Tania Seary is founder of Procurious, an online business network which aims to empower future procurement leaders, helping them advance their careers, develop skills and expand their professional networks.
“…it’s … important to look at this as an opportunity to drive diversity and inclusion in procurement…”
Keep calm and carry on?
The market and political uncertainty here in London is almost palpable.
The UK decision to leave the EU has sucked confidence from the community, temporarily put the markets into a free fall and has lead to a leadership re-shuffle in the UK Government. The World War II advice from the UK Ministry of Information to “Keep Calm and Carry On” business leaders is being echoed in London this week as business leaders urge their employees to remain focused on the issues within their control.
Value seeking and re-framing
Although it may take years for the final EU arrangements to be confirmed, Heads of Procurement around the world should seize the chance to open up exploratory “value-seeking” discussions with suppliers and financiers about a whole range of opportunities that may open up with the re-formulation of a new European market. Churchill said “Never let a good crisis go to waste” and all this uncertainty and re-framing represents a great opportunity for procurement professionals around the world.
Immediate opportunity
The immediate opportunity is to maximise the benefit of the currency differential. With the British Pound plunging to a 30 year low, anything sourced from the UK just got a whole lot cheaper.
However, it’s also important to look at this as an opportunity to drive diversity and inclusion in procurement. With a potentially less flexible labour market adding to the war for talent in procurement, senior procurement leaders need to ensure that both their own teams, and their suppliers are encouraging diversity, to help respond to increasing uncertainty and volatility.
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