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    The 2 Hour Mentor
    The 2 Hour Mentor
    The 2 Hour Mentor
    Ebook131 pages1 hour

    The 2 Hour Mentor

    By David McGuire

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Workplace mentoring programs are designed to help employees learn best practices through exposure to senior employees who know how to do the “right things” and make sound business decisions. This exposure is intended to help employees perform their roles more effectively while also increasing a feeling of job satisfaction. The benefits to those employees are obvious, but what are the benefits to the organization? What about the employees not receiving that senior level access? How does the absence of those experiences impact operations?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDavid McGuire
    Release dateApr 21, 2020
    ISBN9780463772744
    The 2 Hour Mentor

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      Book preview

      The 2 Hour Mentor - David McGuire

      Chapter 1

      Procurement Workflows & Bids

      For the most part, procurement is absolutely about following a series of systems and processes

      to identify, source and manage contracts, said Matthew Sparkes, head of financial services at the Crown Commercial Service (CCS), who describes himself as not a procurement person by trade.

      A purchasing workflow includes the steps taken to order and pay for products – keep it simple.

      The purchasing workflow will determine the volume, quality specs and frequency products are purchased from a given supplier.

      Below you will find the steps for a standard procurement workflow followed by the quoting workflow.

      Steps of the Purchasing Workflow

      Identifying the Specific Need

      You will need to identify any additions or changes to your existing inventory

      Spec the Forecasted Volumes

      How much and often will you want products or services delivered Requisition or Order

      Document the purchase requisition or order

      Financial Approvals

      Purchases will require an approval authority before taking any action

      Research Suppliers

      Reoccurring orders typically have designated suppliers. No reoccurring orders should be sent for bids or flowed through a reliable supplier

      Choose Suppliers

      The supplier for a specified service has been selected

      Establish the Price and Terms

      In larger companies, suppliers will be contracted with a master agreement where prices and terms are set for a defined period. A master agreement will always have the option for a Schedule A to make amendments or agreed-upon changes. If a master agreement does not exist, it is best practice to shop for value, quality, and service from competitive suppliers.

      Place the Purchase Order

      At this stage, an order to the supplier is placed and becomes a contracted agreement between the requesting business and supplier. Using purchase orders is critical, regardless of the size of your organization. Try to avoid simply using credits card(s) and balancing the receipts. Those shortcuts may potentially miss the accounting period or result in a loss of reimbursable payments.

      Orders are Received and Inspected at Receipt

      The products ordered are delivered as agreed, received at a dock, verified, recorded as a direct or inventory receipt. Shortages and breakages are reported to the supplier for the appropriate credits to be supplied.

      Approvals and Payments

      The invoices will be paid according to the terms of the net agreement schedule

      Updating of the Records

      The purchasing ledger and inventory records are updated Although this list is extensive, the nature of your specific business will determine the extent of the procurement workflow you use. For example, if your business is a large corporation you may undergo a more involved bid review phase. On the other hand, if you work in a small firm, that stage may be quick and simple. Understand the scope of your business and tailor your workflows as best suited.

      Chapter 2

      Maximizing Your Savings

      So, what is expected by the executive team to enable procurement to have the maximum impact possible on financial results?

      It is the lack of flexibility, visibility and control that is often been the thorn of procurement’s efforts in aligning with finance. To demonstrate this point, a recent study by the consulting firm Protiviti shed some light on this very dilemma. Among the key findings from Protiviti’s 2017 Procurement Survey found that close to half of finance leaders believed that 20% or less of procurement’s savings drop to the bottom line. In addition, most procurement and finance leaders rate the sourcing process as less than very effective.

      Moreover, the primary causes of savings not dropping to the bottom line were budgets not being enforced and savings were being spent in other areas, demonstrating an inability to adjust for changes in needs or specifications. Without proper flexibility, visibility and controls, adjustments to budgets cannot be made, increasing the risk of saving being diminished. So, what can be done other than kick and scream about the obstacles? These are the times to refocus your objectives.

      Below you will find a series of steps to increase your due diligence towards eliminating the losses on savings.

      Remove the Noise

      The first and most important step is to move procurement away from being a transactional based function being focused purely on moving purchase transactions though the organization.

      Value will never be realized if procurement continues to function as an order processing role. Simply taking the traditional approach to automate procurement is not always the best solution. Introducing technology that is focused on automating what the procurement function does is not the way forward. It is a very short-sighted view of what is required to move procurement away from a transactional environment.

      Do Not Focus on Automation

      The focus should be placed on automating the buying process from a user / departmental perspective. The user needs to focus on the specific details of any purchase: if procurement is involved, in a direct line of the process, this will become a very inefficient purchase process.

      This automation can be achieved with either the right investment in procurement technology (platforms enable users to buy goods and services without involving procurement staff.) It will ultimately be achieved through outsourcing a significant proportion of the indirect spend activity to an outsourcing company.

      The key, whether insourcing or outsourcing, is to ensure you are enabling end users to get exactly what is needed quickly, easily, while remaining compliant with procurement policy. The benefit will be found in their not having to understand the intricacies of procurement related policies.

      Procurement staff should not be concerned with the buying and receiving transactions. These need to be automated and the primary concern of the departments falling to their need for the products or services.

      It should be noted that, excluding strategic spend, over 60% of purchase transactions made are repeated, either with the same specification or with minor changes to specification. Knowing that information, why would or should procurement be involved in these transactions? The procurement team only needs to be able to monitor and report as needed on the flow of purchasing transactions. Ensuring that policies are adhered to and there is the appropriate supplier selection (strategic suppliers, approved suppliers, and competitive bids for example.)

      Address Procurement Strategy

      This step follows the initial step, to remove the noise, since it is impossible to strategize if daily procurement transactions are interrupting this process.

      Having removed the noise, it is now possible to place the procurement role’s emphasis on strategic activities. This opportunity removes the buyer from being tied to lesser productive activities such as transactional or compliance-focused tasks. Placing the emphasis on procurement initiatives that correlate with the strategic goals of the organization should become the new norm. After making this part of your daily routine, you will begin noticing an overall improvement in benefits across the organization in terms of financial performance.

      Where is the Focus

      The focus on strategy means the procurement team is now operating in a command and control role, as opposed to service role. The areas of focus will depend on the nature of your business, however there are often common areas of strategic opportunities and development of plans:

      - Analyzing and quantifying value chains

      - Supply chain optimization

      - Securing competitive suppliers for Indirect Spend categories

      - Risk management and governance

      - Building strategic relationships

      - Innovation, encouraging suppliers to put forward their own innovations

      - Optimizing organizational processes and driving improvements

      - Managing money well. E.g. payments or organizational efficiencies

      - Defining best practice across the entirety of the supply chain

      - Addressing ethical business and supply chain practices

      What do not they focus on?

      Getting the Work Done

      It is not about the procurement function. It is about the wider organization, within which they are a key player. Yes, procurement’s work will get done, however this will be in context of the wider organizational benefit and P&L impact.

      Supplier Optimization

      The key is focusing on how to optimize the supply value chain. Engaging with suppliers to propose ways this can be achieved is an important step. Let them do their share of work to

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