6 REASONS IT PAYS TO CARE IN PROCUREMENT

1. It’s cost effective

“We’ve undertaken research with PwC to look at what social value means for people within procurement departments” begins Peter. “We see that in the majority of cases when you take a social value or an environmental lens to procurement your new suppliers coming in to support your business are in most cases creating value add but are actually cheaper. [You will find] suppliers are much more cost efficient as a result of being more socially and environmentally imaginative.”

2. It brings in top talent

Attitudes of the millennial workforce is a significant factor for organisations to consider in today’s world if they want to recruit and retain the best talent. Employees, for the most part, want to feel as though they are working for companies who care for more than simply profit, who are making the right decisions for the world around them as well as the right decisions for the business. As Peter explains “the good work your business does can give you the cutting edge or differentiation to bring in the very best talent. When [organisations] take these approaches and staff believe they are authentic they are more likely to stay in the business in the long term.”

3. It makes suppliers more responsive

The research Social Enterprise UK carried out with PwC revealed that in two thirds of cases suppliers were more responsive in purpose led companies. This, Peter explains, is due to the relationships created that meant suppliers “were more responsive in terms of responding to the changing needs of companies buying from them.”

4. It makes your organisation more innovative

Purpose driven companies, according to Social Enterprise UK’s research carried out with PwC, “brought on new products and services to market, which is the traditional way we assess innovation.”

5. It keeps you ahead of the game

“We all recognise that businesses have to change and adapt to help meet the challenges that we all face. Using supply chains as a way to do this is a way of really being cutting edge, staying ahead of the pack and building brand differentiation that all companies increasingly need to be able to define themselves.”

6. It gets your customers on board

“We have researched customer loyalty” says Peter, “And whether it’s members of the public or in B2B relationships – [people] are more likely to remain with companies that are also creating a social benefit.

Peter has some reassuring advice for anyone feeling overwhelmed by the challenge of becoming a purpose-led procurement team. “The risk is that we overcomplicate it. There’s something to be said for proportionality. Start small and start easy- culturally within a company you’ll get much greater buy in if it feels as if its accessible and something that can be achieved relatively simply rather than an additional burden you’re putting on everybody.

“It’s about starting a journey and taking small steps to evolve your methodology and your approach and being fairly honest about where you are succeeding and where some of the challenges exist. No one is assuming and no one should assume that when a company starts embarking on this route that they will come to the ultimate solution within weeks months or even a couple of years!”