670: Escaping the Services Procurement Comfort Zone w/ Gordon Donovan

“We have to incentivize the supplier to collaborate with us in a way that creates a different way of doing something – it might take us all out of our comfort zones, but it’s going to deliver a better outcome.” - Gordon Donovan, Vice President Research - Procurement & External Research at SAP

Services procurement makes up a large percentage of most organizations’ spend and it is a key driver of enterprise growth and performance. At the same time, a recent global study conducted by Art of Procurement and SAP revealed that this category presents serious challenges for procurement leaders and is primed for improvement.

To better understand these challenges and opportunities, Philip Ideson speaks with Gordon Donovan, Vice President Research - Procurement & External Research at SAP, about the research findings. 

In this episode, they discuss key findings from the study and one-on-one follow-up interviews:

• Why ‘services procurement’ is a slippery term for some, and how it should ultimately be defined
• How procurement can leverage services spend to move from a tactical or administrative role to one where they strategically partner with the business
• The most egregious mistakes global procurement leaders are currently making when it comes to services spend (and how to correct them)

Links:

• Gordon Donovan on LinkedIn
• From C-Suite Priority to Procurement Strategy: Managing Risk at Scale w/ Gordon Donovan and Matthew Montgomery
• Subscribe to This Week in Procurement