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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;

Property directors and facilities management companies are always under pressure to reduce costs in everything that they do, but there often comes a point when a cheaper alternative fails to deliver the service that is required.

Many, many articles have been published in past weeks, all attempting to assess the current crisis and foresee future impact. 

From politicians, economists, supply chain experts, Big 4 consultants and Futurists like Gerd Leonhard (very interesting), it is easy to feel overwhelmed and confused. 

Property directors, estate directors, head of acquisitions, facilities director….whatever your title and whatever your industry, reducing total cost of ownership (TCO) and mitigating risk are two of the major aspects of your responsibility.

The majority of us are at home with our families, trying to work whilst keeping safe and entertaining the children.  There is rightfully much in the news about the NHS and essential key workers who are doing such important jobs. 

Disruptive procurement is the process of creating real business value and competitive advantage by:

• deconstructing what the business really needs,
• challenging established business processes,
• leveraging knowledge from outside the normal points of reference, and
• designing, assembling and managing the supply chain in new and innovative ways.

“Disruptive procurement” uses knowledge of the entire supply chain to challenge requirements and drive out business benefits far in excess of any improvements in margin.

Everyone knows that for a business or function to be successful they need to hire great people. Unfortunately, the vast majority of managers and executives will also know the pain and angst created from a bad hire. From having someone in the business who didn’t fit the culture, couldn’t deliver and/or negatively impacted on those around them.

Over the years, I have observed many different procurement teams across a range of industries.  Whilst most do a good job, only a handful do a GREAT job.  The team at Insider have spent some time researching this and would like to share with you our take on what those top performing procurement teams have in common.