The Supply Management and ERA Indirect Procurement Survey 2014

Question Title

* 1. Which of the below best describes your job title? (Tick one)

CEO

Senior director (not procurement)

CPO/Procurement director/VP procurement or supply chain/Head of procurement or equivalent

Senior manager/buyer

Manager/buyer

Junior buyer

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 2. What is your organisation’s annual turnover? (Tick one)

Less than £1 million

£1 – £10 million

£11 – £50 million

£51 – £100 million

£101 – £250 million

£251 million – £500 million

£500 million plus

Question Title

* 3. How many employees does your company have? (Tick one)

Less than 50

51 – 100

101 – 250

251 – 500

501 – 1000

1000+

Question Title

* 4. How many staff are in your procurement department? (Tick one)

1 – 2

3 – 5

6 – 10

11 – 20

21+

Question Title

* 5. Who is responsible for managing indirect costs in your organisation? (Tick all that apply)

Procurement

Finance

Senior department heads

Operational staff

Don’t know

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 6. How much is your organisation’s total annual indirect spend? (Tick one)

Less than £300,000

£300,000 – £1 million

£1 million – £3 million

£3 million – £10 million

£10 million – £20 million

£20 million – £50 million

£50 million – £100 million

£100 million+

Question Title

* 7. Within your organisation where does procurement have control or influence over indirect costs?

	Have control	Has influence	No Control/Influence	N/A
Audit/accountancy	Audit/accountancy Have control	Audit/accountancy Has influence	Audit/accountancy No Control/Influence	Audit/accountancy N/A
Business process outsourcing	Business process outsourcing Have control	Business process outsourcing Has influence	Business process outsourcing No Control/Influence	Business process outsourcing N/A
Business travel	Business travel Have control	Business travel Has influence	Business travel No Control/Influence	Business travel N/A
Catering	Catering Have control	Catering Has influence	Catering No Control/Influence	Catering N/A
Components	Components Have control	Components Has influence	Components No Control/Influence	Components N/A
Consultancy	Consultancy Have control	Consultancy Has influence	Consultancy No Control/Influence	Consultancy N/A
Corporate payments	Corporate payments Have control	Corporate payments Has influence	Corporate payments No Control/Influence	Corporate payments N/A
Facilities management	Facilities management Have control	Facilities management Has influence	Facilities management No Control/Influence	Facilities management N/A
Fleet and fuel	Fleet and fuel Have control	Fleet and fuel Has influence	Fleet and fuel No Control/Influence	Fleet and fuel N/A
HR services	HR services Have control	HR services Has influence	HR services No Control/Influence	HR services N/A
IT hardware	IT hardware Have control	IT hardware Has influence	IT hardware No Control/Influence	IT hardware N/A
IT services	IT services Have control	IT services Has influence	IT services No Control/Influence	IT services N/A
IT software	IT software Have control	IT software Has influence	IT software No Control/Influence	IT software N/A
Legal services	Legal services Have control	Legal services Has influence	Legal services No Control/Influence	Legal services N/A
Logistics/Distribution	Logistics/Distribution Have control	Logistics/Distribution Has influence	Logistics/Distribution No Control/Influence	Logistics/Distribution N/A
Marketing	Marketing Have control	Marketing Has influence	Marketing No Control/Influence	Marketing N/A
Office consumables	Office consumables Have control	Office consumables Has influence	Office consumables No Control/Influence	Office consumables N/A
Office equipment	Office equipment Have control	Office equipment Has influence	Office equipment No Control/Influence	Office equipment N/A
Packaging	Packaging Have control	Packaging Has influence	Packaging No Control/Influence	Packaging N/A
Postal/Delivery services	Postal/Delivery services Have control	Postal/Delivery services Has influence	Postal/Delivery services No Control/Influence	Postal/Delivery services N/A
Print	Print Have control	Print Has influence	Print No Control/Influence	Print N/A
Professional services	Professional services Have control	Professional services Has influence	Professional services No Control/Influence	Professional services N/A
Telecoms	Telecoms Have control	Telecoms Has influence	Telecoms No Control/Influence	Telecoms N/A
Temporary labour	Temporary labour Have control	Temporary labour Has influence	Temporary labour No Control/Influence	Temporary labour N/A
Utilities	Utilities Have control	Utilities Has influence	Utilities No Control/Influence	Utilities N/A
Waste management	Waste management Have control	Waste management Has influence	Waste management No Control/Influence	Waste management N/A
Workwear	Workwear Have control	Workwear Has influence	Workwear No Control/Influence	Workwear N/A

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 8. What best describes your organisation’s priority, with regards to procurement? (Tick one)

Indirect costs are the main priority

Direct costs are the main priority

We try to focus on both cost and growth priority

Indirect costs are always the last element of spend to be looked at

We don’t have time to review indirect costs

We have never assessed our indirect costs

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 9. Have attitudes to procurement within your organisation changed in the last 12 months?

	True	False	Don't know
The focus has shifted to direct costs	The focus has shifted to direct costs True	The focus has shifted to direct costs False	The focus has shifted to direct costs Don't know
The focus has shifted to indirect costs	The focus has shifted to indirect costs True	The focus has shifted to indirect costs False	The focus has shifted to indirect costs Don't know
Both direct and indirect costs are now focused on	Both direct and indirect costs are now focused on True	Both direct and indirect costs are now focused on False	Both direct and indirect costs are now focused on Don't know
Nothing has changed – we are still focused on core costs	Nothing has changed – we are still focused on core costs True	Nothing has changed – we are still focused on core costs False	Nothing has changed – we are still focused on core costs Don't know

Question Title

* 10. What challenges do you face in relation to indirect costs? (Tick all that apply)

Maverick spend of non-procurement employees with purchasing power

Lack of ownership by stakeholders

Little understanding of where indirect procurement spend lies and the amount

Low influence as a department when liaising with internal stakeholders

Misclassified items and poor reporting

Controlling low-price high frequency items

Time spent managing suppliers

Managing and approving invoices

Lack of control of buyers’ behaviour

No incentives for stakeholders

Slow to react to changes in what we buy

Unable to see potential for consolidation of suppliers

‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ attitude

None

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 11. Name one thing your organisation could do to reduce maverick spend? (Tick one)

Hand control to the procurement function

Purchasing training / process for non-procurement professionals

Outsourcing procurement where maverick spend occurs

Consolidate the number of suppliers

Reduce the number of stakeholders

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 12. What are the challenges you face between the procurement function and stakeholders in your organisation? (Tick all that apply)

Alignment and buy-in

Communication and understanding

Timely involvement

Resource availability

Cost reduction seen as only reason

Conflicting goals and objectives

None

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 13. What would help you improve your understanding of your organisation’s indirect costs? (Tick all that apply)

Analysis of the supply chain and commercial commitments

More resources to monitor supplier transactions

Implementation/use of a P2P system

Ability to accurately benchmark prices and services

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 14. What would best help increase the influence and profile of procurement in the organisation? (Tick up to three)

A higher status in the boardroom

Better oversight and reporting metrics of departments’ spend

More training available to stakeholders

Arranging events for suppliers and non-procurement purchasers

Establish an incentive/reward scheme for stakeholders

Part of stakeholders performance appraisal

Proof of year-on-year cost reductions

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 15. What would appeal the most for managing indirect costs? (Tick up to three)

Full control over all types of spend

Consolidation and rationalisation of suppliers

Expanding and training your own team to better manage indirect

External category expertise on consultative basis for complex indirect

Introduction of electronic system company-wide for indirect

Greater control and visibility on every day transactions

Fully outsourced procurement function for all indirect costs

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 16. What is the best way for category management skills to be improved? (Tick one)

External training, EG CIPS

On the job experience

Mentoring and share of knowledge from senior buyers and decision makers with stakeholders

Regular movement of stakeholders between different categories

Use of external category experts

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 17. What is the single biggest reason that prevents you managing indirect costs better?

No reason, I’m doing everything physically possible

My reason is