Private Equity and Procurement Excellence – from Cost Cutting to Value Creation Private Equity firms are taking an increasingly sophisticated approach to procurement in recognition of its value-creation capabilities. In this interview for Private Equity International Brendan McVeigh, Anna Nuttall and Richard McIntosh explore how procurement best-practice has shifted from simple cost reduction and…

The Harvard Business Review has stated that Private Equity has a problem. The June 2021 article by Karim Khairallah and François Mann Quirici  is aptly titled Private Equity’s Mid-Life Crisis and calls time on the diminishing returns from traditional approaches of just buying, improving and selling a company. The next frontier of Value…

Procura finalists in 2021 MCA Awards The MCA have announced the finalists for the 2021 Awards and we are delighted to have been shortlisted in two categories. We are very proud to be listed as finalists for the 'Best International Project, alongside EY, Deloitte and PwC. Being shortlisted is great recognition for all the effort and the outstanding results…

The perspectives of procurement leaders have shifted. Before the pandemic, strategies were orientated towards global sourcing and the key trend in procurement was digitisation. The outlook for 2021 is radically different. Procurement has gone tactical and the focus is now on rapidly securing supply, mitigating risk and reducing cost. There is also a marked change…

Best practice for negotiating remotely Best Practice for Negotiating Remotely – How can we take advantage of the new normal? With the reinstatement of lockdowns and travel restrictions, the new normal is about doing business remotely, and this applies more than ever to negotiating. Whereas, previously, key negotiations would have been conducted face-to-face, remote…

Private Equity; Carve-outs & Procurement Capability With high valuations on direct acquisition targets, Private Equity is turning its focus to 'Carve-Outs' of existing businesses to generate value. 'Carve-Out Transactions' - the divestitures (or sales) of divisions or business units—have to clear higher hurdles for success than typical mergers and acquisitions because they are often…

Many executive boards have no understanding of how good (or bad) their procurement function is With the cost of bought-in goods and services contributing up to 70% of an organisation’s costs, procurement is a key lever to improve profitability. In this challenging business environment Procurement Excellence has become a strategic necessity and a driver of…

Three questions retail CFO's should be asking their businesses Embattled UK retailers facing a ‘double whammy’ As has been reported extensively, high street retailers are currently facing a double whammy of subdued demand (with inflation driving customers to tighten their belts) and the embracing of digital channels (otherwise known as the Amazonification of retail)…

Are we rethinking global supply chains after COVID-19 or should we be worried about geopolitics? Rethinking fundamentals Covid-19 sent shockwaves through global supply chains and exposed vulnerabilities in complex, hyper-lean, global supply chains where goods are sourced from half-way round the world. In the second quarter of 2020, the WTO estimated that global trade dropped…

Understanding the impact of Covid-19 on Procurement Procurement functions have always been the heart of operations, managing complex supplier relationships and central to business profitability. With the impact of Covid-19, their expertise is now central to business survival and recovery. The Procura Covid-19: Procurement Impact: Responses & Strategies survey was completed by over 200…