Monthly Top 5 - October 2023

Hi all,

October was a “shot to the knees” when it comes to world news… I went through many phases of ‘incredulous head shaking’… I hope you and yours are safe. I’m contributing how I can directly. Even though it always feels insufficient…

And, indirectly, I want to keep pushing us to make our world better through Procurement with purpose. As Procurement professionals, we have a great influence on how the ‘purses’ of our businesses are used. Therefore, we have a great influence on the impact of our companies’ purchases. This can be very powerful. Never forget that in your day-to-day.

This month, I’ve assembled a ‘charcuterie platter’ of different Procurement articles. Some with great stories (LEGO), some with best practices (tackling modern slavery risks, user experience and being “world class”) and a final one with THE MUSEUM OF PROCUREMENT?! (Is it sad that this got me excited?)

Enjoy and thanks for reading.

Best,

JoëlConsulting PrincipalPure Procurement

P.S. In case you missed it, here’s my top LinkedIn post of the month:

Expecting employees to adopt a new Procurement system quickly is unrealistic

Top 5 Source-to-Pay Articles - October 2023

#1 - The Museum of Procurement

It’s finally happened! Procurement and Supply Chain are “big” enough to have their own museum (although only a temporary exhibition) 😅

If you’re planning to be near Newark, NJ before end of year, go check out the Museum of Procurement! Take pictures. Let me know how it was (I swear I get nerdier with every one of these newsletters…🤓).

Rutgers Business School to Host Arkestro’s Museum of Procurementby Supply Chain Brain

#2 - How Can We Best Tackle Modern Slavery Risks?

Tracking information up and down the supply chain is a challenge in the best of conditions… It’s much harder when that information is being proactively hidden by supply chain participants… Such is the case with modern slavery.

In this article, Gartner tries to shed light on concrete approaches you can take to bolster your supply chain visibility capabilities to up your game in this risk dimension. I’d say this list is also applicable to things like money laundering and corruption. Have a look.

Gartner Report Reveals Procurement is Struggling to Progress with Modern Slavery Riskby Procurement and Supply Australasia (PASA)

#3 - How to Be “World Class” in Digital Procurement?

In this article, Hackett lays out a 6-dimension framework for achieving what they’ve termed “Digital World Class Procurement”(Procurement organizations with top quartile performance in business value and operational excellence measures):

• Technology: Automation mastery streamlines transactions and processes

• Data: Skilled analysis leads to more accurate forecasts and informed decisions

• Cloud: Agile architecture enhances performance

• Operations: Insourced work and partnerships yield tangible gains

• Partnering: Effective business partnering helps achieve enterprise objectives

• Talent: Investments yield skilled, aligned professionals

It’s a good read, filled with statistics as you review your continuous improvement roadmap for the coming years.

What’s the Digital World Class Procurement Advantage?by Hackett

#4 - Should Procurement Care About User Experience?

Of course they should! User experience translates to compliance with processes and strategies which translates to value.

This article has some good stats about UX in general and the levers you should be thinking about as you design and deploy Procurement applications.

Why Procurement Should Care About UXby Hugo Britt at Una

#5 - The Lego Sustainability Saga

If your company uses plastics of any kind in their products, this article is for you. LEGO has been working hard on the “plastic problem” since 2012 and has yet to find a solution. However, they’ve got some great lessons learned. Kelly’s article has turned me onto this and I will be following their progress closely going forward.

Plastic was first invented at the end of the 19th century when a billiard-equipment concern offered a handsome cash prize for whoever found a suitable replacement for ivory billiard balls. John Wesley Hyatt came up with celluloid… We haven’t known what the heck to do with the stuff after its useful life ever since…

I can’t wait for a suitable, biodegradable replacement to be found.

The LEGO Sustainability Sagaby Kelly Barner at Art of Procurement