Procurement & Innovation: A Framework to Leverage Suppliers' Ideas

So many companies who were once leaders in their industries have disappeared. The average lifespan of a successful S&P 500 company today is 15 years. The largest company in the world today and acquired or bankrupt in 15 years from now... What's the difference in between the one who failed and the one who survived? There is no single success factor. However, long-standing companies have in common their ability to adapt to an ever -changing world. They can drive innovation, to develop a new business model and keep reinventing themselves. Innovation is not invention: successful companies looked at the potential market and developed a customer centric model to innovate in an area where they could build a competitive advantage. They understand as well the importance to look for innovation externally and developed strong models for capturing it. One group of important players in all those companies ecosystem are suppliers. When we talk about suppliers comes to mind the Procurement department. Procurement people are talking to suppliers every day, they know the market, they negotiate on prices, mitigate risks, ensure availability ... but could they do more and drive supplier innovation? Could they be a catalyst for sourcing the best ideas? What Procurement would need to be able to efficiently play that role and impact more than the bottom line?