The Deloitte Global CPO Survey 2016

Overview

How have things evolved over five years? This year's survey considers the state of play in the key issues facing procurement, such as priorities, business engagement, talent and market dynamics, and how these have evolved over recent years.

Looking ahead: Procurement 3.0? This year we explore in more detail how emerging digital technologies are providing fresh opportunities to place procurement at the heart of the business’ challenging growth agenda.

Is the procurement function at a digital tipping point? To what extent will emerging trends such as artificial intelligence and cognitive analytics revolutionise the function? Does your procurement function have the capabilities to embrace the digital storm?

Key findings

• Cost reduction is the top priority for CPOs as they look to sustain business growth in a slowing market
• Stronger relationships and understanding between procurement and the CEO and CFO
• Increased levels of supplier collaboration while continuing to focus on consolidation and relationship restructuring
• A continued issue on securing, retaining and training the right talent pool, where 62% of CPOs don't believe their teams have the skills to deliver the functions strategy
• Increasing levels of core and transactional outsourcing with strategies shaped in some way by each organisations approach to global business services (GBS).

This year we explore the opportunity that technology and emerging trends have to place procurement at the heart of the dynamic business decision making process that drives competitive advantage.

Is the procurement function at a digital tipping point? To what extent will emerging trends such as artificial intelligence and cognitive analytics revolutionise the function? Does your client’s procurement function have the capabilities to embrace the digital storm?

Life Sciences overview

• These CPOs are more likely to be confident about financial prospects than their peers
• 82 per cent identify cost-cutting activity as a key priority for the next 12 months
• The number looking to restructure their supply base has doubled since last year to 37 per cent
• The majority report that procurement related risk has increased over the last 12 months, compared to last year when the majority reported a decrease in procurement risk
• These CPOs are more actively involved in risk management and mitigation than their peers
• These CPOs are more likely than their peers to have a clear digital strategy in place
• They are less likely to see cost as a key consideration when adopting new technologies

• Almost three quarters report that their team do not have the skills to deliver their procurement strategy
• These CPOs report a sustained focus on outsourcing non-core elements of their functions.

Consumer Business overview

• The financial outlook is more optimistic and CPOs are expecting organisational CapEx to increase
• These CPOs are focused on entering new markets and developing new products over the coming year
• However, they are significantly more uncertain about the market now than they were 12 months ago
• These CPOs are typically better informed of changing business requirements than their peers
• They are also more likely to be involved in shaping the way services are delivered when compared with their peers
• Consumer business CPOs are more likely to be investing in new technologies, with the number looking to invest in self-service portals doubling since last year
• CPOs are prioritising retaining existing talent more so than ever since the survey began
• These CPOs are also much more likely than their peers to be focused on outsourcing operational buying activities.

Manufacturing overview

• These CPOs are more uncertain about economic conditions than their peers
• They are looking to focus much more heavily on supplier collaboration than they were last year
• Seven out of ten are reporting an increased focus on cost cutting
• Manufacturing CPOs are twice as likely to sit at board level compared to their peers
• These CPOs are much more likely to have a very good relationship with their CEO
• Manufacturing CPOs play a more active role in decision making and are better informed of changing business requirements
• These CPOs are less likely to be investing in digital technologies over the next twelve months, including cloud solutions and analytics
• These CPOs have shifted their focus away from attracting new talent in a difficult market towards retaining their existing procurement teams
• Almost two thirds identify training their teams on technical procurement skills as the priority rather than looking to develop soft skills.

Energy and Resources overview

• The number of CPOs reporting worsening financial prospects has increased dramatically - from one in ten in 2013, to two in ten in 2014, to five in ten this year
• Despite this, a third of CPOs report that they have leveraged falling commodity prices to generate significant savings over the last 12 months
• These CPOs report low involvement in risk management, with 92 per cent indicating they are not embedded in risk management within their organisation
• Ahead of their peers across other industries, more than a third of CPOs reported they had a digital strategy aligned to the rest of their organisation
• These CPOs identify data shortcomings, with 60 per cent not having access to high quality data
• These CPOs have shifted their focus away from attracting talent, focusing instead on retaining existing talent and training
• They are also focusing more heavily than in previous years on outsourcing operational buying activities.