| | NOVEMBER 20198CIOReviewIN MY OPINIONAccording to you what does the current procurement landscape look like and what emergent industry challenges are you witnessing? The modern day procurement landscape has witnessed a myriad of emerging global trends that are catalyzing business objectives. Undoubtedly, the first and foremost one is the impact of social media; the cycle of continuous information exchange is creating a sense of awareness and engagement with the guests and supply chain partners. Not only can we benefit from the insights but with faster communication, firms can effectively manage concerns with any discipline in a timely manner. The second one is a constructive pressure to constantly improvethe supply chain. From a supply chain point of view and as a procurement personnel, I believe that renewing the whole supply chain consistently is going to be a redefining practice in the procurement space. I will position `access to the right talent' as one of the most imperative parameters to a successful procurement business. Every major organization or entity today is fighting to find the right set of people, whether it is a hotel business or a technology firm. The challenge, however, extends to not just finding qualified and good people but also ensuring that they have a significant understanding of the global mindset and global business intricacies. The need for appropriate talent also coincides with the increasing demand for the right vendors, partners, and source of products. The inflow of "Big Data" has also taken the procurement industry by surprise with an exceptional potential to offer to the industry. Initially, people used to consider that cash is the key; however, according to me, tables have turned now, data becomes the key to generate that cash. And, in order to make the right decisions for a business, one needs to have access to the right set of data. This also raises a concern, as there is a massive ocean of data that needs to be processed to extract relevant actionable insights or information that will make the difference. Therefore, I see all these parameters in sync with the trajectory that the procurement industry is set to follow.You did talk about the importance of having right partners and the right solution in your response. What is the checklist or evaluation process that you follow while looking for the right partner? In my opinion, a perfect partner does not exist, unfortunately. The fact is, we are still looking for this rare person or rare company, and when we put them through our wishful checklist, there is always going be something missing. Therefore, our approach is a 360 degree partnership that involves not just procurement but also other departments such as marketing. It is a unique relationship that ensures that we are being equally valuable to our partners. For instance, our partners need to have a competitive stronghold in over 130 countries, in order to support and sustain the size of our business in those regions, THE MODERN DAY INTRICACIES OF PROCUREMENT LANDSCAPE By Stéphane Masson, SVP Global Procurement, Marriott International
< Page 7 | Page 9 >