Think H Consulting

Unlocking Value for your business growth

Tailor made consulting for your business.

We take the journey with you in developing your unique strategy that suits your business needs, along with process optimisation to ensure that the total cost of ownership model provides tangible growth.

05/02/2017

Marketing Procurement - It’s time to stop running

If you say the words Marketing Procurement, you will watch the faces of your marketing colleagues, go white, start to sweat, get uptight and generally avoid any contact with you as if you have the plague.

This has happened many times over my career, however, I believe the role of marketing procurement has been misunderstood - either that or the Marketing Procurement Manager does not know marketing.

And that right there is the crux - a marketing procurement manager who is not a marketer.

It’s a rare skill, that I can tell you.  After all, why would you leave the perceived “sexiness”of marketing to move to the dark side - Procurement.

I did, and the skills I have learnt being both sides of the fence is a rare insight indeed.

If you are lucky to get a Marketing Manager willing to learn Procurement - the greater the success.  Otherwise you will find that procurement and marketing will be speaking in totally different language with no common ground.

Marketers are seen as “that special breed”!  Yes, they are special, they are at the heart of your company, passionate, driven, creative and involved.  The introduction of Marketing Procurement needs to be handled with the greatest of care.

However, if approached correctly, holistically and working with your marketing colleagues, great success can be achieved.

In a world of ZBB (Zero Based Budgeting) where ROI is essential and monitored around the clock, why would you not want to ensure that you are purchasing correctly through suppliers that are viewed as partners.

While viewing all of the company’s brands and looking for synergies (far harder to do than say - all Brand Manager’s in an organisation are protective of their turf and their brand ideas.  

As a Marketing Procurement Manager, you should be living and breathing the very brands you are procuring for.  How else will you know the trial and tribulations of your customer (marketing) unless you know their brands as much as they do.  

The personalities of each brand, what merchandise is meaningful to their consumers, what interfaces and experiences the brand wishes to create.

Without knowing this - believe me you are dead in the water and you will only keep barking up the wrong tree.

Get involved, take the time to learn everything you can on the brands you procure for.  Read the brand plan!

After all, success is celebrating with your marketing colleagues who you have had insight, forethought and knowledge to help them purchase responsibly, perhaps grow their campaign and their reach through the savings and value you have delivered to the team! 

Helen Hodgkinson MCIPS, is the co-founder of Think H Consultants.

She has over 22 years marketing and marketing procurement experience.

Delivering value and whilst building relationships is at the very heart of her Ethos.

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Admin - 12:38:02 @ Procurement, Marketing | 1 comment

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