In many organisations, CPOs are not collaborating with CFOs and CEOs to transform procurement into a strategic partner and enhance the customer experience. If you are struggling with this problem, here are some tips to help you build a strong relationship with your company’s CFO. It will bring cost efficiency to the supply chain function and also allow you to change it for the better.
Communicate clearly with the CFO
It is essential to have transparent communication with the CFO to show the total cost approach taken by procurement. It will allow you to show your concern for the bottom line and help bring the CPO onto your side.
Learn finance terms and jargon
Ensure procurement professionals in your department have the right analytical abilities so that they can align their research with different financial terms. Then, procurement will be able to show how their actions can translate into figures that the finance department can comprehend.
Forge relationship with the entire finance team
Rather than developing connections just with the CFO, encourage your team to build and nurture relationships with all members of the finance team. It will help you while strategising and setting goals for procurement. Having contacts at all levels of the finance department will help you engage the finance team with ease.
Prove procurement’s credibility
Analyse data so that you understand category economics and trends. Also, be aware of the price movements of commodities and other raw materials you need to buy for manufacturing processes. Once you realise issues and trends that affect prices, you will be able to develop innovative methods to improve procurement’s performance, allowing you to show your credibility and reliability to finance.
These are some of the ways CPOs can build long-term and mutually beneficial relationship with CFOs and make procurement into a genuine strategic partner.