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.

Are you tracking the right commodities?

Posted by Ollie Hucks

In an ever-changing world that is shaped by global political, environmental, social and technological changes, being aware of how these changes affect your business can feel extremely daunting. Keeping on top of your day-to-day role and responsibilities at work may seem a never-ending task, and then, on top of this, ensuring your business is getting optimal value for money through the products and services that it procures, may not be at the top of your “to do” list.

The world today is exposed to major shifts, be that through environmental degradation fuelled by climate change, or by geopolitical conflicts sending shock waves throughout the world. These events often feel distant to your organisation, especially since the majority of the audience that this article will reach is living in a relatively sheltered and stable society. However, these events can have a significant impact on our society at a scale far beyond just localised impact.

At Insider Pro we are constantly exposed to examples where global dynamics are having an impact on specific sectors. To demonstrate this, we will examine the paper commodity prices and the implications that this has had on the paper packaging sector. To set the scene, this article is being written in early 2024, amidst a war between Russia and Ukraine and a few years after the Coronavirus pandemic. Paper is a commodity, trees have to be cut down, or items have to be recycled to produce the end product.

The very nature of this commodity means that it is exposed to impacts from the following:

Whilst not exhaustive, the aspects highlighted above give a flavour of just how many key elements drive a final commodity price, so understanding how each of these aspects impacts on a commodity price is something that we empower our clients to understand. Continuing with the example of paper pricing, we believe that a holistic understanding of the market and subsequent commodity prices is something that should be a common area of discussion between a packaging supplier and their customers. This could be through a contract term that tracks commodity prices, or just through general discussions aimed at understanding the likely direction of travel in any upcoming price reviews.

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Topics: Disruptive Procurement, Best Practice, Procurement Consultancy, Supply Chain Management

The importance of relationship building

Posted by Ollie Hucks

It’s no secret that speed is a fundamental characteristic of many successful businesses, be that fast food chains delivering food, or a service-based company delivering value and quick results through efficiencies or cost savings.  Speed is ultimately a result of delivering a product or service in an efficient and timely manner. 

Whilst there are almost endless things that can increase the speed of a business, this blog focuses on one of the key aspects that our team at Insider Pro takes time to commit to all of our customers, relationship building. By building strong relationships, we ultimately gain the trust of those individuals and this enables a far more successful and faster-paced working relationship.

A relationship is not formed with a company, but with those individuals who work for that company. All of these individuals have different personalities and ways of going about their work. Taking the time to understand how every individual operates is key to the success of a project. This could be as simple as understanding how best to communicate with an individual. Are they someone who prefers written communication to enable more time to digest the information? Or do they prefer a simple phone call or video call as a means to relay information? Tailoring your ways of working to deliver an optimal strategy for a customer, offers benefits to both parties.

Strong relationships with customers can be developed through the following key themes:

  • Clear Communication - Clear communication is vital for trust because it ensures customers understand what to expect, what our ways of working are, and any potential issues. When expectations are clear and met, trust naturally grows.

  • Shared Values - Having shared values creates a sense of alignment between us and our customers. This creates a foundation of mutual understanding and respect, which enables increased confidence in our decision-making and actions taken on our customers' behalf.

  • Shared Goals and Objectives - Mutual success is a common characteristic that enhances the relationship between Insider Pro and our customers. When both parties are working towards common goals, such as hitting specific milestones, this fosters collaboration and transparency.

  • Confidence to challenge each other constructively - The ability to challenge each other within a customer relationship is something that requires much consideration. Ensuring that the challenge is made in a way that is constructive and makes the customer feel empowered, is critical. Challenging a customer with accompanying data to support your challenge can prove particularly impactful. At Insider Pro we are sometimes met with an initial reluctance to change, but if challenged with data or evidence that clearly supports a change, this helps to empower our customers to act upon our proposals. This is always a two-way relationship, and having a customer that challenges our ways of thinking too, can enable a deeper dive into a specific area.

When the four themes discussed above are implemented within a structured framework, the results will speak for themselves. Great results are a product of great relationships, and our team at Insider Pro has experienced this first-hand!

Download 11 ways to reduce profit by 20%

 

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Topics: Disruptive Procurement, Procurement People, Procurement Consultancy, Our Team

5 ways to accelerate enterprise value growth

Posted by Jeremy Bowley

Companies that have surpassed the £20m turnover mark have already worked hard to structure their business in a way that maximises business growth and the value of their enterprise;

They’ve been focused on driving sales

They've negotiated costs to the best of their ability

They’ve reviewed and optimised their operational processes.

In short, they’ve already examined each area of the business.

Yet many CEO’s and investors that I speak to know that they could do even better. They’re just not sure how.

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Topics: Procurement Consultancy, Enterprise Value

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

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

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

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

A 14 point checklist for choosing the best procurement consultant

Posted by Phil Denson

The best procurement consultancy firm for your business will be able to drive value in the shortest time period.  How do you test their ability?

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Topics: Procurement Consultancy