All posts by leratosebata

Load shedding is a persistent issue in Africa, with power cuts disrupting the operations of businesses of all sizes. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are particularly vulnerable, as they often lack the resources to implement backup power systems or relocate to areas with more reliable electricity supply. To support SMEs and ensure the continuity of their supply chain cycle, procurement teams can play a vital role in refreshing their Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) programmes. By leveraging ESD initiatives to address the challenges of load shedding, procurement teams can not only enhance the resilience of their supply chain but also create new opportunities for SMEs. To supportSMEs and address the impact of load shedding on their operations, Here are some strategies that procurement teams can adopt to refresh their ESD programmes: 1. Engage with SMEs to understand their load shedding challenges Procurement teams can proactively engage with SMEs in their supply chain to understand their specific load shedding challenges. This could involve conducting surveys, holding focus groups or one-on-one discussions, and gathering data on the impact of power cuts on their operations. By understanding the unique needs of SMEs, procurement teams can tailor their ESD programmes to address the specific challenges faced by these businesses. 2. Promote the use of renewable energy solutions Renewable energy solutions such as solar power and wind power can provide a reliable and sustainable source of electricity, even in areas prone to load shedding. Procurement teams can encourage SMEs to adopt renewable energy solutions by offering incentives such as funding or technical support. This not only helps SMEs to mitigate the impact of load shedding but also promotes the use of green energy sources. 3. Support the development of energy storage solutions Energy storage solutions such as batteries and generators can provide backup power during periods of load shedding. Procurement teams can support the development of energy storage solutions by partnering with SMEs and suppliers to identify innovative solutions that are cost-effective and scalable. By doing so, procurement teams can help SMEs to maintain continuity in their operations and reduce the risk of losses due to power cuts. 4. Build resilience through diversified supply chain Procurement teams can build resilience in their supply chain by diversifying their supplier base. By working with a wide range of suppliers across different regions and industries, procurement teams can mitigate the risk of disruptions caused by load shedding in specific regions. Moreover, this approach can also open up new possibilities for SMEs to get involved in the supply chain, thus bolstering their opportunities for growth. In conclusion, load shedding continues to pose a major obstacle for businesses in Africa, particularly for SMEs. However, procurement teams can help to alleviate this challenge by considering to refresh their ESD programmes and using that as a tool to support SMEs and enhance the resilience of their supply chains. While we acknowledge that these changes may take time, especially given the cost and complexity of implementing energy-saving options. Responsible procurement involves fostering the growth and sustainability of SMEs, which are the backbone of our economies. By implementing these strategies, Procurement can contribute to the economic development of our communities while also mitigating the impact of load shedding on small businesses. Let’s work together to create a more resilient and sustainable future for everyone. If you liked this article, please like, share & comment! Follow me on Instagram; https://www.instagram.com/lerato_procurement_genius/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Lerato_procurement_genius/videos Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Procurementchatcorner/

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light the importance of sustainable procurement practices for businesses and government departments. The need for resilience and adaptability in supply chains has become a top priority for many organisations, as the pandemic has revealed vulnerabilities and exposed the dependence on non-diverse suppliers.

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of sustainable procurement has become even more pronounced. As businesses and governments look to rebuild and recover, there is a growing recognition that procurement decisions can play a critical role in supporting long-term sustainability plans.

Sustainable procurement involves considering the environmental, social, and economic impact of procurement decisions. This means evaluating factors such as the product’s or service’s effect on the environment, the conditions under which it was produced, and its overall social and economic value.

 Advantages of Sustainable Procurement:

Adopting sustainable procurement practices can benefit businesses in many ways. It can help to reduce costs by improving supply chain efficiency and reducing waste. In addition, enhance a company’s reputation and brand image, attracting customers who are increasingly conscious of the impact of their purchasing decisions. Moreover, it strengthens relationships with suppliers and stakeholders, promoting collaboration and innovation in the supply chain.

 Challenges and Solutions:

However, implementing sustainable procurement can be challenging. It requires significant investment in terms of time, resources, and training for procurement professionals, as well as a comprehensive understanding of sustainability issues and the ability to assess suppliers based on their sustainability performance.

 An effective solution is to establish a sustainable procurement policy and strategy, which outlines the company’s commitment to sustainability and provides clear guidelines for procurement decisions. This can be supported by incorporating sustainability criteria, such as:

• Life-cycle analysis, into procurement processes to evaluate the environmental impact of products and services.
• Building partnerships with suppliers and encouraging their engagement in sustainability initiatives can also drive change and promote sustainable practices throughout the supply chain.

Corporate companies can implement sustainable procurement in the following ways:

1. Develop a sustainable procurement policy: Companies can create a policy that clearly articulates their commitment to sustainability and sets guidelines for procurement decisions. This policy should consider environmental, social, and economic factors and set sustainability performance targets.
2. Conduct supplier assessments: Companies can evaluate their suppliers based on sustainability criteria, such as environmental impact, working conditions, and ethical sourcing practices. This information can be used to identify opportunities for improvement and enhance sustainability performance in the supply chain.
3. Incorporate sustainability criteria into procurement processes: Sustainability criteria, such as life-cycle analysis and carbon footprint, can be integrated into procurement processes to evaluate the environmental impact of products and services. This may be incorporated during the sourcing process, supplier performance reviews, and due diligence.
4. Encourage supplier engagement: Companies can encourage their suppliers to participate in sustainability initiatives, driving change and promoting sustainable practices throughout the supply chain.
5. Monitor and report performance: Companies can continuously monitor and report on their sustainability performance and make necessary improvements. This demonstrates their commitment to sustainability and provides transparency and accountability to stakeholders.

Another important aspect of sustainable procurement is ensuring that suppliers and contractors adhere to ethical labour practices. This includes Procurement analysing fair wages, safe working conditions, and non-discrimination in the workplace. By prioritizing these considerations, organizations can support the development of strong, healthy communities and help to create a more equitable and sustainable world.

In conclusion, sustainable procurement is an important tool for promoting environmental and social responsibility in the post-pandemic world. By considering the full lifecycle of products and services and ensuring that suppliers and contractors adhere to ethical labour practices, organizations can play a critical role in supporting long-term sustainability and creating a better future for all.

Implementing sustainable procurement may present challenges, but with the right approach, it can contribute to a more sustainable future for both business and the environment.

Any type of business should set up procurement productivity and flexibility as top significance for enabling its industrial goal in the field of trade they operate in. Understanding that industries in construction and engineering, production, and manufacturing, including supply chain management and corporate have a bigger role to play towards business sustainability and profit gains to keep the business afloat, while the business performs to the best of its ability through competitiveness.

Driven business solution with thriving goals and success is based on solid business development with the aim to achieve the best results and great profit margins.

Looking at how business thrives against all odds, the business entity needs proper and viable business solutions which will enhance productivity and create more business opportunities for the enterprise to be sustainable throughout its success.

In this sense, procurement transformation and agility should be essential to any business strategy to deliver cost savings, use transparency, and optimized working capital as there is a massive opportunity to attract new clients in corporate, industrial, manufacturing, government, mining, retail, SMEs and construction sectors as these businesses are always evolving.

 At most, organisations recognize the need to improve procurement agility and flexibility in their processes, it is quite essential to start by breaking walls of rigidity and offering great service with the end customer in mind through flexible means to deliver the best compared to your competitors. In terms of becoming agile, it is worth noting that this is more about flexibility, despite changing all processes and procedures which had been in place prior. 

Through your business work ethic and professionalism, it is essential to provide a viable agile procurement for various top and small clients which have an appetite to partner work with you in the business model you are engaged in.

Your business model needs to present customers and potential customers in an effort to find the weak and strong areas of your products and services.

Ways to break rigid processes and improve procurement agility:

1.      To adapt to business needs through courage and long-term goals, sometimes a rigorous process can be a holdup towards delivering business requirements in an effective and efficient manner, hence moving beyond prediction by getting to understand agile procurement by means of time-saving and applying cost-saving measures for the benefit of the business.

2.      It is quite crucial to have a swift reaction towardsresponding to important changes with supplier relationships to keep a competitive advantage over rival companies, as that is the way to go to be ahead of others. 

3.      Adopt the Kaizen approach of continuous process improvement – as globalization has influenced organisations to respond differently from the traditional ways of doing business and the initiation of technology solutions also forces businesses to catch up with the latest trends for sustainable business growth. Procurement can be a support function that moves with the business requirements by encouraging digitization and computerization to become a vehicle to drive continuous improvement faster towards bringing positive and desirable results at great times to beat deadlines and avoiding failures of producing the best outcomes for the business. 

4.      It is vital to Introduce process enablers, with the aim of having sustainable human capital and tools of the trade, while understanding that procurement leaders are the custodians of developing policies, procedures, and processes, and in that sense, the acquired solid team of human capital and tools of trade will enhance the production and bring sustainable results towards your business. The intention is to ensure corporate governance is necessary for a healthy business however where there is a need to adapt urgent process requirements, there should be a room to craft meaningful processes for enablers to support immediate product deliveries requested by businesses to respond to markets demands, fast approvals sequences and vendor onboarding processes as a niche to always stay competitive.

5.      For procurement agility, you need to have flexible procurement leaders to look into bringing value in your procurement through data analytic systems, digital transformation, value-driven ideas, and skilled procurement personnel including proper service delivery to the satisfaction of the client. Flexible procurement leaders’ role becomes important towards the capacity building from the early stages of demand and supply engagements to ascertain cost measures, mitigate supply risks and not be afraid to find sources of supply through collaborating with suppliers that might be difficult to respond to business needs, however, it is wise to look at alternative service providers to avoid the disappointment of losing clients based on lack of urgency and applied strategies which needed to be put in place to safeguard your business operations and success.

According to the research conducted by the Hackett Group, which is a leading international strategic consultancy firm, digital transformation has enabled world-class procurement organizations to achieve greater efficiency, effectiveness, and a higher return on investment.

 In terms of making a procurement organization be world-class and effective, theHackett Group research states that there are five strategies that are viable to envisage the success and progress of your business.

1.      Re-allocating resources from transactional focus to value-adding activities:

GlobalProcurement organizations falter when they devote much of their attention to transactional work and pay little attention to strategic activities. Value-adding activities include analytics, performance management, and devising purchasing strategies.

2.     Digital transformation:

World-class global procurement organizations spend more per full-time equivalent (FTE) due to greater investments in process automation. The three critical steps in enabling digital transformation are creating a procurement technology strategy, partnering with the information (IT) group, and creating a technology road map that defines the desired strategic outcomes, key performance indicators, and needed behaviors.

3.      Analytics-based decision-making:

By spending23% more on technology per FTE, world-class procurement organizations invest a higher proportion of systems and tools to enable analytics capability. Data should be used beyond reporting to solve more complex business needs.

4.     Customer-centric service delivery:

Customers must be the focal point of all activities within procurement. World-class global procurement organizations design services and processes, keeping the customer perspective in mind.

This includes service-level agreements with internal customers, the use of non-traditional project teams and skillsets in communication and digital media, and the “voice of customer” recommendations.

5.     Re-skilling the procurement function:

 World-class global procurement organizations employ a more significant percentage of the overall staff for planning, and strategic roles. However, less performing organizations have a greater focus on operations and compliance management.

By focusing on building procurement skills, these organizations invest in talent development, increasing the business acumen of procurement staff; and developing analytics skills.

 It is worth noting that new ways of technology such as data and automation assist a lot through the use of Business Intelligence Dashboards instead of old-fashioned traditional methods used as analytic tools to analyze data for quicker response in terms of getting accurate information that you need based on agile procurement. Investing in more resourceful and innovative ways to adopt data-driven technologies to improve performance and reliable information is the best way to elevate your procurement business strategies to greater heights.

In conclusion, you need to make an impact towards agile procurement through a clear understanding of processes in place and new innovations on how you can utilize the fourth industrial revolution methods to push to the new frontiers. It all takes knowledge and education to get to understand how procurement works. Once you get all the methods and strategies right, you will be on the right path to excellence.

Globalization has had a huge impact on how we conduct ourselves, particularly in our work lives. As a result of technological breakthroughs, there have been major improvements in transportation infrastructure, transforming the world into one global international commercial market. For both new and established entrepreneurs, the global market is ripe with opportunities. The stakes are high, and the risks of failure are considerable; how one manages these risks is a matter of strategic planning, budgeting, and execution.

Both suppliers and buyers benefit from a clear understanding of how best to capitalize on market opportunities. For example, a supplier can submit a competitive quote, the buying organisation receiving the quote will make a decision based on their budget allowance after following a fair and equitable selection process. Alignment in thinking and intended outcomes is how both parties involved make a success of the once-off or long-term business opportunity.

So, how do business enterprises secure a sustainable deal?

Understanding industry insights, its trends, and its financial proclivity is one of the numerous ways enterprises can guarantee that they remain top of mind when decisions are made notwithstanding awareness and gaining knowledge of the desired buyers’ strategic intentions. This chasm is bridged through procurement and the role it plays. Therefore, knowing the cost drivers and strategic initiatives becomes easier and more controllable when a co-dependent alliance is formed, thus budgeting and planning are made easier because the prices are aligned with the desired objective.

As a function, procurement adds value by assisting business to project costs for the next fiscal year, whether through market analysis or a review of the existing contract’s terms and conditions. With this rationale, how then can a business enterprise seek value from their relationship with a procurement professional while simultaneously expanding their organization in an ever-changing global market? Here are a few things to consider:

1.    Understand the market: Keeping up with innovations and technology that make doing business easier is good to offer best-in-class service and delivery.

2.    Demand management: Managing the downstream value chain to mitigate supply risk.

3.    Budget accordingly: Align the budget with the business requirements, considering the Zero-Based-Budgeting (ZBB) methodology where applicable.

4.    Advisory council: Become a trusted business partner that can offer expert advice to the clients, nurturing the relationship to be mutually beneficial for the long term.

The next frontier

Understanding the strategic roadmap and the organisation’s needs is necessary to provide the groundwork for a possible one or five year contractual commitment. Collaboration, planning, forecasting, and negotiation are all necessary components of a healthy and effective procurement partnership. Growth can be sought in any situation; nevertheless, having a diverse customer portfolio is critical to establishing and maintaining a competitive advantage in the market. To build such a diverse portfolio,  business enterprises need to network with key partners who want to drive and achieve the same change and impact. Business enterprises will need to be smart and purpose-driven to capitalize on opportunities brought on by globalization and market trends, especially in the aftermath of a pandemic. Partner for long-term success!

 “The rule says to become world-class at anything, you have to put in 10 000 hours of practice. Practice isn’t the thing you do once your good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good” – Malcom Gladwell.

 For more, follow me on Instagram @Lerato_procurement & YouTube as Lerato Sebata. Information is meant to be shared & I intend on doing just that!

Understanding procurement’s function will save you a lot of back-and-forth emails in the new year!

Many private and public organizations will be reviewing and amending their preferred supplier database now that the new year has begun. Some service providers’ contracts will be extended based on a fair assessment of the previous year’s performance, while others may be inclined to find a new potential supplier as a result of the assessment. What matters for both outcomes are the procurement professional understanding of the scope requirements that the appointed service provider will offer; and, finally, how the incumbent will grow with the company over time, entrenching themselves within the company and meeting the contract objectives.

You might be acquainted with the term RFx process (i.e. Request for Proposal, Request for Quotation, Request for Information) a thrilling email, or phone call that could revolutionize your life and your business after submitting a response to the long daunting RFx request. The thing is, it’s not all bells and whistles — standing out and meeting the tender requirements is just one of the most important parts involved in securing sustainable long-term business success. The truth is, many factors influence the request to partner from a business standpoint, thus being flexible, versatile, and adaptive to new partners is vital in guaranteeing that you demonstrate what you have contractually agreed to do but in so doing, do it better than other competitors. Say it with me: cha-ching!

 Defining what is important

Every business owner wants to grow their company and improve profits, which necessitates reaching out to large corporate organizations and being exposed to varied procurement processes (influenced sometimes by the culture of the organisation). Let me reveal a well-kept secret: Your responsibility is to send proposals in response to an any RFx and convince the buyer that your company is the right prospective supplier to do the job. Further to that it is your responsibility to make the buyer understand your value-added service offering and use that as a basis for pricing the proposal. As a result, understanding and learning about the importance of procurement in both private and public sector is vital for business owners.

Entrepreneurs commonly feel that the only way to gain new business is by establishing a relationship with the sales department, whilst that might be true for certain industries corporate governance, compliance and regulation, business continuity, and the competitive bidding process are all important considerations when choosing to send that email introducing yourself and what your company offers. The focus is not only on what you can offer but ticking all necessary compliance requirements, indicating, value proposition beyond offering the lowest “price”, It’s all connected, believe it or not!

 How then do you set yourself up for success?

There are many articles, policy document by government entities, industry bodies like the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) who offer a with a wealth of knowledge; I encourage you to read them – immerse yourself in them and apply what works for you, secondly identifying what is aligned to your business objectives. As a practicing procurement professional, I would highlight and strongly encourage the following two crucial points to entrepreneurs to know:

 1.     Competitive bidding wars

When a business need develops, the procurement team searches the internal database for suppliers who match the basic standard requirements, then asks business owners to submit offers, which are then compared to those of other prospective bidders. In essence, business owners should be aware that there is a procedure to follow before becoming qualified to deliver a product or service. This aids the procurement team in conducting a fair process and maintaining corporate governance. As a result, they will have a lower chance of being chosen as the winning bid if they do not have sufficient requirements that meets specifications, drives compliance and risk mitigation plans.

2.    Preferred supplier status

To transact with the organization, every company must be registered on the database. However, being registered as a prospective supplier does not guarantee that you will be included in any RFx process. The database can also be used by the Procurement team to track supplier data, make payments, and manage supplier performance.

Over and above this, you as an entrepreneur need to be ready to prove yourself. Here is a checklist to run your eye over:

a)    Growth does not end after registering a company on CIPC, it takes more than that to grow, appreciate the need to be part of the bidding process and all the regulatory information required.

b)    Being an accredited BBEE company – are you representative of South Africa’s demographic? Organizations are looking for transformation with diverse people and minds who they can work with – are you that somebody?

c)    Know your finances – have you been previously liquidated or found guilty of conducting fraudulent activities or fronting?

d)    What are your brand values?

e)    How will you add value to your clients?

In essence, as a potential service provider you have a story to tell, and as an organisation (private or public) we have a duty to fulfill. It is possible that the relationship we develop will be beneficial to both of us. I challenge you do better so you can be the best. See your procurement team as a partner and not the crusher of dreams; we have all parties’ best interests at heart. However, we will run a process that is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive, and committed to contributing to our country’s economic success.

It is International Fraud Awareness Week, and as experts in the procurement industry, we play a pivotal role in reducing fraud by taking a strong stance against fraudulent activity and educating our service providers, stakeholders, and colleagues on the importance of fraud awareness.

Fraudulent activity can rob big and small businesses from progressing in their specific industries. Therefore, governance and compliance are very important, especially for procurement and supply chain managements.

Why is procurement so important to mitigate fraud?

Procurement processes impact every aspect of a business. This includes how products and services are acquired to operate successfully.

We need to position procurement as a helpful and robust function that can help companies run a well-oiled, process driven value driver for business. It is our role to educate others on the rules and regulations that we need to follow so that we can minimise the impact of theft and unscrupulous practices.

I am a firm believer in fostering a business environment where ethics, accountability and good governance becomes the norm in our industry. This means you need to interrogate processes and identify any gaps that you can fill in the supply chain. I just love the fact that we can get involved in negotiating the best terms for businesses and suppliers and create mutually beneficial relationships and principled business practices.

This will not always be easy, and you may encounter push back whilst trying to promote an ethical culture in an environment that is resistant to change. However, our responsibility in supply chain and procurement, is to make sure that we inform others around the impact of fraud and the significant risks it poses to businesses.

Collaboration is vitally important. This means understanding the business value drivers, strategy, and goals. Work with executives to demonstrate how procurement can add value in achieving these goals through effective risk management, cost savings and effective processes.

To become a positive influence, in the business, you need to interrogate your supplier data and spend analysis. This will help you to identify any overspending and plug any leaks that could potentially be costing the business money. This also puts you in a better negotiating position, because you will be armed with information that will help you know when to push suppliers, reduce costs and achieve the best outcomes possible.

There are so many tools to help you with this, including artificial intelligence, procurement analytics and automated reporting. As a procurement professional, use these tools to make your life easier and shift towards improving transformation into a digitally savvy world.

Let’s work together to fight fraud

I am putting out a call to all procurement experts in Africa to stand against fraud.. Please Follow me on, Instagram https://www.instagram.com/procurement_with_lerato/ or LinkedIn- Lerato Sebata and let us work together to create a professional, mutually respectful atmosphere in business that encourages and improves healthy communication. 

#FraudAwareness #BestPractice #Procurement 

As a procurement professional in the financial services industry, I interact with businesses, suppliers, and professionals across a wide range of industries. I am inspired by these people because often, I can sense their passion when they speak about their business and the solutions they provide.

It is clear to me that everyone has an inherent gift. Unfortunately, some business owners, entrepreneurs and young professionals don’t recognise their true value and underestimate themselves. This can stand in their way of progress.

I was able to identify my core strengths quite early in my career and would love to help others do the same. Sharing my knowledge and experience, to help others achieve their goals motivates me. Not only is this significantly rewarding to me personally, it helps me to leave a positive legacy of empowerment for young women in the industry, youth aspiring to establish a career in procurement and build strong professional relationships.

So, today, I’d like to share with you three simple techniques to help you know your worth, value your skills and accept your phenomenal destiny.

1.Nurture your belief in yourself

To start believing in yourself, you need to speak positivity into your life. You can already have achievements to look back on with pride, even if they seem small to you, they are significant to others. Be your best cheer leader as a sign you believe in you.

Try not to beat yourself up when things don’t go your way. The ultimate power of success emanates from the setbacks you experience. , Focus your energy on positive activity and know that you are a valuable member of your family, your community, and your country.

2.Be persistent

There is only one thing that can stop you from achieving your goals, that is when you stop working towards it. Persistency is not doing things that don’t work until you deplete yourself, but push beyond boundaries until something works.

So, when times are tough, push aside the temptation to stop trying and push yourself to keep working on tasks that will bring you closer to your goal. Persistence is one of the keys to success, so embrace it. This means that try to do a little better every day, don’t repeat your mistakes, correct them. Always make sure that you are consistently driving progress in your life.

3.Add value wherever possible

Right now, you might not be doing a job you enjoy. You might feel demotivated and uninspired. So, look around you to identify opportunities where you can add value beyond your day-to-day work.

Be bold and courageous in your actions. Find broken processes and improve on them. it might be as simple as developing a new report to improve the speed of delivery. This is a great way to start elevating your personal value within your space.

Remember, positive action will result in a positive reaction. You’ve come too far to stop now. This is your moment, embrace it and don’t allow anyone to derail you from achieving your dreams.