It was the very best one-day event I have attended in my life! The Midwestern Regional SIGnature Event, held on March 6 at the Minneapolis Central Library, was attended by 66 extraordinary third-party risk management and sourcing professionals. Not only was the agenda amazing, but every speaker delivered insightful content and engaged the audience. At the Executive Roundtable, we had thoughtful conversations about many issues. Tom Lutz from U.S. Bank led a “day in the life” discussion that lasted almost 45 minutes because so many people wanted to discuss what he was doing, and it prompted other conversations as well.
In our opening session, Linda Tuck Chapman, a Sourcing Supernova Hall of Fame inductee, knocked it out of the park by delivering an interactive workshop on third-party risk management. People said that their two hours of training FLEW BY. When the group joined back together, we had an incredible presentation by Rohan Ranadive from BB&T about building an AI-powered digital workforce which prompted so many questions, I had to stop them to stay on agenda! Then we had an absolutely inspiring one-hour talk by Nancy Brooks, the CPO of Best Buy. Nancy shared that she had declined previous invitations to speak, because she doesn’t care for speaking engagements, but she agreed to speak at SIG’s event because she had a story that needed to be shared about her team. We are thrilled that she joined us. She engaged everyone with Best Buy’s story the entire time and Nancy’s team was so proud to be there.
It’s no secret that technology, data analytics, globalization, and other factors have completely changed many aspects of modern business. Supply chains are wider than ever, sales and procurement strategies are increasingly predictive thanks to advance data approaches, and more companies are outsourcing work and relying on contractors.
Amid all this, the C-suite has seemed relatively stable. A business might have a CEO, a COO, a CFO, or other executives, but they tend to focus on business processes within their domains of expertise. But increasingly, it looks like those widespread shifts in other departments have reached the C-suite.
Whether through collaborations or new roles, the executive level in many companies has been adapting to new realities. Here’s how they’re doing it.
Collaboration
The technological shifts and trend toward outsourcing have been a boom for bottom lines, but they have also made the nature of business decision-making more complex. Consider, for example, the role of a CIO. For years, information and technology managers chose and oversaw the implementation of network solutions for a company to use in-house. But now that many businesses hire outside firms to handle cloud storage, data security, and other essential IT functions, the CIO’s role has changed. Now they are having to think more about purchasing, contracts and third-party risks, like a CPO, and about strategy and long-term competitiveness, like a CEO.
As a result, the traditional walls between those positions have begun to break down. The CIO in the example above can’t move forward with new contracts or strategy without consulting their peers in the C-suite. Likewise, if a procurement officer or human resources lead want to implement new software solutions that can add value and intelligence to their departments—an increasingly common occurrence—they’ll benefit from consultation and buy-in from the CIO.
Patrick Gahagan, Director of Contract Compliance Audit Services at SC&H Group
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New eBook on Supplier Risk
Gain insight into developing a comprehensive risk management program that protects your brand, customers, and bottom line in a world where global supply chains are symbiotically intertwined and interdependent.
Register today for a webinar featuring SIG President and CEO, Dawn Tiura, Andrew Bartels of Forrester and Asif Bhanwadia of Coupa to hear how to better source, procure, and manage your contingent workforce within your increasing external services spend.
SIG University's online certification programs are developed by practitioners, subject-matter experts and academics to equip working professionals with best and emerging practices that provide the most well-rounded educational content available on the market. Last chance to save 15% on spring courses! Early enrollment discount expires on March 15th.
Suplari invites leaders in finance and procurement roles across North America to take their Recession Survey. The goal is to better understand what strategies enterprise companies are implementing to maintain a strong platform for success. Results will be shared in our upcoming Recession-Proofing the Enterprise report.
In 2019, global supply chains are focused on technology and innovation. Today’s global supply chains are often complex, with many moving parts. However, procurement professionals are facing increasing pressure to manage them with efficiency and transparency. Creating a successful supply chain requires building a sustainable foundation. Though technology mobilizes supply chains to compete faster and better in today’s global economy, having a strategy to optimize your talent is just as important. Technology that gives business users more autonomy and security are reflected in a positive impact on your organization’s bottom line.
Based on my experience, many businesses have separate initiatives that fragment their supply chains and could benefit from pooling resources and aligning different stakeholders to the same common goals with the use of technology. For example, many businesses have separate supplier diversity processes. They have supplier diversity experts who don’t collaborate with their larger procurement teams. Sourcing and procurement professionals are often incentivized differently and often don’t communicate nor see eye to eye on the same overall strategy. With collaboration, your organization can streamline its supply chain and build a stronger foundation for process-driven results.
In today’s market, you can no longer ignore the rapidly changing landscape of digital transformation. Companies that are reluctant to embrace the technologies that bring better visibility and security to supply chains risk being left behind. To avoid that fate, here’s what companies can do in 2019 to improve supplier diversity and overall supplier relationship management process.
Daryl Hammett, CSMP, CSP, General Manager/Chief Operating Officer at ConnXus
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SAP Ariba Live Sustainability Summit
Join sustainability experts and practitioners, including SIG’s CEO Dawn Tiura, at SAP Ariba Live on April 1-3 in Austin, to discover new tools, technologies, and resources to strengthen sustainability programs. .
This month our clocks spring forward and most of us gain an extra hour of daylight. To make the most of that extra hour, consider attending a networking event, thought leadership webinar or exploring SIG’s new research partnership with Everest Group.
Join your classmates from over 200 companies representing 17 countries at SIG University! SIG U's online certification programs are developed by practitioners, subject-matter experts and academics to equip working professionals with best and emerging practices. Enroll by March 15 to save 15%! Classes start on April 15th.
This month our clocks spring forward and we gain an extra hour of daylight. To make the most of that extra hour, consider attending a networking event, thought leadership webinar or exploring SIG’s new partnership with Everest Group that brings delegates proprietary research, insights and analysis. Ready to get started?
Midwestern Regional SIGnature Event
March 6 Minneapolis Central Library
The Midwestern Regional SIGnature Event takes place at the beautiful Minneapolis Central Library on March 6. The event includes a great lineup of speakers from BB&T, Best Buy, Everest Group, Ontala and Virtual Operations who will present on topics that include third-party risk management, artificial intelligence in procurement, sourcing transformation strategies and how to buy digital platforms for your enterprise.
The event will begin with an executive roundtable for director-level and above delegates, while their teams take part in a training workshop on the fundamentals and frameworks of third-party risk management with risk expert Linda Tuck Chapman, who created the Certified Third Party Risk Management Program for SIG University.
To learn more about the day’s events, speakers, who should attend and to register you and your team, visit our website.
We are pleased to announce that nominations are now being accepted for the second-annual Future of Sourcing Awards, which will take place on October 16 at the Fall Global Executive Summit in Carlsbad, California.
The Future of Sourcing Awards program celebrates individuals and companies that are transforming, innovating and leading the sourcing and outsourcing industry. The Awards recognize team accomplishments in the following critical categories:
Sourcing
Outsourcing
Third Party Management
Supplier Performance
Digitization
Governance/Compliance
Talent Management
Sustainability
The winner of each award will represent the best example of innovation in each category, showing the greatest achievement in terms of fundamentally changing the nature of their business. In addition, the event will include two individual awards—the Rising Star and Sourcing Star awards to recognize individuals who have demonstrated ingenuity, initiative and innovation in their careers.
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Nominations are Open for the Future of Sourcing Awards
SIG invites you to submit a nomination for the second-annual Future of Sourcing Awards to celebrate organizations and individuals showing innovation, leadership and/or transformation in the sourcing industry. The 2019 Awards will take place on Wednesday, October 16, 2019, the capstone evening at the SIG Global Executive Summit.
The 2019 GEP Outlook for Procurement and Supply Chain Management is now available. This indispensable report reflects views of the industry’s best thought leaders and category experts — equipping you with procurement strategies and other essential tools to prepare you for a successful year ahead. Download your copy today!
Sourcing, procurement and risk professionals need flexible options to upskill their teams in a rapidly changing digital environment. SIG University’s online certification programs provide that flexibility. Enroll by March 15 to save 15%! Additional discounts are available for enrolling teams of 10 or more. Classes start on April 15th.
With the evolution of procurement and the shift from a reactive, “three-bid-and-buy” scenario to more advanced means of sourcing, Category Management often is a concept best placed at the latter end of the spectrum. This makes sense because if you still quote products and services on an as-needed basis, you likely haven’t introduced the concept of collectively sourcing all spend within the category or subcategory. That reactionary approach may be the result of several things -- lack of support from the business, a misunderstanding of Procurement’s role, an inadequate process or workflow, or a combination of all of the above.
On the other side, many organizations have Category Management structures in place, or at least claim to. From my experience, an organization saying it has a framework for Category Management and an organization actually having such a framework are two very different things. More often than not, organizations will either employ a homegrown version of the methodology or leverage something that’s really not like Category Management at all.
Category Management can be approached differently based on several factors, including the industry you are in, whether you are service or product focused, what model of procurement you apply (centralized, decentralized, or center led), what drives the most spend in the organization and so on. As a result, I don’t think there is a strict rulebook on how to apply Category Management to your business.
While no two organizations will approach Category Management the same, these best practices should help any organization ensure their unique methodology is effective.
Jennifer Ulrich, Associate Director, Source One, a Corcentric Company
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Procurement’s Vital Role in Building a Talent Forward MSP Program
As we look into the future of contingent workforce management, and the vision of what a Managed Services Provider (MSP) solution should deliver, we must acknowledge that many of today’s MSP programs are failing to deliver on their original promise. It is time for a change.
Coupa Software commissioned Forrester Consulting to evaluate the state of services and contingent workforce management, addressing the unique set of challenges firms face, the kinds of software tools needed to support services spending, and the internal adoption and usage of these tools.
Today’s students become tomorrow’s leaders! Join best-in-class sourcing and procurement teams to proactively manage risk, utilize best-in-class methodologies and activate innovative ideas. Take advantage of a 15% discount if you enroll by March 15th. Classes start on April 15th.
A Source of Inspiration: The Midwestern Regional SIGnature Event