CM GROUP
“ I ’ m customer facing in the sense that my co-workers are my customers . The employees within the CM Group come to me about a wide range of issues ; everything from buying laptops and keyboards to making sure we ' re buying the right software and services to help us run our business . I also deal externally with all the different vendors that we engage with daily ”
KAREN HODSON CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER , CM GROUP
discuss any challenges ; for example : Has the vendor been able to provide everything that they said they would provide ? Has anything been lacking ? And is the product still meeting our needs ? A lot of factors come into play . If a vendor is unable to provide us what we are paying for then it ’ s a good time to consider a new business relationship .”
Hodson is keen to discuss how human interaction and software tools work hand-inhand to support the CM Group . To ensure that purchasing within the company is efficient all of the departments submit their request in Zip , CM Group also uses other SaaS tools to evaluate the purchasing landscape and complete the procure to pay process at the organisation . It ’ s important that each department answers standardised questions when submitting a request including how much it ’ s going to cost ? How long are they going to require the item for ? What department do they belong to ? All of these questions need to be answered so the procurement team can assist with completing the purchase .
She is keen to highlight the ever-growing procurement departments popping up within organisations . “ More organisations are understanding the value that centralised procurement can bring .” She believes that procurement is more than solely a money savings office . The department offers real time value across the company . “ In the past , procurement was largely about checking boxes , processing papers and making sure that correct procedures were in place . These are a very important piece of the puzzle . But procurement brings a lot more to an organisation and people are beginning to understand the value that procurement can bring to a company by breaking down silos , reducing spend while reducing risk , increasing happiness across companies ’ customers , and the employees within an organisation .”
“ I think the role of procurement is definitely expanding well beyond dollar savings . It ’ s also about how we make our employees happy , how we reduce risks and engage with the right vendors .”
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