Latest findings from Deloitte Global CPO survey

Delve into procurement industry insights from Deloitte ollowing the COVID-19 pandemic and the unprecedented levels of supply chain disruption there has been a growing need for procurement to enable growth, mitigate inflation and drive significant levels of value.

For more than a decade, the Deloitte Global Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) Survey has served as an industry benchmark, revealing insights into the forces shaping procurement, supply chain strategies and performance.

The 2023 survey delves into what makes top-performing CPOs or “Orchestrators of Value” — leaders who get everyone working together to play off the same “score” — and collaboratively build enterprises capable of orchestration.

Here, we break down some of the crucial insights from the 2023 Deloitte Global Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) Survey.

Key takeaways

• In 2023, the role of the chief procurement officer (CPO) continues to face intense complexity as leaders navigate unprecedented levels of supply chain disruption coupled with procurement's increasing value proposition at the heart of the enterprise.

• High-achieving CPOs see this volatility as an opportunity to invest in talent, transform their operating models and accelerate their digital transformation efforts to successfully deliver on business priorities.

• Allocation of time matters. Top-performing CPOs are leveraging digital advancements and outsourced talent models to remove themselves from tactical, transactional and operational work to focus more on strategic activities like business engagement or supplier collaboration.

Shifting priorities

This year's study revealed that procurement is engaging across a broader set of priorities than ever before, with environmental, social and governance (ESG) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) becoming increasingly important. Digital transformation remained a top priority as well as a key strategy found among Orchestrators of Value. Other insights include:

• Enhancing ESG and CSR jumped to the No. 2 priority spot (72 per cent), up from No. 7 in the last report.

• Driving operational efficiency (74 per cent) remained the No. 1 priority.

Digital transformation (72 per cent) tied for priority No. 2 (up from its previous No. 3 spot), while improving margins via cost reduction (71 per cent) came in at No. 3 (down from No. 2 in 2021).

• The 2023 study found that Orchestrators of Value are three times more likely than their peers to be involved in digital transformation, the third most cited procurement priority.