Our manufacturing clients rely on our extensive knowledge of procurement. Just ask them.
Our founder spent over 20 years sourcing raw materials worldwide.
Direct Materials Procurement
For manufacturers procurement and supply chain isn’t just another function — it’s their lifeblood. A disruption in supply chain can shut down a manufacturer’s operations.
An executive who sources raw materials needs to be well versed in low cost country sourcing (LCCS), supplier development, new product development, raw material specifications and the art of negotiation.
A seasoned procurement executive knows his or her supplier’s cost structure before embarking on negotiations with his or her vendor.
Procurement is not just about getting the lowest cost. The best sourcing executives know how to solidify partnerships with the right suppliers. It is vital to secure competitive pricing, high-quality and on-time delivery concurrently.
Operational excellence is an important skill set for any supply chain executive.
Contract Manufacturing/Outsourcing
Manufacturers are increasingly outsourcing the manufacturing process to a third–party. There is a unique set of challenges with contract manufacturers that is quite different compared to raw material suppliers.
Companies put their brands and reputation in the hands of their third-party vendors. A seasoned executive in outsourcing knows how to optimize and manage these complex third-party relationships.
Indirect Procurement Leadership Roles
In addition to direct materials sourcing, companies need to purchase an array of services. Many organizations have created a separate procurement arm just for indirect spend.
There is a different type of expertise that is required for managing indirect spend compared to the direct materials spend.
We take this into account when we recruit an executive to lead the indirect spend.
Strategic or Tactical Procurement
Strategic sourcing leaders create sourcing agreements with suppliers from the ground up. However, tactical procurement leaders execute procurement against existing strategic sourcing blanket agreements.
Our extensive expertise enables us to assess whether a candidate is stronger on the strategic or tactical side of procurement.
Models of Procurement
Procurement organizations generally operate in one of the three models of procurement:
- Centralized Procurement
All purchasing goes through a centralized corporate function.
- Decentralized Procurement
Each business unit manages the procurement for their its own division or business unit.
- Center-Led Procurement
Procurement is managed with cross-functional teams across an organization based on categories and centers of excellence. The tactical procurement remains within the decentralized unit.
A procurement executive who has managed only spend in a decentralized structure may not have the expertise to create or lead a center-led organizational structure.
A Diverse Set of Skills
A seasoned procurement executive needs expertise in negotiations, aggregation of spend, spend analytics and leadership.
Our in-depth knowledge of spend analytics, aggregation of spend, types of negotiations skills and leadership enables us to delve into the candidate’s background to assess compatibility for the role.
We recruit the following roles:
- Chief Procurement Officer
- Chief Supply Chain Officer
- SVP/VP Supply Chain
- SVP/VP Procurement
- VP Indirect Procurement
- VP Supply Chain Planning
- VP Logistics
- VP Operational Excellence
- Director Strategic Sourcing
- Director Procurement
- Director Indirect Procurement
- Director Direct Materials
- Director Commodity Management
- Director Supply Chain
- Director of Supply Chain Quality
- Director Materials Management
- Director Procure-to-Pay