Clark and Hong agree that designing a product with durability and longevity in mind from the start instantly negates scrap and waste , as well as reducing the chance that the product will be returned . This helps the overall operations function become more sustainable and empowers the end customer to reduce their waste as well . Philip Hong
SUSTAINABILITY
“ IT ’ S IMPORTANT THAT PROCUREMENT TEAMS SPEND TIME WITHIN OTHER FUNCTIONS ACROSS THE BUSINESS TO UNDERSTAND HOW WELL THE PRODUCT IS PERFORMING ”
PHILIP HONG PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT , PROXIMA component is a lost cost for the company , as the customer will not realise the higher value of the product .
Contrastingly , if the product is considered to be high quality and a cheap component is purchased , customers could lose respect for the brand and become frustrated with their purchase .
Clark and Hong agree that designing a product with durability and longevity in mind from the start instantly negates scrap and waste , as well as reducing the chance that the product will be returned . This helps the overall operations function become more sustainable and empowers the end customer to reduce their waste as well . Philip Hong
TITLE : PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT COMPANY : PROXIMA
INDUSTRY : PROCUREMENT AND SUPPLY CHAIN CONSULTANCY
LOCATION : GREATER CHICAGO , ILLINOIS , UNITED STATES
Joining Proxima as Principal
Consultant in June 2022 , Philip Hong has previously worked for PepsiCo and The Kraft Heinz Company . He has extensive knowlege of packaging design and engineering solutions .
Is this common practice ? If not , why not ? “ Spending time considering the product is not a common aspect of the procurement strategy , as there are often other supply and pricing challenges occurring ,” says Clark .
However , being able to adopt this perspective brings a more strategic view to the procurement category . That being said , this is not typically considered common practice due to cost savings being pushed down from finance departments . This could be seen as a misalignment of incentives where procurement is looking at short term savings versus what is best for the brand .
How can organisations incorporate this into their procurement strategy ? “ Setting measurable KPIs , such as including operational waste costs included in procurement ’ s KPIs , can help organisations incorporate this into their procurement strategies ,” says Hong .
“ It ’ s important that procurement teams spend time within other functions