“During the past two years, Greece has experienced an unprecedented financial crisis. This has massively affected every sector of the economy and has placed a premium on issues addressing corporate survival and growth. In such a hostile environment, this well-documented survey by State of Flux shows that the majority of companies have put a higher dependence on their procurement departments to help improve their financial outlook. It convincingly argues that procurement and supply chain management, when properly implemented, can potentially have an impact on the bottom line, mitigate risks and build the basis for sustainability and growth. It is surprising, though, that the majority of respondents do not believe that more robust procurement processes, better risk management techniques and better use of technology can help them through the economic crisis. However, the evidence, both qualitative (through workshops) and quantitative (through a survey), shows that procurement and supply professionals are offered a lot of opportunities and long-term strategies to impact the bottom line of their organisations (these include, among others, the suggestion that Greek companies should explore opportunities to realise cost savings by looking internally). It seems that the procurement and supply chain executives need to strengthen their share of voice and influence inside their organisations, as their strategic role is not evident in many companies in the areas of category management, contracts management and risk management. In this fluid external environment the leaders of our organisations have to realise that procurement and supply chain management is not just a cost-saving mechanism or an efficiency enhancing tool, but also a core competence offering potentially significant strategic advantages to the organisation. Hopefully, this State of Flux research will spur further discussion and developments in this very important topic.”
Vassilis Papadakis (PhD London Business School) PROFESSOR AND CHAIRMAN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Athens University of Economics and Business
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