Hybrid and Remote Working
Post-COVID-19—and instead of remote working from home—a new era of office etiquette has been ushered in, and it is here to stay.
With remote working becoming the norm as a temporary safety measure, CPOs have noticed the need to embrace hybrid and remote working models. CPOs have realized the need to develop a new—and innovative—approach to make both models function.
But this is not decided by simply embracing the need for a change. Hybrid and remote working can present many challenges.
-Challenges Related to Remote and Hybrid Working
For starters, employing a strict, remote-only workforce may bring more costs that will hurt the bottom line—business supplies.
Making sure spending does not disappear among remote workers, procurement software can be crucial in empowering remote workers with the ability to handle their own purchasing decisions while working in their satellite locales. Features such as business guest checkout options let organizations set up their team as home users, with access to purchasing among pre-approved products and services from the typical business account. This way, team members receive total access to all they require. It is precisely how much they truly need that is sent straight to their (now home) office. With procurement, compliance will remain intact.
-Managing Tail Spend
Whether you are a small-scale business or a large conglomerate, investing in better managing your tail spend will benefit you greatly. Tail spend management is no longer regarded as a non-focus area. Instead, it has become a vital component.
While it may seem like a wealthy investment, the ROI resulting from proper supply chain savings and elimination of unnecessary costs will have that investment paying for itself. Organizations report anywhere from 5 to 15% savings. For some organizations, that can easily mean billions of dollars.
-Supplier Relations and How They Affect Tail Spend
The renewed, strong focus on supplier relationships goes hand in hand with minimizing tail-end spend. In procurement, establishing and maintaining trusted relationships with suppliers you can count on is priceless, especially when trying to keep tail spend at a minimum. It is a massive win if companies can diminish even 10% of tail spend suppliers.
-ESG Amidst Ongoing Global Issues
When analyzing the world’s current condition, one wonders: “How can we make sustainability a focus when the world continues to struggle with rare, unpredictable occurrences?” While incidents across the globe are affecting and drawing our attention, sustainable business practice is still a substantial responsibility for procurement.
So, how do we bring sustainable and Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG)-friendly practices to the light?
Many companies are starting with GHG and carbon footprint based on government regulations about climate change. Two possibilities (preferably a combination of the pair) exist: Focusing our efforts on removing the current gases present in the environment or focusing on limiting how much greenhouse gas we are generating ourselves.
Tackling this is a highly cumbersome task, and then we get into sub-tier suppliers’ issues and operations. Many organizations are starting with simple steps, like replacing existing vehicles with electric fleets.
Despite being complex, ESG is one of the most significant concerns for procurement, and that won’t be changing anytime soon.
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