FINANCE & SPEND
“ When a company is small, and decision-makers know each supplier personally, things move smoothly. As purchasing volume increases, speed often takes priority over process. New suppliers are added without thorough reviews, contracts become inconsistent, and purchasing decisions become decentralised,” says David.
What can initially seem to be efficient can actually be causing strain. Unseen issues like duplicate suppliers, inconsistent pricing, compliance risks and reduced negotiating power can bog down and eventually break the whole chain.
“ In my experience, organisations that scale successfully establish strong structures that maintain control without slowing down the business,” adds David.
“ An expanding business relies on the fast onboarding of suppliers, but fast-tracking contracts in new regions and countries is a mistake.”
Maintaining visibility throughout an organisation ensures that financial risks are identified and managed before contracts are finalised.
Matthias sees the same fracture points.“ It takes the procurement function a lot longer to source new material from new suppliers than it used to,” he says.“ Procurement turns into a bottleneck and puts launches at risk, or it makes development timelines sluggish. If you hurry, you don’ t get the best cost – but typically you don’ t know it until it’ s too late.”
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