Procurement Professional is the official publication of CIPS Australasia

#93 - Goal alignment the only KEY to successful procurement

12 Nov 2009

At a recent procurement event, The Buyer got stuck in conversation with some dullard who believed in the ‘good housekeeping’ theory.

That simply delivering cost savings, elongated tender processes, lengthy contracts and tidy files was enough to justify their existence.

If that is the case (and it is for some) then the principles & practices of professional purchasing are the same regardless of the business.

Whether it is private or public sector, goods or service orientated, red or blue, or just another poxy company. It doesn’t matter what the business is, professional purchasing will do some good. At least until diminishing returns sets in.

But for Purchasing to become Procurement, and for such practice to make a true difference it has to be strategic. It has to work to the common organizational goal and in harmony with the central organising thought for that enterprise – in other words, to the values of the brand. Aligning the goals and deliverables of the procurement effort to the corporate goals is the key to successful procurement. Because then the beauty of the professional contribution is in the eye of the beholder, as the primary measure of success is what the customer wants – in this case the organization.

Procurement has to be relevant to deliver well, and therefore strategic.

Purchasing can be outsourced – increasingly to a computer.

The Buyer – posted 12 November 2009

The views of THE BUYER are personal and are not necessarily those of Procurement Professional magazine, BTTB Marketing nor CIPS