In 2006 CPO Agenda’s London-based editor chaired a panel discussion asking the question “are there any limits to procurement’s role?”
The panel which included senior procurement personnel from organizations such as Nestlé, Danone, British Airways and Merrill Lynch provided some interesting insights into the prevailing (and emerging) attitudes towards procurement from an executive suite perspective. (You can obtain a copy of the panel’s discussion through the following link: http://www.cpoagenda.com/previous-articles/winter-2006-7/executive-debat....)
While the panel’s discussion was generally interesting, there were a number of noteworthy revelations (especially in the context of my recent posting on the pending talent crunch). An example that immediately comes to mind was the assertion by one executive that truly talented individuals “should move out of purchasing after five or six years and do another job, whether it’s finance, human resources, manufacturing or marketing.” Taking into account the fact that some of the panel members by their own admission are either “new” to procurement or do not consider themselves to be “a purchasing professional” makes me wonder if this represents an expansion or an assimilation of the purchasing department’s role within an organization?
