LONDON & CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Proxima, the leading international procurement services provider, today announced the results of its 2017 State of Procurement survey, carried out in conjunction with Supply Management Insider.
The survey delivered more than 400 responses from procurement leaders across the globe, providing feedback on the state of the industry and insights on what’s ahead.
The results revealed a geographic divide on the topics of cost savings versus adding value. This highlights starkly different views between the UK and the US, despite both having gone through notable political events in the last year with economic implications.
In the UK and Ireland, 63% of procurement professionals said their business expects them to make cost savings the procurement priority in the next 12 months, suggesting UK businesses are focusing hard on cost reduction. In the US, however, this number drops to 44%, indicating the US may be more focused on growth and operational resilience, and therefore more involved in value-add activities.
This is not the only area of divided interest between cost and value. Looking at all respondents, 75% prioritized adding value and supplier management as top areas for procurement. Only 26% ranked cost savings as a top priority.
This suggests that regardless of geography, there is not an “either-or” situation for procurement when considering the need to focus on cost versus value for their organization.
Guy Strafford, Proxima’s Chief Client Officer, highlights this divide as a “long-time area of disconnect – but in 2017, it is clear that procurement must accomplish both these aims.”
The ability to do both of these well is already the new standard. Companies can respond by exploiting new technologies and tools as well as enhancing their talent pools. Proxima is working with organizations every day to do this.
“We’ve added more than 20 new clients so far this year alone because they have expressed a need to re-set expectations within the business and drive the future of procurement,” said Strafford. “The changing business models require both a different mindset and a different toolset. We work side by side with many of the world’s best known companies to do just that.”
The results report can be downloaded here.
About Proxima
At Proxima, procurement is our business. We are a leading provider of Procurement Consulting, Managed Services, On-Demand and Supplier Management solutions, underpinned by our Catalytics technology suite. www.proximagroup.com
