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What are the 3 biggest challenges faced by supply chain/purchasing professionals today? (Survey Result 18)

Written by: Jon Hansen

Article Overview: There are many factors both internally as well as externally that are affecting supply chain/ procurement practices today. From the growing talent vacuum to the continuing lack of collaboration between Finance, IT and Purchasing relative to corporate initiatives. What in your own experiences and opionions are the top 3 issues that procurement professionals face?

What are the 3 biggest challenges faced by supply chain/purchasing professionals today? (Survey Result 18)

Bjorn, International Supply Chain and Material Management Leader, Kansas City, U.S.

As the discussion clearly shows, Supply Chain Managers face a wide range of concerns. In my experience the top issues are:

1) Cost Savings -- Senior managers seem to make so much of driving down the "price" of materials and measuring the same year after year with little regard for finding the means to reduce the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of those same materials. Between the demands for price reductions and material quality requirements, the challenge I see in this is one of removing ourselves from the role of "monkey in the middle" and elevating ourselves to that of a "champion" that brings together seemingly opposed priorities. In short, asserting ourselves as leaders and champions of TCO.

2) Resolving Internal Conflict -- Oddly enough, challenge 1 relates directly to challenge 2....overcoming the internal struggle to be all things to all customers. This become even more difficult when there is little support of the Supply Chain Management function at a company's highest levels of management (and hopefully, leadership)! All too often the concept of team play and teamwork is lost within a peer group resulting in internal power struggles. The intentions of each peer within the group may be good, but the execution of individual departmental plans without regard for the common good of the entire organization leads to this particular challenge leaving a materials group to serve competing needs.

3) Keeping Up With a Dynamic Global Economy -- China, Vietnam, India, Eastern Europe (to name but a few) all have economies that affect our profession and procurement strategies. The challenge I see is one of keeping current with changes in the world with respect to its dynamic economies, politics, and social implications. The devaluation of US currency relative to other economies, mixed with international and domestic politics, and interwoven with the impacts on jobs within our companies, communities, and country put a tremendous amount of pressure on our profession to remain in touch with the rest of the world and agile enough to quickly and efficiently overcome the impacts of changes in the same. Sometimes the marketplace seems more like a minefield!!!

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Article Tags: challenge 1, china vietnam, departmental plans, domestic politics, dynamic economies, dynamic global economy, economy china, internal conflict, internal struggle, levels of management, management function, management leader, material management, material quality, materials group, monkey in the middle, procurement strategies, quality requirements, supply chain management, supply chain managers



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Re: What is your biggest challenge? Today? - [quote:3ce2ievo](Oh, the state of the human condition! What challenges we create for ourselves. Do the birds of the air toil as we do? Or do they simply revel in the joy of each moment?)[/quote:3ce2ievo] GT - Be like the birds... That's my biggest challenge today.
Re: What Businesses to Bail Out? - That's the tough thing. People are really hanging onto their money right now, in fear that they may lose their job. No one is secure and it's going to be one of our biggest challenges ever to get through this crisis. All the money Obama sank into the system to get things moving and 10 months later we are still losing jobs. There's got to be a better way.
Re: What is your biggest challenge? Today? - My today biggest challenge was to avoid distractions... and i managed.
Finding Good People - From my own experiences and from interviewing some of Canada's fastest growing companies, one of the biggest challenges always seems to be finding good people to hire. What have you guys done to find good people and keep them in your organization?
Survey the Landlord - Terry, my suggestion is simple but powerful - Survey. Survey Landlords and find out what is important to them. By doing this it does two things: 1. You will find out trends/under-operated services that Landlords are currently unsatisfied with = your client will be able to fulfill 2. You are infact Marketing your clients services by doign this because when you are approaching your landlords it not a sales pitch and they have someone to clear their frustrations with. Then when you approach them after a month (when you've put your numbers together and identified services that are most important) you can remind them of the survey and share with them the results. At this point you can end with an offer to use your clients services to manage their property. I use this method with my clients who are looking for new services to develop in thier markets. It's simple but powerful.


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