|
Aberdeen Report Addresses Challenges Facing CPOs Red Bank, NJDecember 13, 2006 – According to a recent Aberdeen Group study, the profile of senior procurement professionals is becoming increasingly strategic in three key categories: managing talent, developing procedures, and employing technology. Within the report, “CPO Strategic Agenda: Managing People, Managing Spend,” 89% of respondents indicated that their role in the organization has become more strategic during the last 3 years. “Procurement has the dubious distinction of being at the center of all enterprise activity at the same time it is on the fringes,” said Vance Checketts, Global Supply Management Group Director at Aberdeen and one of the authors of the study. On average, only 19% of CPOs report directly to the president or CEO compared to 27% for Best-in-Class organizations. “While procurement has not arrived at the pinnacle of being strategic, it is making significant strides,” Checketts concluded. With regard to creating procedures, the area of most concern for CPOs is supplier relationship management. Roughly 75% of the study participants consider supply risk and supplier relationships as top performance metrics. That said, over 50% of these organizations believe they still have a long way to go to rationalize their supply base. “PNet Software provides the tools to rationalize the supply base and guarantee that purchases are being made from preferred suppliers. Also, our Supplier Invoice Portal (SIP) ensures suppliers are getting paid on a timely basis,” stated Tim McEneny, President & CEO of PurchasingNet, Inc. From a technology standpoint, Aberdeen reports that while eProcurement is maturing, Best-of-Breed and on-demand Procurement solutions have maintained and in some cases gained ground on ERP and on-premise alternatives. In fact, Best-in-Class enterprises are already using an integrated blend of ERP and Best-in-Breed solutions. “Our eProcurement and ePayables solutions can enhance the effectiveness of any ERP solution. Almost every PNet customer has us integrate our software with their ERP-based Accounts Payable module,” said McEneny. Aberdeen recommends that CPOs take the following steps to continue to elevate their profile: • Adopt sales methodologies and tools
for procurement. Vance Checketts and Tim McEneny will be presenting the complete findings from this report at a PurchasingNet, Inc. Best Practices Webinar on Thursday, February 15, 2007 at 2:00 p.m. EST. To register for the online presentation, please visit http://www.purchasingnet.com/http://purchasingnet.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/purchasingnet.cfg/php/enduser/doc_serve.php?2=AttendaWebinar-FORM. To download a free copy of Aberdeen Group’s “CPO Strategic Agenda: Managing People, Managing Spend” please visit http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?spid=30410107&cid=3610. About PurchasingNet, Inc. PurchasingNet, Inc. is a leading provider of Web-based eProcurement and ePayables software to mid- and large-sized companies. The company has over 1,400 customers in Financial Services, Retail/Consumer Products, Professional Services, Media/Publishing and a variety of other industries. Founded in 1983, PurchasingNet has focused exclusively on the development and implementation of Procurement and Payables applications since inception. In addition to building an extensive, blue-chip client base, PurchasingNet possesses deep domain expertise in Purchasing and Payables business processes. The average length of service at PurchasingNet is 8 years per employee. PurchasingNet’s customers include Countrywide Financial, US Bank, Navy Federal Credit Union, American Financial Group, Liz Claiborne, HBO, EarthLink, Black & Decker, Kroger, and General Mills.
Erinn Tarpey |