NEW COMPETENCES REQUIRED FOR THE NEW REALITY OF PROCUREMENT The role of procurement has changed constantly over the last decades as companies have begun to face increasingly competitive and transparent markets. This has resulted in several shifts in the procurement agenda: • From local production to regional sourcing • From regional sourcing to low-cost countries • From sourcing parts to total offshoring of production In other words, we are now in a situation where the low-hanging fruits have already been harvested, and price is no longer sufficient as a competitive lever. Today, companies have to work harder to remain competitive, and the procurement organisation must deal with: • Fast changes in technology • Units costs that must be minimised by value engineering and not just global sourcing • Moving from a role as supplier of goods to broker of knowledge These new focus areas have all come with new requirements for the competences in the procurement organisation as new ways of working have been put to use, such as sourcing strategy, category management and supplier development. IT IS TIME TO FOCUS ON UNTAPPED INTERNAL POTENTIALS New challenges induce many companies to reorganise. However, reorganisation may not always be the right tool. Our experience shows that that reorganisation cannot compensate for lack in competences; and new competences must be built to face the new reality. Perhaps it is time to take a more inwardly-focused perspective and look for internal efficiency and competences. To define a new path for further improvements that go beyond price. The new reality of procurement calls for new competences, and at the same time, companies must maintain the competences that have brought them to the current high level of performance and quality. Current skills must be upscaled and new skills added to ensure that the gap between vision and reality is bridged. YOU NEED TO KNOW WHERE YOU ARE TO KNOW WHERE YOU NEED TO GO By mapping the current level of competences, it becomes possible to set the optimal direction for your procurement organisation and identify the competences needed to match the demands made. This requires both broad industry insight as well as category-specific expertise, and Valcon’s procurement experts possess both, combined with extensive experience in mapping competences and bridging competence gaps, using Valcon’s proven process for competence assessment and upskilling. 3
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