In the second day of the Achilles supply chain and procurement community forum, delegates heard how procurement is becoming increasingly vital for corporate competitiveness and sustainability.
Peter Kvisgaard from Skanska and Ian Sexton from Network Rail spoke about how to manage risk in the increasingly extended supply chain, and Ping Wang from the University of Nottingham gave an address focused on issues about sourcing from emerging markets.
Paul Steel, Chairman of PMMS, spoke about the macro outlook for the industry and the vital responsibility of procurement officers to fight against rising inflation both in the developed and the developing world.
In concluding the conference, Luis Olivié, Chief Operating Officer of Achilles, said: “There is no doubt that as globalisation intensifies, the procurement function will play an increasingly vital role in the financial performance and sustainability of companies. Companies’ stakeholders, from investors to the public at large, are increasing the pressure on them to provide high quality products and services that are ethically sourced and at low cost. For companies that get it wrong, the potential damage to their reputations is immense. The challenge for procurement heads is to ensure that they have the systems and structures in place to mitigate against these risks.”