Indirect Procurement Teams

Indirect procurement teams need to make their voices heard within companies and strive to be a “beacon of excellence”. Some interesting comments from Brian Davy, head of non-production procurement at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), who was speaking at the ProcureCon Indirect conference in London. Davy goes on to say, “Indirects can have an image problem. You need to be a beacon of excellence. If you think that you are a second-class citizen versus direct procurement, then you are going to get that reaction." Some interesting comments, but the perception we get from many of our blue chip clients, is that Indirects Procurement is perceived in equal, or sometimes even higher regard than their Directs function. We search for the very best talent, whether we are sourcing for a direct or indirects teams, key for us is understanding cultural and functional fit, whilst undertsanding the perceptions and politics of individual functions can sometimes help, it doesn't always!