Procurement Professionals, be they purchasing officers, marketing decision makers or resource managers, can use these simple reminders to re-align for the year to come.

1. 5 END OF YEAR
REMINDERS
FROM AND FOR
PROCUREMENT
PROFESSIONALS
Compiled by
Dr. Augustine Fou
Hollis Thomases

2. 1. TRIPLE BID EVERYTHING
“While this may seem obvious, getting
multiple bids and proposals for every project
gets you more than just better prices; it can
give you new ideas, additional questions you
didn’t think to ask, better ways of measuring
performance, etc.”
- Procurement Manager 1

3. 2. “PROVE IT” TO ME
“If they say they do great SEO (search
engine optimization), make them prove
it by showing you the keywords that
they actually rank for or that they have
helped clients rank for.”
- Sourcing Executive, CPG

4. 3. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR
“Paying the lowest price may not always
be the best idea, especially when it
comes to strategy. I would say, pay
more upfront to get the strategy and
plan correct, then get the best price for
the production work that comes after.”
- Procurement Manager 1

5. 4. MEASURE WHAT MATTERS
“Our CFO is not going to be happy
when you tell him about how people
felt about your brand; you need to
show what actions the customers took
and if those actions translated into
sales. Everything else is frivolous.”
- Strategic Sourcing Professional

6. 5. TEST-AND-LEARN BEFORE
YEAR-END
“Sometimes we have funds left over.
Instead of wasting it on buying more
impressions or giving it back, we can
set up a few small pilot programs for
test-and-learn. Based on actual
metrics, we can hit the ground running
in Q1 by simply scaling up the one that
worked best.”
- CMO

7. DIGITALLY MATURE COMPANIES
OUTPERFORM EVERYONE ELSE
“A report released by Capgemeni Consulting
based on years of joint research with the MIT
Center for Digital Business found that digitally
mature companies are, on average, 26 percent
more profitable, have a 12 percent higher market
capitalization, and get 9 percent more revenue
from current assets . The advantage is there in
every industry.” BusinessInsider, Nov 5, 2012
Report Source: Capgemeni Consulting, Nov 2012

8. DIGITAL MATURITY BY INDUSTRY
High technology
Banking
Insurance
Travel/Hospitality
Telecom
Retail
Consumer Goods
Utilities
Manufacturing
Pharmaceuticals
Source: Capgemeni Consulting, Nov 2012

9. SMART ADVERTISERS HAVE
ALREADY SHIFTED DOLLARS
digital

10. DR. AUGUSTINE FOU – CHIEF DIGITAL
STRATEGIST
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“I help clients leverage
digital tools and techniques
to create sustainable
competitive advantage.”
FORMER CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER, HCG (OMNICOM)
MCKINSEY CONSULTANT
CLIENT SIDE / AGENCY SIDE EXPERIENCE
PROFESSOR AND COLUMNIST
ENTREPRENEUR / SMALL BUSINESS OWNER
PHD MATERIALS SCIENCE (MIT '95) AT AGE 23
ClickZ Articles: http://www.clickz.com/author/1151/augustine-fou
Slideshares: http://www.slideshare.net/augustinefou
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
acfou@mktsci.com

11. HOLLIS THOMASES – CLIENT DIGITAL
ADVOCATE
In 1998, multi-time award-winning entrepreneur
Hollis Thomases founded Maryland-based Web
Ad.vantage, providing strategic digital marketing
and advertising solutions. In 2013, Hollis became a
sole practitioner focused on client advocacy –
ensuring clients were educated and aware of the
pitfalls and missed opportunities that the digital
marketplace can provide.
In January 2010, Hollis authored the book, “Twitter
Marketing: An Hour a Day,” by John Wiley & Sons,
and has been a columnist with Inc.com, Social
Media Marketing Magazine, and ClickZ. Hollis also
frequently speaks at industry conferences and
association events.
Hollis Thomases graduated from Cornell University
with a BA in Social Relations. You can find her in
the Twittersphere @hollisthomases, on LinkedIn, by
email or by old-fashioned phone: +011-484-6796364.
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