Highlights from ADR’s Development Needs Analysis Skills Assessment
ADR’s online skills assessment tool has been in use for over 15 years. More than 30,000 assessments have helped professionals from around the world gain objective insight on their capability profile.
During that period, the challenges that the Procurement professional faces have shifted massively.
Compliance, cost reduction and supplier performance remain core themes. But most people are also striving to positively impact the “triple bottom line” of people, profit and planet. Procurement performance and continuous improvement is the first theme that emerges from our results.
The second topic that features relates to data analysis, use of analytics and insight. The broader aspirations of Procurement in the 21st century are set in the context of the opportunities presented by the digital age. Rich data, enablement of functions by machines and better visibility in supply chains give the procurement professional greater scope – and greater pressure – to drive bigger rewards.
The third area of note is sustainable procurement practices and supply chain analysis. Application of these techniques was not familiar to many professionals operating outside of the “critical few” strategic supplier relationships.
The following topics are the global highlights of ADR’s procurement skills assessment from 2015 to 2019.
Top Areas of Success
Managing adherence to policy
Stakeholder engagement
Negotiation planning
Negotiation execution
Top Areas for Development
Continuous improvement
Procurement data analysis, supply chain analysis and supplier financial analysis
Performance contracting
Sustainable sourcing practices
The other topic that appeared as a capability gap in some clusters of professional roles was best practice sharing. Feedback from our classroom learners tells us that this is partly explained by their leaders not recognizing the value of this and partly by a lack of facilitation skills.
About ADR’s Skills Assessment
ADR’s Development Needs Analysis is a skills survey that asks procurement professionals about their current approaches to day to day supply-related issues and challenges. Based on their responses, a profile is built of their skills strengths and areas for development. The survey is built uniquely for each organization, to suit their sourcing process, terminology and priorities. The core topics of the survey are used to compile anonymised results about global skills across more than 30 competency groups.
To find out more about how your organization can benefit, contact [email protected]
