Expectations from Procurement are increasing

Don’t wait until the new financial year to kick off your savings delivery program.

For many the beginning of the new financial year can seem like the perfect time to kick off a procurement savings delivery program; it marks a clear start date from which it is easy to count savings gained. However, it is not easy to make this type of project fall neatly into a set financial year, and often you would be better to start sooner rather than later. 

Start early 

On average, it takes a minimum of two to three months to see any initial savings being realized with this type of program. In fact, it would be realistic to say that it could take six to nine months before all the processes are completed and the savings begin. Therefore, for in-year savings to be maximized the savings delivery program should start ideally six months before the financial year start date.

Importance of continuous category planning

Along this line, the initial category planning should start well before the beginning of the financial year and should be revised continuously along the program. This transforms the category planning process from a month’s worth of activity into an on-going process where procurement can be flexible and revise its strategy, adapting the required actions during the program.

With both Brexit and the recent American election result we have experienced once again how the markets are becoming increasingly volatile. It is also now common knowledge how the rapid developments in the IT world can aid businesses, especially those in the financial services industry. The impact of these developments is significant on supply chains and companies need to adapt to these changes as they happen, meaning that category planning must be agile and shift with the changing requirements of the business.

An up-to-date spend insight tool is the best way for procurement functions to ensure they are able to adapt to these changes. In addition, category and supplier relationship managers should closely monitor the market developments on top of the incumbent suppliers’ performance and their contracts landscape and reflect these into their category plans. 

Monitoring and tracking savings is essential to success 

The best way to ensure success in a savings delivery program is to track the realized savings alongside maintaining the category plans. If the savings are not coming through in a way that can be monitored there is a risk that these savings will not be credited, and it is quite possible that procurement will be blamed. Finance is always keen to see the bottom line impact of the program – leading to the increasing trend to track the savings monthly, based on each single transaction. 

My advice: do not wait to kick off your procurement savings delivery program. Instead, ensure that your strategy setting and category planning processes can adapt to the continuously changing external environment while you track every penny you saved for the business.

Expectations from Procurement are increasing. 

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