I ran this piece (below) back in the summer and was really interested to see that the ‘who owns IT purchasing’ debate is really the hot topic among Sourcing professionals. Thanks to the many who responded and whose comments were included in my last blog. The comments were really terrific and wide ranging from within Strategic Sourcing about whose wheelhouse Technology Procurement should sit. I wanted to reach out and ask the question again giving more of you an opportunity to give your opinion and continue this interesting discussion.

….. We reconnected with a long time client – a senior Procurement leader from within the Public Sector (Crown Corporation), but who has also worked the other side at a strategic senior level in the Private Sector and Consulting – who told Adele Casciaro and myself that in this particular organization — IT Purchasing/IT Strategic Sourcing (procurement of hardware, networking, telecom, software, IT consulting services, licensing, Contingent staffing and such) reports directly into and is owned by IT/CIO and bypasses Sourcing all together. As a very specialised Recruiter in the Strategic Sourcing field that is something that never quite sits right with me.  It’s not unique at all and it comes up for us as SCM Recruiters alot with other organizations we source IT Procurement professionals for.  Adele thought it would be really interesting to run a poll amongst our other Procurement clients asking them – Where do you think Technology Procurement should sit? With Information Technology under the CIO or squarely in Strategic Sourcing reporting through to the CFO?

Personally speaking, from our narrow focus as expert Recruiters to the SCM vertical, our experience dealing with a wide variety of companies (big and small) in many different industries and representing many candidates at different levels from Category Specialists in IT to Purchasing Managers for Telecom through to Directors of IT Shared Services and VP of IT Procurement, I believe that it should sit within Procurement as a reporting function to Finance.

Sourcing specialists are experts at finding the best opportunities for cost savings through economies of scale and working collaboratively with IT as a business group to achieve their joint interests. Additionally, IT Sourcing has very much made a strong move towards services (less actual buying of hard goods and more to procuring Contingent Staffing, Consulting, Outsourcing and  for example)

Want to read what the first respondents had to say in our initial poll? It’s some interesting stuff.  Here’s the link to my July 18^th  blog http://www.argentus.com/it-procurement-who-owns-it-it-or-strategic-sourcing/

So let me know what you think, I’ll attribute what you have to say when I post the next group of comments.

Over and Out

Bronwen