Procurement can be your company's secret weapon for winning in turbulent times. In most
companies procurement is an unglamorous unloved part of the business. A job in the
procurement office? A fast track to nowhere. Sourcing and supplier management is strictly about
costs the thinking goes and all that matters is playing hardball to get these as low as
possible. No connection to innovation or strategy or creating positive value. Not so fast. As
Boston Consulting Group thought leaders Christian Schuh Wolfgang Schnellbächer Alenka Triplat
and Daniel Weise explain in Profit from the Source procurement should be regarded in a new
light because it has the potential to be a CEO's secret weapon in these fast-moving
disruptive times. The authors offer a wake-up call and a new strategic blueprint for leaders
everywhere. With vivid stories and in-depth case studies they illustrate that no other
business function offers the same holistic view of a company—from suppliers who provide the
organization with raw materials and components to consumers who buy the finished product. While
it's true that a core task of any procurement function is to keep costs from spiraling out of
control the authors show how procurement can help businesses generate phenomenal value from
five other sources of competitive advantage critical to success—innovation quality
sustainability speed and risk reduction. Drawing on BCG research and the authors' firsthand
experience working with some of the world's leading companies—in high tech automotive
consumer goods and many other industries— Profit from the Source provides proven strategies to
drive new bottom-line as well as top-line growth for your company.
