When Bob Pelon, came on board at Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises in 2001, his business card said director of procurement but he says his position then would more accurately be labeled "jellyfish herder."
"Basically, I was trying to corral and direct without getting too close and getting stung."
This was perhaps most clearly exemplified in Pelon's initiative to bring e-procurement into a company with many autonomous and highly decentralized subsidiaries and divisions. As a first step, Pelon wanted to determine what part of the company's buy--direct or indirect--could benefit most from e-procurement, so he talked with as many end-users at the company as he could and asked what took up the most of their time. Again and again, the answer came back that office supplies and paper products were a problem.
Source: Purchasing, http://www.purchasing.com