Blog

From insights come answers.

A series of articles from the Insider Pro team, in which we examine relevant topics and examples of current challenges that we see in our work with a huge range of organisations, across many sectors.

Darin Crosby

Procurement & business leader with extensive global experience over 27+ years across a variety of industries with a track record for exceeding objectives. Led both greenfield and change programs within a number of global matrix organisations building and developing teams. Key expertise in:- - Indirect & Direct procurement strategy & transformation - Team leadership, mentoring & development - Business strategy, Operational Excellence & Change management - Leading Category management teams - Marketing services & media procurement - maximising value & ROI on spend
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Recent Posts

Reduce your marketing budget whilst increasing effectiveness

Posted by Darin Crosby

Different businesses have different objectives and priorities. Some are focused on reducing debt and improving short-term cash flow whilst for others, top line growth is what it’s all about. But all seek to do more with less.

The focus is not just on saving money but maximising Enterprise Value (EV) for the future. In many growth businesses the team responsible for Marketing is lean and there is more reliance on 3rd party support. The CMO will typically have a broader remit beyond the traditional focus of promotion / marketing comm’s. This will include the CMO having direct input and responsibility for pricing, product innovation, business strategy & customer experience (CX).

The CFO needs to understand the path to value and when assessing how your business currently operates, we suggest you ask the following 14 key questions;

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Topics: Disruptive Procurement, Procurement Consultancy, Marketing

3 ways to reduce marketing budget without impacting sales

Posted by Darin Crosby

Saving money on marketing isn’t just about cutting the cost of a retainer or getting a new website cheaper.

Depending which study you read, marketers waste anywhere between 26% and 60% of marketing spend, and in our own experience of working with SMEs and larger businesses, up to 50% of marketing expenditure is wasted.

The key then is to identify and eliminate those areas of wasted marketing spend without impacting sales.

There are three key areas of waste:

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Topics: Enterprise Value

11 ways to drive 20 percent more profit through procurement

Posted by Darin Crosby

When I tell people that my passion is procurement, most people move on to ask the person next to me what they do for a living. A few others ask questions about the biggest tender I have ever dealt with, or how I feel about supermarkets bullying tactics with food growers and the like.

The uninitiated think that as procurement professionals we spend our time creating tender documents and beating up suppliers on price.

In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

Our approach is VERY different.

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Topics: Procurement Consultancy, Innovation, Case Studies

Working at Insider Pro - what's different?

Posted by Darin Crosby

I joined Insider Pro a few months ago, and was reflecting on my time here.  This is a very different type of consultancy practice and I'd like to share my thoughts with you:

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Topics: Our Team