Supply Management’s Next Evolution

Recent discussions have demonstrated that supply management organizations should not just focus on price but on total cost of ownership. But what is next? A new report, titled Supply Management’s Next Evolution, has now been published by strategy& (formerly Booz & Company). The authors believe that “the next step is for sourcing organizations to move beyond ‘optimizing the buy’ to ‘maximizing value’ for the enterprise” – a transition that could be challenging for many companies, especially if they lack talents that are able to take part in strategic discussions. The authors find that supply management organizations, who successfully manage this transition, follow four common practices: First, they “participate in (re-)architecting product and service designs and contribute to sourcing-related design changes in clear, quantifiable ways”. Second, they “optimize the supply base by tailoring suppliers to the demand profile”. Third, they “segment suppliers to better engage each distinctly”. Finally, they “demonstrate the bottom-line impact”.