ISMs eSide Supply Management newsletter recently ran a piece entitled “The Road to CPO — and Beyond” in which A.T. Kearney partners John Blascovich and Mike Hales detail the evolution of the CPO and offers different paths for purchasers climbing the corporate ladder (full report is available directly from A.T. Kearney here).
The authors acknowledge two typical paths to climb; either functional or business; but the underlying sentiment is that in order to move up the ladder, purchasing (or the purchaser who wants to move on up) needs to shift focus from cost to value.
This echoes what IBX CEO Leif Bohlin recently wrote in recent issue of the IBX newsletter called “It’s the time for purchasing”. He argues that with the increased focus the current downturn has put on purchasing; it’s time to step up to the challenge; to act like value creators; because if you become a value creator no, that’s how you will be perceived when the economy rebounds and the spot light strays away and sets it’s focus on it’s more traditional targets (marketing and r&d)
The focus of the business world is on purchasing; don’t miss the opportunity to let them know that purchasing is so much more than just squeezing margins and policing contracts.
Many companies are – and will – slow down their product development in this downturn; so don’t let the opportunity pass, pick up the phone and tell who ever is responsible that you can use the r&d resources to get better value for your money.
