Consulting companies driving procurement transformation | Supply Chain Management | United States International Supply Chain Commission

The Big Question: Digital transformation is changing the face of procurement but which consulting firm would you choose to advise you on your next steps?

Procurement consulting is big business and it certainly isn’t cheap but it can be invaluable when it comes to making decisions in numerous areas of procurement, supply chain & logistics – direct & indirect procurement, sourcing strategies, sustainability, technology platforms, risk management, contract management – they are all core parts of the procurement strategy and it’s a procurement leader’s job to figure them all out.

Procurement’s role in the enterprise has evolved. Today, CPO’s & procurement leaders are expected to work strategically as part of the c-suite to form a strategy to mitigate risk, create competitive advantage and help drive enterprise growth.

When it comes to choosing a procurement consultancy firm to help for this strategy, you need to look for a company that can help to build and manage high-performance procurement departments, develop and then deploy clear strategy and vision to become more effective and efficient as an organisation.

Six key aspects in procurement strategy:

Digital Transformation
Cloud & Cyber
Data & Data Analytics
AI
Sustainability
Culture Shift

Now, we take a look at some of the leading procurement consulting companies vying for your consulting dollars.

In no particular order, here’s some of the global players you could easily call upon:

Bain

Bain helps companies develop sourcing strategies for a sustainable future.

Bain works closely with procurement teams to identify and realise savings across all spend categories and procurement levers and they can help organisations build capabilities to make long term savings and procurement gains.

Services:

Strategic Procurement Planning
Buy Better + Spend Better
Closed Loop Savings Capture
Capability Building
Digital Foundation and Enablers

Client results:

1000+ procurement projects across a broad range of industries.

8-12% Purchase Cost Reduction

Key people:

Caperton Flood – New York

David Schannon – Silicon Valley

Chuck Miller – Boston

Borja Tramazaygues – Madrid

Gerry Mattios – Singapore

Tessa Bysong – Chicago

LinkedIn (not found)

Kelly Liu – Beijing

Phil Barton – Sydney

Bain Procurement Video

Link to Bain Procurement

Accenture

Accenture is a global powerhouse consulting company that helps organisations with cost-reduction and growth opportunities associated with all forms of sourcing and procurement.

Accenture’s goal is to transform sourcing and procurement from a business service to a ‘High Performance Driver’ in the business strategy.

Accenture’s procurement consulting practise focuses on the following areas:

Procurement strategy
Procurement value targeting
Procurement operating model blueprint
Supply base management
Risk strategy
Strategic planning & sourcing for core categories
Demand management / zero-based budgeting (ZBB)

Key people:

Kai Nowosel – Accenture’s own CPO *(Watch his Exclusive Video here)*

Ken White – Chicago

Sean Mckeogh – NCR, Philippines

Daan Koetsier – Brisbane

Accenture: Digital Procurement is Now Video

Link to Accenture Procurement

Deloitte

Deloitte’s procurement consulting practice helps organisations reduce their cost base and increase efficiencies by implementing fit-for-purpose solutions that are practical, affordable and results-driven.

Deloitte’s Sourcing and Procurement Strategy services include:

Direct & Indirect Materials Sourcing
Technology Enabled Transformation
M & A Related Services
Extended Business Relationship Management
Managed Services
Talent Development

Deloitte helps companies overcome the challenges of effectiveness and efficiency by looking at three key aspects:

People challenges:

High turnover rates

Limited supply of skilled labour and service providers

Attracting people to remote locations globally

Process challenges:

Limited procurement negotiating power

Balancing legislation with sourcing from low cost countries for cost-saving opportunities

Coordination of global logistics & distribution networks

Planning & forecasting data

Quantifying Risk

Technology challenges:

Multiple ERP Systems across organisations

Poor Data visibility

Poor Data quality

Limited ability to quantify data

Key people:

Michael Dahler – New York

Merril Skyring – Sydney

Zak von Gordon – Johannesburg

Deloitte: Sourcing & Procurement Video

Link to Deloitte Procurement

EY’s procurement practice has the vision to be recognised as a ‘global leader’ in procurement, sourcing and supply chain consulting and to be regarded as the trusted business advisor in all levels of the organisation.

Their goal to do this is as follows:

Manage connected stakeholder relationships.
Provide thought leadership, experience and innovation by collaborating with stakeholders and suppliers.
Challenging the normal, challenging the status quo.
Offering transparency into the procurement process.
Providing services that can be repeated and leveraged.

EY’s procurement services provide strategic purchasing options for materials and services based on a high level of services and competitive cost, with specific skills in the following areas:

Real estate services
Workforce management
Travel, meeting & event services
IT & technology sourcing
Professional services, procurement and contract management
Talent management
Facilities & services
Brand, marketing & communications

Key people:

Ahmit Mehta – Bangalore

Glenn Coppinger – Sydney

Amanda Spencer – London

Stacy Musho – Mckinney, Texas

EY – Smart Chain Smart Maps Video

Link to EY Procurement

GEP

GEP is known to help Global Fortune 500 & Fortune 2000 enterprises to build and manage high-performance strategies with the goal of increased efficiency, more effective operations, greater strategic reach and increased impact of the businesses they work with.

GEP works with its client to map the future of procurement with a specific focus on ‘digital transformation’ as they look to embrace new and emerging digital technologies.

GEP helps its client look at ways to dramatically reorganise the procurement strategy, the procurement processes, the people, the required skill sets and all support systems.

Key goals in their record for continual digital innovation are:

Cloud Deployment
Mobile & Touch Technologies
Consumerized Applications Environment
User-specific workflows and interfaces
Unified Source-to-Pay Software Platform

Other procurement & supply chain services include:

Key people:

Jamie Ogilvie-Smals

Sébastien Lecas

Saraswathy Kizhakkanchery

Gareth Thomas

GEP – Video

Link to GEP Procurement

BCG

BCG (Boston Consulting Group) has a pedigree in all areas of consulting, not just procurement but in the area of purchasing. Their goal is to deliver procurement solutions that don’t sacrifice quality and service.

The BCS procurement strategy is that it’s not just about cutting costs, a core procurement strategy requires a deeper look at internal needs and supply market capabilities as well as better collaboration with suppliers and internal functions.

BCG helps businesses understand how to manage fluctuating prices, volatile markets, changing technologies and globalisation through sustainable and efficient procurement solutions that don’t sacrifice quality or service.

Inside BCG, they have their own separate consulting business called Inverto, which is an international supply chain & procurement consulting company that specialises in industry, trade and the service sector.

BCG’s latest thinking on procurement transformation:

Digital procurement transformation
Supercharge savings with close supplier relationships
Procurement & supply chain data – data analytics
Empowering the people in digital procurement transformation
Focus on quality – mitigate supplier risk management
Online collaboration platforms

Key people:

Daniel Weise – Dusseldorf

Wolfgang Schnellbacher – Stuttgart

Rafael Desi – Paris

Robert Tevelson – Philadelphia

BCG – Video

Link to BCG Procurement

McKinsey & Company

McKinsey & Company is a global management consultancy that is trusted by the world’s leading businesses, governments & institutions.

Inside McKinsey, they have a significant capacity of working inside companies from a procurement perspective but it is delivered in a slightly different way. McKinsey helps enterprises unlock the full potential of their portfolios through product and service design and transformation.

McKinsey’s roadmap to client support:

Guide the creation of exciting product and service portfolios
Increase profitability through product and service life-cycle optimisation
Improve agility and effectiveness through development
Optimise spend categories
Drive productivity and innovation with suppliers
Maximise procurement impact through agile digital operating model

20%+ improved margins from portfolio realignment.

30% quality improvement through life-cycle management.

20x ROI (Return on Investment) from next-gen operating-model implementation.

N.B. – McKinsey & Orpheus merge together for a digital procurement drive.

McKinsey and Orpheas have joined together to launch ‘Spend Intelligence by McKinsey’, a service that will enable spend transparency, spend and cost analytics, and value-capital management. This new offering combines Orpheus’s advanced platform technology with McKinsey’s industry expertise in Digital Procurement.

Key people:

Bjorn-Uwe Mercker – Munich

Andre Rocha – Tokyo

Roman Belotserkovskiy – Austin, Texas

Riccardo Drentin – London

McKinsey – Spend Intelligence Video

Link to McKinsey Video

Efficio

Efficio has the strapline as the world’s largest global procurement consultancy so we take a look at who they really are and what gives them the right to hang out with the other major players.

Efficio has 10 offices across Europe, North America and the Middle East and they support a range of clients including blue-chip multinationals, private equity and SME’s for all around the globe. Efficio aims to help its clients reduce costs, improve internal processing and upskill procurement teams so that they can realise faster cost savings.

Efficio’s key differentiator is their proprietary procurement technology and knowledge platform called eFlow. eFlow automates data insight generation, supports saving delivery, facilitates strong supplier relationships and manages supply chain risk.

Key aspects of eFlow are as follows: