong></em></p> <p>GS: There are a number of areas where we help clients transform their organization to showcase the real value proposition of Procurement - not only creating additional value but also ensuring they efficiently keep it.</p> <p>The first area is around improving analytics. One of the biggest problems most organizations face is they don&#39;t have good visibility into spend. Typically, they are not capturing good spend detail when they transact, and they do not have good systems to gain real time access to data. Nitor has helped organizations implement and see how they can use systems as well as improve data collection from the transaction environment to really get down to line level spend data. So you can truly see who you&#39;re spending money with, what it&#39;s on, where you are buying the same thing from multiple suppliers and how it compares across different sites/regions. This visibility drives speed - to seeing opportunities, making decisions and to engaging the market.</p> <p>The second area is category management. Many organizations missed this step as they went from analyzing spend to quickly sourcing in a very tactical rather than strategic manner. Nitor has been helping clients see why category management is so important in driving change. Broadly, it is: improving how to engage with the business as a service partner before an organization actually goes and does a sourcing project, truly understand and challenge their business needs, share what we are seeing in the spend data and market place, and look at supplier performance with the incumbents. This is pre any sourcing activity so the pressure to &ldquo;send out an RFP or do an auction&rdquo; tomorrow is not there and you can explore how best to change the dynamic of the category and improve value. It&#39;s looking at what is the art of the possible.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><em><strong>DT: I totally agree with you - how are you seeing this played out?</strong></em></p> <p>GS: Companies have slowly stopped knee jerk reactions to sourcing needs and they are taking a step back. It&#39;s hard sometimes to make people realize they first need to take a step back to think about categories - everyone wants to save money today. So a lot of companies are now realizing that if they take a step back and proactively work with the business, they can save two-three times as much compared to when they had a very tactical, reactive approach to sourcing.</p> <p>This links into the third area we have been helping clients with on understanding what strategic sourcing really is. Too many companies forget the first word - strategic. They just source, or if we are being honest, do slightly more than 3 bids and a buy. Too often when we assess an organization&#39;s strategic sourcing approach, it is mainly tactical rather than strategic.</p> <p>Therefore, we have helped clients build out the strategic sourcing methodology and provide a playbook and training to make this transformation sustainable. Aspects include: developing a total cost baseline, identifying holistic business requirements / KPIs that are broader than just cost - delivery, quality and service, and assessing the best fit sourcing strategy from a toolkit of options - volume leveraging, focused negotiation, demand management, joint process improvements and strategic relationships.</p> <p>The fourth area where we are helping clients is realizing that the end of a sourcing project is just the start of the journey to keep the value created. You need to actually operationalize the contract and ensure that the agreed pricing actually gets transacted. Also, for critical or strategic categories you need to drive supplier management around risk, performance and relationship. This then enables a data-driven feedback loop in the upstream space to use the insights gained to further improve the category when you next come to source or drive change. Given most companies encourage employees to move roles every two-three years, having a knowledge hub of insights and outcomes is critical to managing categories.</p> <p>The fifth area that we have helped clients improve is how to measure the impact of procurement. Yes, savings is a good barometer and savings will never go away from procurement. However, there are other areas that procurement needs to help sell the value proposition - spend under management, spend on contracts, reducing risk, improving quality, spend concentration, increased contract compliance, driving supplier innovation and the return on investment from procurement. It is critical to showcase that procurement is a value provider and should have a seat at the table to influence the big company decisions - they are not just about lowering costs.</p> <p>Finally, we help clients see the importance of underpinning all of this with a balanced approach across people, process and technology, both in upstream value creation and downstream execution. Over/under investing in one of these three aspects creates an unbalanced environment. To sustainably improve the value procurement creates and ensure that this value is realized, improving processes and methodologies, enhancing the skills of the employees and enabling change through improved technology are all equally important.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><em><strong>DT: I really like the six points that you went through. So many people miss the broader aspects of category management, the strategic pieces of sourcing and do not connect this value to the execution aspects in procurement. Absolutely on point.</strong></em></p> <p>GS: Thanks. We see this common thread across industries and all types of organizations - global, national and regional. There are often pockets of areas where they are doing well, and sometimes it&rsquo;s more visible in direct spend. But generally, on indirect spend these gaps often exist. What&rsquo;s enjoyable is empowering these companies to significantly change how procurement impacts the business. Companies see the value Nitor brings with cross-industry best practices.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><em><strong>DT: I think that&#39;s fantastic. So, what&#39;s next for Nitor? Where do you see you the company evolving? </strong></em></p> <p>GS: To continue our growth and footprint in the source-to-pay space, we have a four-pronged strategy: 1) build on our core advisory, consulting and sustainment practices to live the lifecycle with a client of empowering procurement transformation in people, process and technology; 2) further expand our global markets into Canada and Latin America; 3) continue to develop our strong relationships with technology and partner companies; and 4) be at the forefront of shaping new aspects of value in procurement.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><em><strong>DT: That&#39;s great. Sounds like an exciting time!</strong></em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/source-to-pay" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Source-To-Pay</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/advisory" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Advisory</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/transformation" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Transformation</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/procurement" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Procurement</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/sourcing" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Sourcing</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="Q&amp;amp;A: Gary Stoddard, Nitor Partners - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="https://futureofsourcing.com/qa-gary-stoddard-nitor-partners"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Tue, 28 Nov 2017 18:43:04 +0000 Gary Stoddard 1044 at https://futureofsourcing.com https://futureofsourcing.com/qa-gary-stoddard-nitor-partners#comments