A targeted sampling of more than 50 individuals at the Shared Services and Outsourcing Week conference in Orlando in March were polled via a 17-question, multiple-choice survey. Those polled, including procurement, finance and supply chain-related managers, as well as senior executives, indicated they have visibility into the procurement function at their companies.

Key findings include:

"¢ With regards to corporate spending, 67% of respondents said their company would spend more in 2013 compared to 2012, while slightly more (72%) thought U.S.-based companies, in general, would spend more this year compared to last;

"¢ When asked about sourcing and procurement's position in the enterprise, only 38% of respondents said their organization's C-suite viewed sourcing and procurement as strategic to the business. Even fewer, 14%, characterized their company's current approach to indirect procurement as a "C-level supported, centralized initiative with 85% spend under management," the benchmark for world-class procurement organizations. This is alarming considering indirect corporate spend alone can represent 20% to 40% of a company's total revenue;

"¢ 33% of individuals polled said their firm would increase investment in third-party procurement services/outsourcing in 2013;

"¢ 44% of respondents felt their in-house sourcing and procurement functions were understaffed;

"¢ In terms of increasing usage of sourcing tools and processes, 43% ranked supplier management as the top focus for 2013, followed by category management, which 21% ranked as the top priority;

"¢ When asked what practices or services could benefit the firm either in terms of efficiency, cost savings or overall competitiveness in 2013, 40% of respondents felt a greater level of spend under management was the top or second priority; 34% ranked technology to help track savings to the bottom line as the top priority.

"The general consensus from our pool of survey respondents is that, with greater projected spending for 2013, organizations are looking to be more calculated in determining exactly where that money goes and how those investments are creating a return," said Indy Ghosh, Xchanging's vice president, Head of Business Development, Marketing & Advisor Relations. "Sourcing of indirect materials - those non-core to a company's product or service - is generally an under-addressed spend area, where savings can be derived to hit the P&L directly or used to fund innovation. As this insight comes to light, we believe that generating excellence in indirect spending will be a particular focus for companies."

Click here to view complete survey results.

Source: Xchanging