6 Steps to Successful Procurement Transformations – Step 3: Build a roadmap

August 28, 2017 by Benj Street

This series looks at the key considerations in transforming your procurement function and building a modern, fit for purpose, procurement function.  This can look very different in different organisations depending on the goals of the business, the industry, and the maturity of the team.

Build a roadmap

The first two steps will have built up a picture of what your customer needs and now it is time to work out what needs to be done to get your procurement team to the place it needs to be.  One of the best ways to do this is to carry out a root cause analysis exercise with the team involved.  This helps to develop a plan that everyone understands and is accountable for.

A good plan will include a clear vision and strategy, appropriate elements of people, process and systems to achieve the goals.  A good tip for driving efficiency once you have operational processes clearly mapped is to look at automation of routine and mundane tasks.  This will let your team focus on the things that they are good at.  The rise of low cost automation in procurement technologies means that this option is available to procurement functions of all sizes and budgets.

As you develop your plan, a list of clear measurable actions will emerge.  It is helpful to assign clear ownership, effort estimates and success criteria for each task.  One thing that is easy to overlook when building a plan, is how to keep existing activities going, ensuring that ‘the lights stay on’ whilst you are making the changes.  It can be helpful to include specific activities to keep up motivation, review the plan and communicate successes and challenges to everyone involved.

In the next step, I will discuss some ideas on how to prioritise the activities and workstreams to maximise the probability of success of your transformation.