Stephanie Tulgren

When examining spend, it is easy for procurement professionals to feel more reactive, rather than proactive. Spend analytics enable you to move into preemptive decision making so your team can both identify and draw insights that let them make strategic decisions.  

• Identifying the necessary tools to accurately capture spend data  
• Implementing internal training to avoid bad input practices that may lead to “Garbage in, Garbage out” data problems 
• Moving beyond capturing basic spend data in the sourcing phase  
• Putting more time into insights that can enable higher level activities (i.e Supplier Relationship Management) 

A strong SRM practice can lead to many benefits for your company such as cost management, and long-term growth. By keeping an active and communicative relationship with your suppliers, organizations can move from short term gains such as cost savings, to more strategic activities like innovation and sustainability.  

• Working with each department to see where you can consolidate recurring vendors 
• Training your procurement teams in relationship management and negotiation, to create better contracts for all parties involved 
• Sharing long term objectives and creating regular check ins with suppliers to allow them to build more personalized performance metrics and milestones 
• Strengthening your communication with third-party vendors to ensure work transparency, and stay ahead of unexpected price increases