In an uncertain environment, leaders need to be prepared to move quickly when bluster becomes fact
An email from a CPO member a couple of weeks ago illustrated the extent to which the current disruption – whether that’s political, or otherwise – is impacting the life of your average CPO.
The email itself was fairly innocuous, with the CPO in question commenting on a previous newsletter I’d sent and sharing how he was travelling to India to develop local markets, build new relationships and deepen existing partnerships further. Interestingly, on the trip, he had bumped into a fellow CPO who had been doing something similar.
This in itself is probably not too unusual – your average chief procurement officer will have a fairly lofty frequent flyer status given the miles he or she travels. But it struck me that part of what our CPO friends were doing was the manifestation of the current political – and resulting business – environment.
As we lurch from one brash statement to the next; or try to understand the implications of a 10% tariff one day, only to be staring down the barrel of a 25% duty one the next, business leaders have been left reeling. As I’ve said previously, keeping calm is an important mindset to maintain through times like these, but it’s equally important to build adaptive, agile and even predictive capabilities to help navigate the coming years.
Much of that predictive skill will involve separating real strategic developments from the hullaballoo and general noise broadcast every minute of every day. CPOs must develop a sixth sense, an ability to be prepared for anything while reacting quickly to a new reality when bluster becomes fact.
What does this mean in practical terms? First, it means aligning the procurement and supply strategy with that of the wider organisation – more so than ever. Growth markets need to be carefully aligned with supply markets, as a simple example.
But it also means developing and maintaining supplier relationships at many different levels, in many different markets and for reasons beyond straightforward, traditional economics. How this is built into meaningful and measurable KPIs, however, is a head-scratching challenge.
Sunshine state of mind
Over the coming days, many in the community will be congregating in Miami for the Americas Procurement Congress 2025. If you’re making the trip, you’re the world-class agenda assembled by the team means you are in for a treat.
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