The purchasing function plays a strategic role in the competitive advantage of European companies. Faced with today's increasingly competitive environment and what is still a fragile economy, cost control is high on the list of priorities for buyers. This trend has been proven by the AgileBuyer - X-Achats survey entitled "Top priorities for purchasing departments in 2016", where 82% of respondents confirmed the trend.
An obvious choice for buyers
In the AgileBuyer - X-Achats survey, 492 business professionals shared their opinions on their priorities for 2016. One piece of information is especially striking: the importance of reducing costs is obtaining record-breaking results. Although cost control has been an integral part of their strategy for several years, it now appears to be becoming their key focus.
Three priorities revealed
This cost control approach involves different strategies:
- Reducing the number of suppliers (57% of buyers have defined objectives accordingly): the first condition for keeping purchasing under control is to replace several suppliers with a reference supplier with whom the company can concentrate its purchases and consequently negotiate a global discount.
- Digital transformation (68% of purchasing departments have one or more people specifically responsible for digital transformation): incorporating new information and communication technologies (Internet, mobile apps, cloud computing, etc.) into operational processes helps companies considerably improve their productivity.
- Payment time management (65% of buyers have defined objectives accordingly): compliance with payment times is a major challenge for ensuring the company's financial stability and helps build a balanced and long-term relationship between companies and their suppliers.
There are many other ways of reducing purchasing costs. It is not just a question of finding a supplier for their products, but a real trusted partner capable of supporting buyers with their strategy and offering the best solutions.
Read the complete survey published by AgileBuyer - X-Achats "Top priorities for purchasing departments in 2016".
