1. Top Procurement Priorities in 2012
and Into 2013
IASTA hosted Webinar
May 2, 2012
Presented by: Jason Busch
Copyright © 2012 Azul Partners Inc. All rights reserved. Not for distribution. | www.spendmatters.com - spendmatters.co.uk - www.agmetalminer.com 1

2. A quick background on the Spend Matters family...
The team Former:
Strategy and sourcing consultants
Metals traders
Heads of procurement
The sites
www.spendmatters.com www.agmetalminer.com
First blog in sector, now much more 4 years old, largest metals publication in
North America
www.spendmatters.co.uk www.hcmatters.com
Launched in 2010 Launched in 2011
Copyright © 2012 Azul Partners Inc. All rights reserved. Not for distribution. | www.spendmatters.com - spendmatters.co.uk - www.agmetalminer.com 2

3. Our supply markets still won’t rest!
• Total cost/labor cost on the rise
– Country-specific labor
– Trade/export policy
– Shipping (fuel surcharges,
bunker charges)
• Currency volatility
• Production capacity constraints
• Lean extremes
• Raw material availability (e.g.,
rare earth metals)
• New regulations
• Black Swan events
Copyright © 2012 Azul Partners Inc. All rights reserved. Not for distribution. | www.spendmatters.com - spendmatters.co.uk - www.agmetalminer.com 3

4. Think big for a moment... stepping
into today’s global procurement
and finance shoes
Globalization challenges
 Trade imbalances, total cost hiccups (and
missteps) and policy uncertainties
 Different definitions of acceptable
behaviors
Currency & commodity volatility
 Currency madness (Dollar, Euro, RMB,
Pound, etc.)
 Coming soon or already here: currency
inflation (or deflation)/commodity inflation
Economic uncertainty
 Quantitative Easing (continued)
 Weak demand
 Liquidity concerns, supplier access to capital
Copyright © 2012 Azul Partners Inc. All rights reserved. Not for distribution. | www.spendmatters.com - spendmatters.co.uk - www.agmetalminer.com 4

5. What were the top procurement and supply chain priorities we
observed last year (including finance)?
• Incremental cost reduction (including cost
reduction based on total cost analysis)
• Capacity challenges (in certain markets)
• Managing the workforce:
– Contingent/services procurement
– Getting more from the procurement
group
• Compliance and risk: supplier performance
and visibility, operational/financial stability, etc.
• Balancing demand/supply volatility (e.g.,
part/component shortages for the holiday
season)
• Evaluating alternative models vs. business as
usual – shared services, BPO, contingent
staffing (for both procurement and A/P)
Copyright © 2012 Azul Partners Inc. All rights reserved. Not for distribution. | www.spendmatters.com - spendmatters.co.uk - www.agmetalminer.com 5

6. What will the top procurement and supply chain priorities be
for the rest of 2012 and into 2013?
• Continued focus on cost savings – either to
protect fortress balance sheets companies
have amassed or just to survive
• Anticipating/forecasting (cash, revenue,
demand, etc.) and mapping to procurement
and working capital strategies in a
questionable recovery or possible recession
• Continuing to find new ways to become more
efficient on the periphery (e.g., A/P, indirect
spend) to focus on core operations
• Commodity, cost volatility and reducing
exposure/risk
• Optimizing for total supply chain/supply
management costs for procurement and
payables (inventory, working capital, unit
cost, logistics, tax implications, etc.)
• Risk management, albeit from an expanded
perspective/definition
Copyright © 2012 Azul Partners Inc. All rights reserved. Not for distribution. | www.spendmatters.com - spendmatters.co.uk - www.agmetalminer.com 6

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