"Don't be that function that's the old oil tanker, taking months to change its processes. Be the speedboat, weaving in and out, responding to economic and environmental storms," said Jim Hemmington, director of procurement at the BBC.
Speaking at the recent eWorld conference in London, Hemmington outlined four steps that procurement should take to avoid automation. He said procurement needed to create excitement in the business, become a business partner, nurture its talent and be agile and proactive.
“If you’re waiting for the business to instruct you on what to do, if you’re just focusing on savings or you’re seen as a service, if you’re following the market and being reactive, then there’s a good chance that your procurement function will become completely automated in the coming years,” be said.
Hemmington, whose department manages £1.5bn ($1.84bn) annual spend — about 20 percent of the license fee — said he has a number of “straplines” to get stakeholders excited about procurement.
