It is no easy task creating and managing global organizations. It is no easy task managing global procurement organizations – end-to-end. This is why it is extra inspiring to listen to Tamara Braun, CPO at SAP sharing how they have chosen to structure their global procurement organization. How they have chosen to set up their people and technical infrastructure and how they focus on aligning both strategies and different functions in order to reach set strategies.
Tamara had great feedback from attendees after her presentation and the polls gave insights between those listening in. Her final words – though stressing that there are many different type organizations, industries and ways of working – still give some advice:
That – behind all the processes, systems, tools and techniques there are always people. The newest technique, big data, going into digitalization – there are people who need to deal with the information. Focusing on people is key. Times are changing completely. Skills of today will not be sufficient tomorrow.
Here you can view the recorded webinar session:
Insightful polls
The polls asked were meant to give an idea of the foundation on which the attending organizations are standing. How they have chosen to organize, how collaboration between finance and procurement is set up and in what ways compliance is ensured. The answers are not meant to give a statistic truth, rather the answers give an extra dimension to the insights Tamara share.
Procurement organization
Most organizations attending were center led. Center led meaning you have an organizational set up with strategic decisions made centrally but still technical and transactional activities that are de-centralized.
Finance and procurement collaboration
Gladly the majority answering this poll question work with close alignment between procurement and finance and rate that alignment as very important. Given previous insights EBG have had the average answer would probably be either of the other two, finance and procurement acting independently (less and less so) or cooperation on project basis. Viewing the reflections after Source 2 Pay Summit 2016 gathered in the >>Post Summit Report it seems evident that there is a need for closer alignment.
Ensuring compliance
One of the hardest aspects of end-to-end strategies to ensure – how to secure compliance to the ways of working most often management teams have decided upon. Surely you can set up rules and regulations, write policies and guidelines but can you still be sure they are followed? To what cost (time, money and risk) should you ensure compliance? This poll or this webinar does not answer these huge questions but give some reflections on the matter.
That was all for this session, stay tuned for more webinars, summits, workshops and other ways of being inspired and getting hands on advice.
EBG | Network sends a big thank you to Tamara Braun, to SAP and to SAP Ariba for enabling us to host this session.