…What do you want Burr?

If you stand for nothing, then what'll you fall for?

I wanna be in the room where it happens…¹

Procurement lives in the room where it happens, but the real question is, how do we stay there? Having been central to organizations’ COVID-19 survival over the last 18 months, today’s procurement is discovering new sources of supply; helping their supply partners with financial stability; building flexibility into the process; and solving problems creatively. But to continue moving ahead we must keep learning from past challenges to stand ready for unanticipated future events! This article reflects on how companies have improved procurement strategies and benefitted from those changes.

I’ve seen several critical trends that I believe procurement will pursue in the next few years. Today, I’m concentrating on the top three. These are in addition to the procurement table stakes¹ -- namely cost and supplier management.