The 2021 CPO Agenda

The Hackett Group’s Laura Gibbons talks with Chris Sawchuk, Principal and Global Procurement Advisory Practice Leader, about findings from the 2021 Procurement Key Issues study, which shows a dramatic shift in procurement priorities, including an increased emphasis on reducing supply risk, accelerating digital transformation, enhancing advanced analytics capabilities, and greater focus on diversity and corporate social responsibility.

Show Notes

Tune in to the Business Excelleration Podcast where the Hackett Group shares the latest research, benchmarks, and best practices to lead to world-class performance. Learn the details, roadblocks, and success stories of these journeys. In this episode, guest Chris Sawchuk joins our host, Laura Gibbons, to take a closer look at supply chain analytics, at data—the ability to engage, analyze, and report about it. Chris is the principal and global procurement advisory leader at the Hackett Group.  Learn about how data can tell a story! Data is becoming more and more influential to the success of our organizations in looking forward. Don’t miss out on learning about how this data enables what we do with supply chain disruption and supply chain risk management across business departments.

Laura opens the conversation with taking a look at the various changes on the key issues list from this year. Number two, reducing supply chain risk to ensure supply continuity, has never been so high in this global study. Laura invites Chris to talk about the impacts of the pandemic and how the global supply chain disruption revealed geographic vulnerabilities. Chris discusses the importance of visibility in managing risk across the supply chain. Touching on key issue #8 related to supply chain analytics,  improving analytical and recording capabilities are crucial to leveraging data to engage and enable businesses. Is data becoming more or less influential to the success of future procurements? Chris answers this and says that one of the biggest challenges right now is for companies to develop the skills to adjust to the rapid changes taking place.

Chris has us take a look at the three fundamental areas of data. First, he addresses the necessity of having the data one needs and extracting it from numerous sources in order to continually grow data. Second, he talks about engaging with the data itself. Third, Chris shows how data provides insight to the businesses they are working to enable. While data is there to help organizations become more agile, it is also the enabling factor for other key issues. Learn to use technology in a more effective way! The ability to move forward with people, must be blended with this digital component for ultimate success. How do you provide the skills and “up-skill” your employees to be in-sync with the changes being made digitally?

Next, Laura asks Chris about the digital transformation as it relates to key issues #4 and #6, and how the pandemic impacted this procurement. Chris says that the fundamental difference after 2020 is the acceleration of this digital transformation. As a sort of “stress-test”, the pandemic exposed both organizations’ vulnerabilities and capabilities. These has been a re-calibration of priorities for procurement organizations and studies show an expected acceleration of focus on this digital realm. Learn about how the digital transformation has enabled agility—both to react

quickly to new conditions and to predict the moves necessary to be “ahead of the game” in moving forward.

Laura shifts gears to focus on corporate social responsibility as it relates to key issues #9 and

#11. Both the heightened issues of corporate goals with sustainability and supplier diversity have risen in the US within 2020 due to the pandemic and the focus on diversification as a social concern. Risk and diversity have both elevated so significantly that they are now considered to be board-level issues.

Chris closes out this episode with one last take away from this year’s issues. While the agenda in 2021 has fundamentally changed—being shaped by the pandemic and social discussions on societal level—Chris says the good news is that these agendas are actually aligned with what enterprises are concerned about. Learn why is it so good to see these prioritizations aligned!

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Timestamps:

1:13 – Laura Gibbons introduces Chris Sawchuk.

1:34 – Takes a look at key issue #2—reducing supply risk to ensure supply continuity

4:02 – Importance of visibility discussed with key issue #8

5:35 – Three fundamental areas of data

10:13 – The Digital Transformation as it relates to key issues #4 and #6

12:43 – An accelerated focus on agility and the digital realm

15:06 – Corporate social responsibility with key issues #9 and #11

18:24 – One last take away—aligned agendas

19:56 Thanks for listening!