Suppliers Are Key to Disruptive Innovation
A new study shows there is increasing focus on Supplier-Enabled Innovation (SEI) among global sourcing and procurement executives.
New research by Procurement Leaders has detailed that procurement is a key enabler of corporate innovation thanks to the connectivity it enjoys with suppliers and key business stakeholders.
According to the Chief Procurement Officers polled, procurement is engaged in a new role that takes responsibility for connecting capability in the supply base with stakeholder and consumer need. In doing so – it opens the doors to the benefits of Supplier-Enabled Innovation (SEI).
“Tapping into the enormous capability of the thousands of suppliers with whom we do business is perhaps the single largest opportunity procurement has,” said John Paterson, Chairman of the Procurement Leaders Advisory Board and the former Chief Procurement Officer of IBM.
The Procurement Leaders Supplier-Enabled Innovation Compass explores 22 different activities that can be used to unlock innovation from suppliers; and found that connectivity with suppliers and consumers and the use of technology are key enablers to success.
Key findings include:
- Trail-blazers in SEI put a large emphasis on the time procurement spends with its key suppliers.
- Procurement must better understand consumer needs and aspirations if it is to successfully deliver results through SEI.
Procurement must see innovation as a formal, disciplined process if it is to achieve success, yet only 34 per cent do.
Jonathan Webb, Head of Strategy Research at Procurement Leaders and the report’s author, said: “We knew procurement had a significant role to play in helping to build the future product pipelines of their companies. Now we know how they should go about it, and the future potential is huge when you understand that some of our members expect more than a third of their product pipelines to come from SEI.”
The research involved quantitative research and in-depth interviews among members of the Procurement Leaders community.
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