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.

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

Why best practice procurement could be costing you £m’s (and what to do about it)

Posted by Jeremy Bowley
I regularly meet C-suite executives attempting to drive the adoption of best practice procurement in their business believing that this will lead to better cashflow, profit and a more resilient supply chain. However, I often see sub-optimal results from this approach with some organisations missing opportunities to improve enterprise value. It’s counter intuitive but a simple shift in thinking w ill drive more value.
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Topics: Disruptive Procurement, Best Practice, Procurement Consultancy

Property directors: How to cut TCO by 20% per annum AND improve service levels

Posted by Jeremy Bowley

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.

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Topics: Disruptive Procurement, Property Management, Facilities Management, Case Studies

Why (I Don't Hate Sunday Evening Anymore)

Posted by Jeremy Bowley
People change the world when they collaborate. It’s enormously fulfilling work. For most people this is just a pipe dream. They hate Sunday evening because Monday is just hours away, but it doesn’t have to be that way. And it starts with you.
 
 
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Topics: Disruptive Procurement, Procurement People, Procurement Consultancy, Enterprise Value

Reconstructing the future

Posted by Jeremy Bowley

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. 

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Topics: Disruptive Procurement, Procurement Consultancy, Innovation, Supply Chain Management

Property directors - 5 ways to reduce costs

Posted by Jeremy Bowley

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.

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Topics: Disruptive Procurement, Property Management, Facilities Management

Hospitality suppliers - work with us to support carers

Posted by Jeremy Bowley

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. 

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Topics: Disruptive Procurement, Procurement People, Procurement Consultancy, Supply Chain Management

The 7 Key Ingredients of Disruptive Procurement

Posted by Jeremy Bowley

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.

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Topics: Disruptive Procurement

Top 5 considerations when hiring your next Procurement Consultant

Posted by Jeremy Bowley

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.

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Topics: Disruptive Procurement, Procurement People

The 7 habits of highly successful procurement teams

Posted by Jeremy Bowley

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.

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Topics: Disruptive Procurement, Procurement People