Supply Excellence — Sourcing Expertise, How May I Direct Your Call?

Sourcing Expertise, How May I Direct Your Call?

December 18th, 2006 · by Tim Minahan · No Comments · best practices, skills rectruitment and development

Aberdeen Group’s latest report, The CPO’s Strategic Agenda, discusses how new pressures are forcing supply management organizations to hire talent with unconventional backgrounds. In recent years, we’ve seen an increase in the number of recruits with finance, engineering, and technology backgrounds added to the supply management team. The Aberdeen report cites a company adding marketing expertise to its supply squad.

“I hired a sales and marketing person to evangelize the benefits of procurement throughout our organization,” said one CPO cited in the report. ”The results have more than justified the decision.”

The trend reminded me of a discussion I had earlier this year with Jessica Dunlop, head of ITT Industries’ e-sourcing program. ITT has taken a different approach to the talent crunch: tapping other functions for details on commodity trends, cost drivers, and suppliers.

“For travel, we found that the people with the best insight were the secretaries that booked travel on behalf of our executives,” said Dunlop. “They gave us the most insight on the travel specifications and the historical service performance of the travel companies.”

ITT’s experience reveals a secret that few enterprises care to admit. Office administrators are responsible for a large portion of corporate buying decisions and execution. The International Association of Administrative Professionals reports that there are more than 10 million admins in the U.S. alone. By some estimates, these admins direct or execute nearly $200 billion worth of purchase decisions each year.

And their purchasing power extends beyond just air travel. Other key categories where admins have supplier selection and purchase-decision influence, include: small parcel and courier services, transportation, dining, break room supplies, desktop computing, events, subscriptions and memberships, printing, and gifts and logoed merhandise.

In most cases, administrative assistants are placing purchase requests on behalf of their bosses. They also control access to executives that can secure budget and support for your supply management initiatives.

That means the success of your next program can hinge on your ability to win over office admins. A good rule of thumb for supply management teams: make every day Secretary’s Day. Some suggestions:

Sell admins on how your latest e-procurement or compliance initiative will make their lives easier.
Take admins to lunch to educate them on your program. And don’t cheap out. Make it a nice lunch, or your plan may backfire.
Let admins test drive potential travel booking, e-procurement, or contract management solutions — before you make a selection. Solicit their feedback for improvements; and ensure these changes are implemented.
Consider personal incentives — gift certificates or dining vouchers — for admins that get their bosses’ spending in compliance.
Survey admins throughout the program to monitor satisfaction and head off any compliance issues that may derail your program’s progress.
Hold an annual “Unsung Hero” award for the admin that helped save the company the most by complying with your program. (Be sure to throw in another nice gift for the winner. Maybe a night out. Or a day at the spa.)
Most importantly, be nice. Never be rude to or try to go around an adminstrative assistant. You’ll likely fail. And you’ll earn an enemy for life. (”Hell hath no fury like an admin scorned.”) Admins talk. So make an enemy of one, and your program is sunk.

Too often supply management execs and analysts (and bloggers) get caught up in the importance of thinking strategic. But don’t forget that all business is personal. And, in many cases, is controlled (or at least influenced) by the personal assistant.

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