Just a few clicks to achieve the effective division of roles in strategic and operational purchasing
Strategic and operational buyers have a whole number of different tasks that are becoming increasingly complex due to digitalization and international supply chains. Ensuring that the two areas work together in a structured, efficient and goal-oriented manner requires more than just good communication, but also a procurement organization in which roles are divided clearly and individually.
Digital transformation in procurement is progressing. It comes hand-in-hand with benefits for procurement, but also challenges. Operational and strategic procurement benefit from digital procurement platforms in their day-to-day work, as the product they are looking for can be ordered with just a few clicks. Without a clear division of roles and defined purchasing processes, however, portals like these also encourage employees to engage in maverick buying, i.e. to place orders on their own initiative without consulting procurement. This can be remedied by individual access rights and well thought-out control and approval processes.
What is the remit of strategic and operational procurement?
Operational and strategic procurement have the same goals, but perform different tasks as they work towards achieving them: operational purchasing ensures that the company is supplied with the goods it needs. In the course of its day-to-day business, the department consults suppliers and service providers regarding orders, delivery dates, returns, and complaints, and handles a large part of the administrative work. Strategic procurement, on the other hand, operates one level higher: it analyzes the requirements and stock situation for certain goods, identifies new product groups and keeps an eye on supply chains and logistics. Since, by their very nature, the strategic requirements for procurement always affect the operational side of things as well, the tasks that operational and strategic procurement are responsible for overlap.
Users and the buying process: definition of clear roles
Good coordination is what is required here. Collaboration is made particularly easy on a digital procurement platform like Wucato, where any number of users can be created. In turn, strategic procurement can divide these users into rights groups – user groups with specific access rights, for example only for certain assortments or suppliers – and assign them budgets and order value limits. Approval processes can also be customized in line with the departmental structure. In addition, strategic procurement has a large number of controlling and analysis functions at its disposal which it can use to maintain an overall view of purchasing activities within the company, also in online procurement. With just a few clicks, buyers can find out which items are ordered particularly frequently and where suppliers can be consolidated. Thanks to clearly assigned roles, rights and budgets, strategic and operational procurement do not obstruct each other’s work, but rather collaborate efficiently.
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