I've Got 99 Problems But Procurement Ain't 1

I did some intensive studies recently that included identifying 99 common problems faced by businesses.

As with any research, several themes emerged and in this article I want to share those themes with you, together with some potential solutions to tackle them.

By addressing these challenges, businesses not only enhance their current performance but also pave the way for sustainable growth and success.

1. Procurement & Supplier Management Issues: Challenges regarding the number of suppliers, complexity of deals, inconsistent lead times, and poor supplier relationships. Solution? Streamlined procurement process with integrated supplier relationship management.
2. Stock Management Problems: Overstocks, deadstocks, out of stocks, and issues with sales forecasting for supply chain. Solution? An agile inventory management system that includes forecasting capabilities.
3. Internal Alignment & Communication: Disconnection between different teams, lack of clear roles and responsibilities, and poor communication. Solution? Communication and project management governance to foster better collaboration.
4. Performance & Metrics: Lack of consistent performance reporting, inability to assess or benchmark performance, and issues related to profitability mix across ranges and customers. Solution? Comprehensive business intelligence data that tracks key performance metrics and enables benchmarking.
5. Sales & Profit Challenges: Sales and profit missing budget, losing market share, and poor customer retention. Solution? Sales and profit optimisation training for the team.
6. Process Efficiency: Very manual processes, many of which are in colleague's heads, and multiple methods for same tasks. Solution? A business process management tool for documenting and streamlining key processes.
7. Workload & Resource Allocation: Being time poor, stretched resources, single points of failure, and too many priorities. Solution? Time management training including time and motion study.
8. Company Culture Issues: Blame culture, lack of ownership, not learning from mistakes, and issues with trust. Solution? A professional culture transformation review and team building activities.
9. Strategic Alignment: Lack of category management process, weak product development pipeline, and no trading rhythm. Solution? Strategy formulation and implementation workshop for the team.
10. Market Knowledge & Customer Understanding: Lack of understanding of target customers and key competitors, and not listening to customer feedback. Solution? Market research and customer feedback analysis tool.

So from dealing with complex procurement processes and inconsistent supplier relationships, to struggling with sales targets and customer retention, businesses often juggle various challenges.

Leveraging the right tools and strategies can dramatically enhance efficiency and productivity. Comprehensive performance tracking and efficient process management tools can drive growth and profits.

Furthermore, strategies to manage workload and resources, improve company culture, align strategies, and boost market and customer understanding are essential to business success. By addressing these challenges, businesses not only enhance their current performance but also pave the way for sustainable growth and success.

K Wright Consultancy works with business owners, leaders, entrepreneurs and investors within the UK Building Industry to unlock their hidden profit potential. We apply procurement strategies tried and tested for over 30 years, without adding undue complexity or cost, even if our clients have limited time, knowledge or expertise.

We are a BMF Service Member, and work with industry leading partners in the area of strategic procurement and rebate management, including Enable and The Build Chain, and ESG and sustainability specialists ESG PRO.

For more information visit www.kwrightconsultancy.co.uk