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9 January 2012 | Adam
Leach
Procurement
professionals will be concentrating on cost cutting and supplier relationship
management (SRM) over the course of 2012, SM
research has found.
Those who took part
in the Supply Management Reader Research
Survey 2011, which concluded last week, were asked to rank nine activities
(including costing cutting and SRM) in order of importance.
More than 3,000
people responded and perhaps unsurprisingly, reducing spend was the priority
for a lot of readers. Next came SRM, while better stakeholder management emerged
as the third top area of attention for 2012.
Influencing more spend areas came
fourth followed by risk management; raising the profile of purchasing;
sustainable procurement; investment in procurement resources; and finally, more
outsourcing.
The concentration on cost cutting was in line with the views of chief financial officers (CFOs) of UK-focused businesses. Priorities for 2012: Cash and Costs,
published last week by accountancy company Deloitte, revealed that 50 per cent
of CFOs at firms that generate at least 70 per cent of revenues in the UK see
cutting costs as a priority for the next 12 months.
While unsurprising that cost cutting
remains of chief importance, it is revealing to find for others, investing in
the systems and staff that support their procurement function is their prime
area of focus for this year. And while average voting figures placed ‘raising
the profile of purchasing’ fifth out of the nine activities, it was the number
one priority for a proportion of readers and is, no doubt, good news for CIPS
and current president David Smith who has made attracting all to work in the profession his theme for 2012.
