14 October 2010 | Paul Snell

CIPS chief executive David Noble tells Paul Snell about steering the institute on a bold, creative and international path

David Noble cites four main outcomes having served as CEO of CIPS for just over a year: building the financial strength of the institute and capitalising on opportunities for growth in the future; delivering commitment for the public good; enhancing the role of the profession; and developing a global standard for purchasing and supply.

Never short of advice from staff, past presidents and, of course, CIPS members, he says the greatest challenge has been to set a course and stick to it. The key to this was establishing a clear strategy, ensuring the board and council have bought into it, and then “being strong and determined” about maintaining that direction. It is particularly satisfying to note that CIPS now boasts more than 65,000 members worldwide and can claim to be the world’s largest professional organisation.

“We have changed from an inward-looking to an outward-looking institute, with a much more global dimension, as opposed to building solely on UK membership,” he says.

It is his belief that the need for innovation and the shake-up of the global economy has necessitated this change in outlook, and the need for CIPS to be both bold and creative in the future will continue.

“We have had to recognise that we have to be exemplary on products and we have to offer better products all the time, now more than ever. Not accepting that what we had in the past was good enough. You can’t rest on your laurels, that’s fatal.”

But it has also been important to establish where the institute’s boundaries lie. Noble thinks it important that the profession is understood to be more than simply “purchasing”, and to encompass all aspects of the total supply chain.

“Our senior practitioners are supply professionals and although we say we are an institute of supply, more of our work should be related to this.” Recognising that, the institute is developing new products around “make vs buy” decisions and value management. There are also plans for products that deal with new evolving challenges, such as mergers and acquisitions, that directly affect members, but where knowledge and training is limited.

He reports success in his goal of making the institute a “first port of call” for CPOs, and would particularly like to explore the area of corporate membership. “We have a significant order backlog with corporates, which is two and a half times the size it was a year ago, and that is because we are being flexible and responsive with their demands. We have a standard product, but we can customise it to meet requirements.”

But, he stresses, CIPS is all about improving the prominence and reputation of procurement and supply. “My mantra for this organisation is about enhancing the profession. Everything we do has to be about this. That is the acid test. If it doesn’t, don’t do it.”

He cites memoranda of understanding signed with two United Nations organisations (see UN agreements below) as an example of this. “It’s going to enhance the profession, and get it to a standard in these developing countries where it wouldn’t have been otherwise – ultimately benefiting the citizens in those countries. So that is going to be good for all of us.”

Influencing the influential

Key to improving the standing of the profession has been pushing the message to senior business people, politicians and civil servants. Noble says it has been encouraging for the profession to get in front of government officials across the world, from the finance minister of Malawi, to the deputy director of the national treasury in Beijing to the UK cabinet office. This also includes the president of Malawi, who has accepted an honorary fellowship from the institute.

The challenge facing buyers in the public sector is one area where the institute can have a direct role in shaping policy – through direct or informal channels. “CIPS has a fundamental role in helping the development and challenges of government procurement in the near future because it has such a high profile,” says Noble. “What I don’t want to see coming out of this huge focus on government procurement is for procurement and supply to be seen as a problem. I want it to be seen as a solution. The institute has to do everything it needs to to ensure that does not happen or else we’ve all failed.”

In the private sector too, Noble adds, the doors of many chief executives are opening as they start to understand the value of their organisation will increasingly lie in the hands of external sources such as suppliers. But he concedes there are some industry sectors that need greater attention from CIPS and will receive this over the next year.

The desire to influence does not stop at the top levels of business. Noble is equally passionate about making procurement and supply more attractive to the next generation of workers. This includes a greater focus on the use of social media and the launch of a “negotiation challenge” for schools and colleges “to make the profession sustainable in the long term”.

There are also plans to introduce a competency award for non‑professionals next year. This will be aimed at professionals who want to demonstrate they possess effective procurement and supply skills, but don’t want to forge a career in the profession.

“We are building a product that recognises the sad reality that in many organisations a lot of purchasing spend is outside the professional’s control,” says Noble. “You either rant and rave about it and say it is not acceptable, or you encompass the reality of it and do something about it. We want to encourage competency and good practice so the profession continues to have a good name. However, I will emphasise this competency award is nowhere near the level of MCIPS.”

CIPS will again have to sell the value of such an award to leaders and managers, outlining the risks they could face if procurement is not carried out professionally by their staff.

This forms part of one of the institute’s major pushes – to establish what Noble calls a “licence to practise” for the profession. “Accountants rightly have to have a qualification [to practise]. We can do a lot more damage, through bad decisions, data taken the wrong way and negotiations handled badly. If this is being done by someone who is unlicensed the damage they could cause could be vast.”

Assisting this is the selection of the MCIPS qualification as the basis of a global standard by the International Federation of Purchasing & Supply Management – the global group of purchasing associations.

Global audience

With the launch of CIPS Southern Africa this summer, Noble describes the institute’s international agenda as very exciting. The challenge of maintaining a consistent message in a variety of cultures has been tackled with a “think global, act local” approach. And the success of the launch in southern Africa will form a model for the opening of similar institutes worldwide in the future.

China continues to be one of the institute’s biggest regions for growth, and now boasts nearly 20,000 student members – who Noble terms “the purchasers of tomorrow”. And he is keen to express this will be a positive for all members worldwide.

“I am a great believer in the more competition the better. The more good students we attract to the profession the better it is for all of us. We can all benefit from talented people coming into this profession – wherever their location or nationality – because this is a global profession.”

But, he adds, this is not at the expense of long-term members elsewhere. He highlights the work being done to create a continuous professional development product for those members who have achieved MCIPS, but wish to continue their learning.

And Noble is very bullish about prospects for the profession. “The time for this profession is now here, no question,” he says. Seizing and sustaining the opportunity at the top table is a key theme that both the president and CEO will focus on in the coming year. “The danger is you blow the opportunity and we will go back to being seen as a clerical function. I don’t think that is likely, but we will only succeed at that level by recognising where we add value and where we don’t. CIPS is the largest procurement and supply chain profession in the world and that means we have a responsibility to help make this happen.”

UN agreements

Both the United Nations Office of Project Services (UNOPS), which aims to build public sector capacity in developing countries, and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), which tackles poverty and sustainability through private sector development, have signed agreements with CIPS this year.

The institute will work with UNOPS to develop public sector procurement capacity in developing nations through improved buyer training, certification and skills development. The UNIDO deal will develop the ability of small and medium manufacturing firms in Africa, Asia and Latin America to access global supply chains, helping vendors meet buyer requirements and joint training for both purchasers and suppliers.

For Noble, it accomplishes two goals – enhancing the profession and fulfilling altruistic targets. “It is getting a higher profile for the profession around the world as being there for the public good,” he says.