Research Report procurement services Corporate Spending and Procurement Trends 2013
Corporate Spending and Procurement Trends 2013 WHILE FIRMS WILL SPEND MORE IN 2013, THEY ARE SEEKING A MORE STRATEGIC APPROACH, SUPPORTED BY ENABLING TECHNOLOGY AND THIRD-PARTY SERVICES. Methodology A targeted sampling of attendees at the Shared Services and Outsourcing Week conference in Orlando (March 4-7, 2013) were polled via a 17 question, multiple-choice survey. Those polled indicated they have visibility into the procurement function at their companies, including procurement, finance and supply chain-related individuals, as well as senior executives. How would you define and rank your company s current approach to indirect procurement? 13.73% 19.61% Following are key findings reflected by topic with contextual information. Sourcing and Procurement s Positioning in the Enterprise What is the perceived importance in the C-suite of the sourcing and procurement function at your organization? 38.46% 15.38% 35.29% 31.38% Tactical one off / ad hoc determined by stakeholders Reactive driven by contract expirations, new projects, etc. Proactive attempting to plan sourcing strategies with some business engagement Strategic C-level supported, centralized initiative with 85% spend under management 46.15% Not strategic, only light attention paid at C-level Somewhat important, attracting some C-level attention Highly important and strategic to the business It is worth noting that approximately 15% of respondents said that their organization s C-suite viewed sourcing and procurement as not strategic to the business, only paying light attention to the function. This number seems perhaps lower than it should be, considering that a full 51% characterized their company s approach to indirect procurement as only tactical or reactive. This suggests perhaps a disconnect between the C-level perception of the function and the reality of how it is operating. Supporting this conclusion, 38% of respondents think their C-level perceives the sourcing and procurement function to be highly important and strategic to the business, yet only 14% went on to characterized their company s current approach as strategic. 2013 Xchanging Corporate Spending and Procurement Trends 2013 / 1
Spend Under Management What percentage of your indirect spend is centrallymanaged and influenced by procurement professionals? Procurement Outsourcing For your organization and for your competition, do you expect investment in third party procurement services/ outsourcing to increase, decrease or stay the same in 2013? 6.67% 8.88% Increase 33.3% 42.49% 40.0 26.67% Decrease 4.8% 12.5% 17.78% Stay the same 54.2% 52.5% 0-25% 25%-5 5-85% 85% or more 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Your organization Your competition Interestingly, given the responses to the initial questions in the survey, only 7% of respondents said that the percentage of their indirect spend that is centrally managed and influenced by procurement professionals is 85% or more, the benchmark for world-class procurement organizations. Indeed, 47% of respondents said that the percentage of their indirect spend that is centrally-managed and influenced by procurement professionals is 5 or less and a full 31% indicated that less than 25% was centrally managed and influenced by procurement professionals. This seems to align well with the response to the previous question and to Xchanging s experience in the marketplace; that very few organizations have been able to attain best in class spend under management levels of 85% or more. While 33% said that in 2013 their firm would increase investment in third party procurement services/ outsourcing, only 13% said that investment would decrease. The general opinion of respondents, however, was that their competition would be investing more in outsourced services during 2013, with 43% expecting the competition to increase spending. This perhaps signals a general and wider trend toward growth in the market for outsourced procurement services. Very few organizations have been able to attain best in class spend under management levels of 85% or more. 2 / Corporate Spending and Procurement Trends 2013
What do you perceive is the best model with regard to the Sourcing and Procurement function? In which area would procurement outsourcing have the most impact in your organization? 36.17% 10.64% Area Drive significant-level of additional cost savings Regarded as most impactful 18.42% 14.81% Help in tracking savings to the bottom line 13.16% 22.22% Regarded as least impactful 53.19% Engage expertise that doesn t exist internally Provide access to advanced procurement technology Drive competitive advantage due to more money for innovation spending 39.47% 7.41% 15.79% 29.63% 13.16% 25.93% Fully or mostly outsource to those with procurement core competency Co-sourcing model where only select parts of Sourcing and Procurement are strategically outsourced Do everything in-house When asked about the best model with regard to the Sourcing and Procurement functions, only 1 thought a full outsourcing model was best, with 49% preferring a co-sourcing model where only discrete parts of Sourcing and Procurement are strategically outsourced. Compared with the responses to the preceding question, there appears to be an expectation that outsourcing will grow in 2013, but more of an appetite for that to be as part of a more collaborative model. It is clear that, whichever way the question is asked (most impactful or least impactful), the area where it is perceived third-party outsourcing providers can make the biggest impact is through providing organizations with expertise that is not available internally. Secondary to that, the ability to drive a significant-level of additional cost savings is clearly seen as the second most important area in which outsourcing providers can add value. Do you feel the number of FTEs your organization has in Sourcing and Procurement is adequate? 3 Yes 55.56% 7 No 44.44% Supporting the response that engaging expertise that doesn t exist internally is a big area that third-parties can add value, we found that 44% of respondents feel their current sourcing and procurement function is inadequately staffed. 2013 Xchanging Corporate Spending and Procurement Trends 2013 / 3
Sourcing, Procurement and Technology Trends In terms of priority, which sourcing tools and processes do you think your firm will increase usage of during 2013? In terms of priority, which of the following technologies do you think your firm will increase investment in during 2013? 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 12.5% 41.6% 24.2% 6.4% 6. 15.3% 20.7% 42.8% 19.8% 2.4% Strategic Sourcing 9.6% 19.2% 24.5% 26. Category management Low Focus (5/5) Medium / Low Focus (4/5) Medium Focus (3/5) High / Medium Focus (2/5) High Focus (1/5) 4.1% 11.9% 41.2% Supplier management 16.1% 16.1% 26.3% 21.8% Contract compliance 58.1% 19.4% 14.1% Tail-end Spend Management 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 11.66% 20.9 27.87% 21.43% 18.13% 9.62% 23.73% 30.62% Spend analytics 25.24% 25.86% 19.4 19.89% esourcing Supplier / contract management Low Focus (5/5) Medium / Low Focus (4/5) Medium Focus (3/5) High / Medium Focus (2/5) High Focus (1/5) 3.56% 12.76% 31.91% 28.04% 32.07% 13.78% 15.68% 7.84% Procure-to-Pay platform 18.25% 15.41% 3.51% 31.55% 31.28% Savings tracked to business outcomes In terms of increasing usage of sourcing tools and processes, 39% ranked Supplier Management as the top focus for 2013, followed by Contract Compliance, which 2 ranked as the top priority. Category Management is also top of mind with 47% ranking this area as either the top or second most important priority. It is worth noting the relative lack of importance or priority attached to both Strategic Sourcing and Tail-end Spend Management (or Tactical Sourcing), compared to the other three options. This would seem to show that procurement functions will spend more time during 2013 trying to extract value from the existing relationships and contracts that they have in place, rather than going to market to implement new suppliers and contracts. When asked about 2013 technology focus, 31% of respondents ranked a Procure-to-Pay platform as the top technology spending category for 2013, with 26% tagging Supplier / Contract Management technology as their biggest priority. A priority on supplier / contract management and P2P technology backs up the responses to the previous question, which highlight a focus among respondents on category management, supplier management and compliance management. 4 / Corporate Spending and Procurement Trends 2013
What is Needed in 2013 Which practice or service do you think could benefit your organization the most in terms of efficiency, cost savings or overall competitiveness? Which macro factor is the most likely to limit corporate spending / drive cost cutting requirements in 2013? 2.4% 4.9% 4.4% 23.7% 22.2% 44.4% 34.2% 21.1% 11.1% 21.1% Greater focus from C-level Competitive benchmarking to identify necessary focus areas Greater percentage of spend under management Technology to help track savings to bottom line Effective gain-sharing model with outsourcing partne Other 17.8% Uncertainty on how Congress will handle potential economic growth threats Increasing domestic commodity and energy prices Cost pressure from low-cost foreign competition Weak US economy causing lower domestic demand Rising import costs leading to margin pressure Falling demand as growth slows in emerging economies (e.g., BRIC) When asked what practices or services could benefit the organization either in terms of efficiency, cost savings or overall competitiveness, 34% ranked technology to help track savings to the bottom line as the top priority. Initially, this appears to contradict the response to the previous question, which showed an apparent lack of focus during 2013 on technology to track savings to business outcomes. One explanation could be that, although the respondents see the potential value from being able to track savings to the bottom line, they do not see it as a current focus area, perhaps due to lack of resource or a lack of awareness of the availability of a solution. Corporate Spending in 2013 Overall, will your company spend more or less in 2013 than in 2012? more 67.3% less 32.7% When asked what macro factors are most likely to limit corporate spending / drive cost cutting requirements in 2013, the most respondents (44%) ranked their uncertainty on how Congress will handle potential economic growth threats as the most likely cause and 22% cited a weak US economy causing lower domestic demand as the most likely cause. To learn more about enhancing your company s value and performance through strategic sourcing and procurement services and technology, visit: www.us.xchanging.com/procurement For any questions concerning this survey, contact: Megan Parker Finn Partners Telephone +1 (312) 329 3975 xchanging@finnpartners.com Generally speaking, will US companies spend more or less in 2013 than in 2012? more 72.3% less 27.7% 67% of respondents said that their company would spend more in 2013 as compared to 2012, while slightly more (72%) thought that US-based companies in general would spend more in 2013. 2013 Xchanging Corporate Spending and Procurement Trends 2013 / 5
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