PROCUREMENT STRATEGY
She adds : “ Benchmarking can help organisations to understand the art of what is possible within the procurement function as well as inspire .”
Enhancing benchmarking with technology An exciting element of the benchmarking process for Flores is the technological capabilities . “ Benchmarking requires a lot of time and effort from an organisation , technology is crucial in helping those in procurement reduce the time and effort invested in such activities , as well as help to increase the accuracy of what is being measured .”
With advanced technological capabilities , organisations can benefit from real-time data , accessible for all relevant parties via a single system to make current and more accurate comparisons . But Flores warns : “ While technology can provide quicker and broader access to many indicators , it remains crucial to have the right talent in place to interpret the data and make that right decisions on which indicators need to be focused on . Technology should be seen as a supportive tool in this area .”
The challenges of benchmarking When it comes to benchmarking one of the key challenges for any organisation is collecting comparable data . “ Depending on the complexity of an organisation , its systems and governance , the collection of data can be relatively easy , or complex . This is where the technology enhancements from before come into play ,” says Flores . Not only is collecting comparable data challenging , but it is also a challenge to ensue that the data collected is high quality and comparable . Across industries , definitions , data points , scope and strategies
DIFFERENT TYPES OF BENCHMARKING IN PROCUREMENT
When it comes to benchmarking , organisations can gain a wealth of information and visibility depending on what they are looking to compare .
Mélani Flores , Practice Leader , Procurement & P2P Advisory EMEA , at The Hacket Group explains benchmarking can be an internal process comparing the practices of the procurement functions across an organisation operating regions , or it can be an external process comparing the procurement practices of an organisation to others in the market .
Typical benchmarking topics include :
• Sustainability
• Processes
• Best practices
• Strategy
• Performance