Painting a portrait of the

Chief Procurement Officer

Career, challenges and metrics behind the role
This report is part of an ongoing series of
global cross-industry surveys conducted by
Accenture on behalf of the Accenture CPO
Circle community. CPO Circle is a peer-to-peer
community, facilitated by Accenture, which
brings together senior executives ultimately
responsible for sourcing and procurement
strategy and execution.
Our latest survey focuses on the role of the
chief procurement officer, examining the
backgrounds, challenges and career paths of
CPOs. This report explores the findings in more
detail, attempts to paint a portrait of CPOs
today and offers insight into where they are
headed tomorrow.

2
Contents
Executive summary 04
Introduction 05
Survey demographics 06
Career characteristics 08
Challenges and success 12
factors
Metrics and rewards 14
The nuances of the new 16
Conclusions 17
Contacts 19

3
Executive summary
IIn May 2009, Accenture asked senior
executives ultimately responsible for
procurement strategy and execution,
drawn from a representative range
of industries worldwide, to share
their views on the role of the chief
procurement officer.
Our findings, based on the replies
of 78 qualified respondents, found
some surprising differences in the
careers and expectations of CPOs.
Key findings include:
The path to the CPO role is broad
and varied.
A procurement path to CPO is typical
but not essential: While approximately
two-thirds of respondents (64 percent)
arrived in their current role from
another procurement role, more than
one-third (36 percent) came from roles
outside of procurement. For those
coming from roles outside procurement,
there is a wide range of previous
disciplines and functional capabilities.
Education is a factor in CPO selection:
Fifty-five percent of respondents have
an advanced degree, MBA or related
Masters’ degree while 77 percent have a
university degree.
Mobility is an emerging trend for
CPOs: More than one-third of the
respondents moved into the current
CPO role from outside their current
company. Many CPOs expect to move
outside their current companies for
their next role.
CPO priorities often go beyond
their performance metrics.
Most CPOs want to do more than is
currently expected of them: While
CPOs acknowledge their performance
is currently assessed on savings and
budgetary measures, more than two-
thirds (69 percent) of CPOs believe the
broader metrics that should be used to
judge their success are largely around
total cost of ownership.
4
CPOs are experiencing some conflict
between actions and outcomes:
While internal factors such as
achieving savings targets, attracting
and retaining the right talent and
addressing organizational barriers
are a priority for CPOs, less than half
indicated that they felt they had
complete control over these outcomes..
More specifically, only 14 percent felt
they had complete control to manage
their organizational barriers and almost
one-fifth (18 percent) ranked their
control low or negligible.
CPOs are clear about their
aspirations and future needs.
High performance is an essential
ingredient: One hundred percent
of respondents cited the desire and
capability to help their organizations
become a high-performance business
as their most important success factor.
CPOs feel recognized as effective
leaders: Ninety-two percent of CPOs
were either very satisfied or satisfied
that they were perceived as an
effective leader by their workforces.
CPOs are headed to a bigger role
in the current company or a bigger
CPO role in a bigger company: The
majority of respondents expect to be
in their current role less than three
years. Nearly one-fifth (18 percent)
of respondents expect to be in the
role for four to seven years. The CPOs
in both groups expect to move to
bigger roles with more responsibilities
following their current positions.
The remainder of this report illustrates
additional survey findings and begins
to paint a more detailed portrait of
the CPO today and where he or she is
headed tomorrow.
Introduction

Previous Accenture research1 has
shown that winning companies—those
that outperformed their industry for
six years following the recession of
the early 1990s—take a bold path.
While remaining attentive to the
current cost structure, they keep
their eyes on the broader prize:
building sustainable future value for
the company and its shareholders.
Further Accenture research2 into the
characteristics of high performance
through procurement has shown that
companies that successfully position
procurement as a strategic capability
outperform the competition.
past, the current scale of the crisis
in global markets has resulted in
dual performance pressures—on the
individual and the organization.
Potentially tasked with balancing
innovation, growth and cost
containment, procurement mastery is
not for the faint hearted.
With the help of the CPO Circle
community, Accenture decided to
investigate just how the role of chief
procurement officers is evolving. The
results begin to paint a striking portrait
of the current generation of CPOs.

C-level executives in today’s

business environment are living
in unprecedented times. While
most seasoned leaders have lived
through economic volatility in the

1 Source: Seizing the opportunity: Achieving high performance in today’s economy through
procurement outsourcing.
2 Source: High Performance through Procurement: Accenture research and insights into
procurement performance mastery, 2008.

5
Survey demographics

Our survey findings are based on Figure 1. Survey participants by

78 respondents who matched our geography.
stringent reporting and leadership
qualification criteria. They were drawn
from companies headquartered in a
wide range of geographies. A little
over two-thirds—68 percent—came
from companies headquartered in
Europe. North America accounted
for 21 percent of the responses. Asia
Pacific was represented by 9 percent
of respondents and the remaining 3
percent were from Africa and Brazil
(Figure 1).

6
Respondents were from companies Figure 2. Survey participants by industry.
representing a diverse range of
industries. At 15 percent, the Products Resources
consumer products sector was
best represented, followed by
communications (telecommunications)
at 13 percent and industrial equipment
and insurance at 12 percent. Other
industries included utilities—9
percent—energy, automotive and travel
and transportation—8 percent—and
banking and pharmaceuticals and
medical products at 6 percent.
Representatives from retail, forest
products, metals and mining,
chemicals, capital markets,
electronics and high tech, media and
entertainment and health providers
(private and government) also
completed the survey (Figure 2).
Financial Communications

Respondents were drawn from Figure 3. Survey participants by Figure 4. Survey participants by
organizations with a wide range of corporate revenues (2008). scope of responsibility.
annual corporate revenues. Twenty-
seven percent of respondents came
from companies with global corporate
revenues of $10 billion or more during
the fiscal year 2008. The majority,
55 percent were from companies of
between $1 and $10 billion revenues.
An additional 5 percent had revenues
of $500 million to $1 billion and 13
percent stated their company revenues
were under $500 million (Figure 3).

In terms of responsibilities, the

majority of respondents, 83 percent,
had company or enterprise-wide
responsibilities. Ten percent applied to ••Corporate area
••Group-wide
both geographic region responsibilities responsibility
and business unit responsibilities. Four ••Shared service
percent of respondents indicated a
corporate area, group-wide or shared
services responsibility. However, as
identified in a qualifying question,
each respondent was the most senior
executive ultimately responsible
for procurement within his or her
individual company (Figure 4).

7
Career characteristics

Initial survey results CPO history
contain interesting While approximately two-thirds of
respondents (64 percent) arrived
insights into the path in their current role from another
procurement role, more than one-third
to and from the CPO (36 percent) came from roles outside
service. With nearly four out of ten
respondents with less than a year in
their CPO positions, Accenture believes
this suggests a significant interest
from new CPOs in exploring the
potential of their future career paths.

role, with responses of procurement. For those arriving

from previous procurement roles,
showing there is many were promoted from inside the
organization while considerably more
a greater degree came from a smaller or similar sized
of movement and company in the same or different
industry. This suggests the growing
variety than we have importance of multiple CPO roles in
the career path for many procurement
found in previous leaders. For those arriving in the CPO
research. role from outside procurement, they
cited a wide range of other roles prior
to the CPO role, including such job
titles as national operations director or
vice president of trading (Figure 5).
When we asked our survey respondents
about their qualifications—more than
three out of four (77 percent) cited
they have a university degree. While
many have traditional business degrees
or related supply chain degrees, many
have clearly embraced more diverse
curricula, with topics as varied
as metallurgy, politics and
agricultural science.
In addition, more than half (55
percent) of the respondents have an
MBA or a variety of Masters’ degrees.

Nearly half of respondents (42 percent)

said they had worked for the same
company for seven years or more,
although the number of years they
had spent in the CPO role was far
less, with more than one-third (39
percent) indicating a year or less of

8
Figure 5. What was your role prior to becoming the CPO
(or most senior procurement executive) in your current position?

••Assistant to CPO
••Business unit manager
••Controller for region
••COO
••CPO at a larger company in a different
industry
••Director ICT
••Distribution director
••European CPO of a larger company in
similar industry
••General manager procurement services BPO
provider
••Head of production
••Interim procurement transformation director
••Logistics manager
••Management
••Managing director of a division
••Managing director of a Limited company
••National operations director
••Operations
••Procurement general manager reporting to a chief
of business unit
••Procurement manager of only the insurance part
of the company
••Procurement regional manager reporting to a
regional vice president purchasing
••Product development
••Regional procurement senior vice president at a
bigger size other company in a different industry
••Accenture
••Supply chain director
••Ariba
••Supply chain planning
••Booz & Co
•• Vice president global research &
••Partner
••Purchasing consultancy development operation
••Vice president trading

9
CPO future
Our survey also discovered more about
the aspirations of CPOs in the longer
term. When we asked “What is your
expectation for your next career
move?” nearly 80 percent said they
aspire to go up, with almost half,
40 percent, looking for a promotion
within their existing company. If
offered the right package, many of
the respondents might follow the
27 percent of CPOs who talk openly
about a CPO position in another, larger
company as their next move.
When we asked survey respondents
“Why did the prior incumbent of
your position leave?” (Figure 6), 26
percent of respondents said that the
outgoing CPOs had been promoted
or rotated at the same level. An
additional 12 percent left to take new
roles in other companies with just 13
percent indicating that the former
CPO had retired. This supports some
of our earlier findings suggesting
that the CPO role is a precursor to
becoming a senior executive with
responsibilities beyond procurement,
10
or preparation for a CPO position with
greater accountability and managerial
responsibility. Notably, a large
(28 percent) group of respondents
indicated that the CPO role was new
to the organization. That is certainly
encouraging news for procurement
leaders as it suggests more companies
are continuing to recognize the
importance of procurement.
Whatever the reasons for a CPO
reaching the top, it seems either the
actual time spent in the role or the
aspiration for time to be in the role is
relatively short. Eighty-two percent of
respondents acknowledged that they
are likely to hold their current role for
less than three years. An additional
18 percent believe they would move
in four to seven years. Whatever the
period of tenure, it seems that existing
CPOs have aspirations to move on and
to move on fairly quickly.
CPO reporting
In our survey sample, it is noteworthy
that 64 percent of CPOs have a
direct reporting relationship with
a C-suite executive; however, less
than one-fifth (19 percent) report
directly to the CEO. For the most
part, procurement leaders report to
the senior levels in the organization,
which is progress from just a few
years ago when the procurement
function was generally associated
with the finance department.
Overall, we believe that the findings
on reporting relationships provide
additional support that organizations
recognize the value of procurement
increasingly and continue to upgrade
its status accordingly.
Figure 6. Why did the prior incumbent of your position leave?

••Corporate director for organization and systems

••Buying director
••Head of HR
••President of business unit
••President small subsidary
••Procurement manager for the whole company
••Procurement team executive
••Production division senior vice president
••Vice president manufacturing and supply chain
••Vice president sourcing

••General manager
••Supply chain director
••Vice president logistics
••A new position
••Consultant experience
••Did not meet expectations
••New procurement set up reporting to CEO
••Performance related
••Relocated
••Reorganization
••Split responsibility
••Still in procurement, but as category manager

11
Challenges and success factors
Figure 7. To what extent do you feel managing the issues identified,
which directly reflect your effectiveness as a CPO, is within your control?
Challenges
In response to the question “What
is the single most important issue
keeping you up at night which directly
reflects your effectiveness as a CPO?”
survey participants highlighted four
broad areas and indicated to what
extent they felt that managing these
issues was within their control:
1. Addressing organizational barriers.
Given this was a keen aspect of almost
every metric relating to personal
success (see page 14), more than
one-fifth of respondents (21 percent)
singled out internal barriers as their
biggest issue. Only 14 percent felt
they had complete control to manage
organizational barriers and another18
percent ranked their control low or
negligible. This is clearly an issue that
can reduce the effectiveness and the
impact of the best CPOs.
2. Achieving savings targets. Not
surprisingly, financial issues take
center stage. Yet when asked if
managing costs was within their
control, only 40 percent of CPOs felt
they had complete control and the
12
majority, 60 percent, said they had (supply chain, sustainability, supplier
qualification), seem to be of far
only moderate or some control. This
suggests there is still a significant less concern than some of the more
gap between the best performing internally-focused issues.
procurement organizations (where
complete control is seldom an issue) What is interesting to note is that
and the majority of procurement CPOs feel more in control of supplier-
organizations. related issues, despite the fact that
these remain outside their own
3. Attracting and retaining the organization, than issues they have
right talent. Almost one-fifth of with their own internal customers
the respondent CPOs pointed to (Figure 7).
talent management as their greatest
challenge, and they felt more
comfortable in terms of control, with
more than three-quarters (79 percent)
having complete to moderate control.
However, some 21 percent felt they
had only little or no control—another
area of disenfranchisement.
4. Supply risk. Although not as
actively sought out as some of the
other areas, 14 percent of respondents
identified supply risk as their single
most important issue. No doubt
affected by recent economic volatility
which is adding further pressures
to suppliers, it was nevertheless
surprising that this, along with
several other externally facing issues
Figure 8. Rate the importance of these factors to your success as a
procurement executive.

44%

73%
76% 78%
77%
92%
100% 99% 96%

Success factors stakeholders, and even less when

it comes to the board, where over
When we asked CPOs to indicate the one-third are dissatisfied with their
factors affecting their success as a share of voice. In summary, we could
procurement executive, respondents conclude that CPOs know what they
show they have a consistent need to do, but often feel constrained
definition of “what good looks in their ability to do it.
like.” For the majority, passion (100
percent), capability (96 percent) and
perceptions (99 percent) around
helping their organizations achieve
high performance are all identified as
highly important. Additional success
factors are ranked as the frequency
and intensity of internal interactions
with internal customers (92 percent).

Despite demonstrating solidarity and

strength of feeling when identifying
the factors that will make them
successful, CPOs are less generous
in their acknowledged satisfaction
that these factors are being met.
Generally CPOs believe they are
perceived as effective, though less
than 50 percent on each issue
consider they are very satisfied.
Satisfaction levels are lowest
around their success with internal

13
Metrics and rewards
Figure 9. Metrics and rewardss.
Metrics used
Performance metrics
When our survey asked “Which are
the five main metrics that measure
individual performance?” the focus
was predictably on price savings (65
percent) and cost containment (59
percent for the more sophisticated
total cost of ownership savings; 46
percent for spend reduction and 46
percent for procurement budget)
in their own function (Figure 9).
Yet results showed there was a gap
between the performance factors they
are measured by and the metrics they
believe should be used to measure
their contribution to the success of the
company. Here, total cost of ownership
savings was the leading imperative for
69 percent of respondents, followed by
managed spend (44 percent), economic
value add (at 40 percent) and supply
availability (38 percent).
3 Source: High Performance Learning Organizations, Accenture Research 2007.
14
Metrics CPOs believe should be used
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
•• Process control
•• Category strategy
•• Collaboration with
suppliers
•• Cost avoidance
•• Customer satisfaction
•• Increased professionalism
of the purchasing team
•• Internal key stakeholder
satisfaction
•• People management
•• Procurement efficiency
•• Strategic procurement
alliances
•• Strategic sourcing
throughout, compliance
management
•• Success in ERP
•• Supplier diversity
•• Transaction cost reduction
•• Turnover
Performance rewards
Our survey posed questions around
the non-financial remuneration a CPO
considers to be part of their overall
benefits package, including “What
is the maximum, as a percentage of
your base salary, which you could
receive as compensation resulting
from your personal performance?”
The response was mixed; while many
CPOs (up to 41 percent) can receive
up to 50 percent of their base pay
in performance-related bonuses, for
a small minority (16 percent) these
bonuses can be 70 to 100 percent or
more. Conversely, 58 percent receive
no variable pay other than that related
to their own performance, but when
they do receive additional rewards
related to company results the level
is, in the main, around 50 percent
(Figure 10). Thus half again or more of
base salary is available to our CPO’s
in the form of performance awards,
although most of our respondents
•• Inventory reduction
•• Challenge the organization
•• Collaboration with
suppliers
•• Contract compliance
•• Cost avoidance
•• Development in
procurement organization
•• Diversity
•• Innovation
•• Levels of bypass
•• People management
•• PER or ROI on procurement
function
•• Procurement efficiency
•• Proportion of long-term
performance engagement
contract
•• Risk reduction
•• Strategic procurement
alliances
•• Strategic sourcing
throughout, compliance
management
•• Supplier performance
•• Transactional efficiency
•• Transaction cost reduction
•• Web catalog spend
receive this extra amount based
upon a broad company performance
measure, rather than personal- or
department-specific performance
measures. Accenture human
resources research indicates that for
best individual and departmental
performance achievements, excellence
in performance should be rewarded as
directly as possible.3 However, given
the variability in the measures that
designate success in procurement that
our CPO survey also reveals, perhaps
the procurement profession has to
develop more uniformity in its measures
of success before more performance
compensation for our CPOs is based on
procurement-specific parameters.
Figure 10. What is the maximum as a percentage of your Figure 11. How many hours a week do you currently spend
base salary that you would receive as compensation for with senior executives?
personal performance?

Onboarding and the highest ranking from respondents

at 44 percent. “Spend more time
support with the CEO” received 40 percent
As our survey shows, there is a of responses. Clearly, meaningful
regular turnover of new CPOs and interaction with internal stakeholders
an increasing number of companies is critical and still insufficient in the
introducing the position which, in minds of many CPOs.
turn, highlights the importance of
Further questions around the amount
the onboarding process. When asked
of time spent with non-executive
the question “To what extent are
directors showed that one-quarter
you satisfied with your company’s
of CPOs (25 percent) spend time with
onboarding process?” 41 percent
members of the supervisory board
are either dissatisfied or ambivalent
about once a month. However, a
about their first few months in the
significant group of CPOs (around
new job. As a result, when asked the
38 percent) do not spend any time
question “What would you change
with non executive directors.4 Indeed,
about your onboarding process?” CPOs
one area worthy of further research
were not shy about telling us what
is whether this lack of contact is a
they would change. In the light of
hindrance to the CPOs role.
the earlier comments around the vital
importance of internal relationships, it
was unsurprising that “Meeting your
internal customers early” received

4 Non-executive directors provide independent advice but do not get involved in the day-to-day
running of the business.

15
The nuances of the new
In a deeper dive of the research, we
compared the data from the responses
of those CPOs who were in a newly-
created position (that is, the CPO role
had existed previously)—referred to
in this report as the ‘new CPOs’—and
those that were in an established role
(that is, the CPO position had previous
incumbents)—referred to in this report
as the ‘established CPOs.’
When we asked the question “What
is the single most important issue
keeping you up at night which directly
reflects your effectiveness as a CPO?”
32 percent of the new CPOs felt that
addressing organizational barriers was
their priority, twice as many as the
established CPOs at 16 percent.
To the query “To what extent do you
feel managing these issues is under
your control?” 59 percent of new CPOs
considered ‘achieving savings targets’
was within their complete control
against 32 percent of established
CPOs. What is more, 27 percent of new
CPOs feel they are fully in control of
‘addressing organizational barriers’
compared with the limited 9 percent
of established CPOs.
16
It would appear from this snapshot within their current company against
that new CPOs have not yet 48 percent of established CPOs.
experienced the barriers or are
confident in their ability to overcome The picture being painted here is that
the organizational barriers while the the CPOs of newly-created positions
established CPOs have a keen sense are dynamic in their approach and
around the challenges they are facing expectations—tackling organizational
within the organization. barriers, focusing on internal
customers, staying with the role four
In terms of length of service, there is years or more and choosing an external
also a discrepancy between new CPOs move, onwards and upwards, to
and established CPOs. Most new CPOs progress their careers.
have held their roles longer, with 50
percent of new CPOs holding the role
for between four and seven years or
more and 44 percent of established
CPOs holding the role for one year
or less.
Finally, the career expectations do
vary for new CPOs when compared to
established CPOs. When the survey
asked “What is your expectation/
aspiration for your next career
move?,” 50 percent of new CPOs
identified that they wished to join a
larger company as a CPO against 18
percent of established CPOs. And in a
reverse of these statistics, 18 percent
of new CPOs wished to be promoted
Figure 12. Importance of the following factors to your success as a
procurement executive: New CPOs vs. established CPOs.

Companies with a new CPO Companies with an established CPO

17
Conclusion

Our research paints a picture of As the Accenture CPO Circle

the CPO as a professional whose
characteristics and career history are
both diverse and evolving. With a
high likelihood of higher education
(a university degree and/or MBA) and
experience in operational roles, our
CPO portrait illustrates someone who
seeks broad performance measures
such as total cost of ownership,
recognizes the need to work on the
relationships with internal customers
and, above all, places an emphasis on
the desire to focus on achieving high
performance.
community has shown, sharing
experiences and spending time to
meet and discuss challenges can
only strengthen and consolidate the
procurement position and help existing
CPOs understand the best path to
success. Indeed, by creating a voice
within the organization that has both
clarity and authority, CPOs can begin
to help their organizations realize high
performance.

A note of encouragement for

procurement leaders is the potential
and eclectic nature of the CPO role.
The CPO role is one of diversity and
growing prominence, providing
an exciting opportunity for those
procurement executives committed to
the profession.

18
Contacts
Global Sourcing & Procurement Italy and Greece Greater China
Kris Timmermans Giorgio Torresani Hui Wang
Managing Partner Largo Donegani, 2 30/F. Shanghai Central Plaza
Rue Royale 145 20121 Milano 381 Huai Hai Zhong Road
1000 Brussels Italy Shanghai 200020
Belgium Phone: +39 02 777 51111 China
Phone: +32 2 22 67 211 giorgio.torresani@accenture.com Phone: +86 21 2305 3333
kris.timmermans@accenture.com hui.wang@accenture.com
Spain, Portugal, Africa and Israel
Europe Carmen Diaz Madroña India
Kai Nowosel c/ Ramìrez de Arellano, 35 Sanjay Dawar
Campus Kronberg 1 28043 Madrid DLF Center - 6th Floor
D-61476 Kronberg im Taunus Frankfurt Spain Sansad Marg,
Germany Phone: +34 91 596 6000 New Delhi 110 001
Phone: +49 6173 94 99 carmen.diaz.madroña@accenture.com India
kai.nowosel@accenture.com Phone: +91 11 2335 5000
United Kingdom and Ireland sanjay.dawar@accenture.com
Austria, Switzerland and Germany Jeremy Robinson
Ralf Mägerle 20 Old Bailey Japan
Campus Kronberg 1 London EC4M 7AN Masahisa Inagaki
D-61476 Kronberg im Taunus Frankfurt United Kingdom Akasaka Inter City
Germany Phone: +44 20 7844 4000 1-11-44 Akasaka Minato-ku,
Phone: +49 6173 94 99 jeremy.robinson@accenture.com Tokyo 107-8672
ralf.magerle@accenture.com Phone: +81 3 3588 3000
United States masahisa.inagaki@accenture.com
Belgium, Luxembourg and North America
Netherlands Harlen Pyle Latin America and South America
Dimitri Huyghe One Freedom Square José Carlos Roman
Rue Royale 145 11951 Freedom Drive Rua Alexandre Dumas, 2051
1000 Brussels Reston, Virginia 20190-5651 Chacara Sto. Antonio
Belgium United States of America 04717-004 Sao Paulo, SP
Phone: +32 2 22 67 211 Phone: +1 703 947 1545 Brazil
dimitri.huyghe@accenture.com n.harlen.pyle@accenture.com Phone: +55 11 5188 3000
jose.carlos.roman@accenture.com
Denmark, Finland, Norway and Asia Pacific
Sweden Manish Chandra Marketing
Per Segerberg 250 North Bridge Road Sergio Clerici
Õstra Hamngatan 41-43 #33-00 Raffles City Tower Largo Donegani, 2
P.O. Box 2186 Singapore 179101 20121 Milan
SE-403 13 Gothenburg Phone: +65 6410 8000 Italy
Sweden manish.chandra@accenture.com Phone: +39 02 777 51111
Phone: +46 31 339 4000 sergio.clerici@accenture.com
Australia
per.segerberg@accenture.com
Melbourne office
Eastern/Central Europe Don Puckridge
Malgorzata Szulc GPO Box 5176
Sienna 3900-121 Warsaw Melbourne, Victoria 3001
Poland Australia
Phone: +48 22 528 80 00 Phone: +61 3 9838 7000
malgorzata.szulc@accenture.com don.puckridge@accenture.com

France Sydney office

Pierre François Kaltenbach Zeljko Nikolic
118 Avenue de France 48 Pirrama Road
75013 Paris Pyrmont
France NSW 2009
Phone: +33 1 53 23 5555 Australia
pierre.f.kaltenbach@accenture.com Phone: +61 2 9005 5000
nikolic.zelijko@accenture.com

19
About Accenture Supply About Accenture
Chain Management
Accenture is a global management
The Accenture Supply Chain
consulting, technology services
Management service line works
and outsourcing company.
with clients across a broad range of
Combining unparalleled experience,
industries to develop and execute
comprehensive capabilities across
operational strategies that enable
all industries and business functions,
profitable growth in new and existing
and extensive research on the world’s
markets. Committed to helping clients
most successful companies, Accenture
achieve high performance through
collaborates with clients to help them
supply chain mastery, we combine
become high-performance businesses
global industry experience and skills
and governments. With approximately
in supply chain strategy, sourcing and
177,000 people serving clients in more
procurement, supply chain planning,
than 120 countries, the company
manufacturing and design, fulfillment,
generated net revenues of US$23.39
and service management to help
billion for the fiscal year ended
organizations transform their supply
Aug. 31, 2009. Its home page is
chain capabilities. We collaborate
www.accenture.com.
with clients to implement innovative
consulting and outsourcing solutions
that align operating models to support
business strategies, optimize global
operations, enable profitable product
launches, and enhance the skills
and capabilities of the supply chain
workforce. For more information, visit
www.accenture.com/supplychain

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About Accenture CPO Circle Grateful thanks to authors Paolo
Mondo and Harlen Pyle for their
CPO Circle is an invitation-only contributions to this report.
community that offers members
access to a wealth of knowledge
and experience in sourcing and
procurement. Members benefit from
virtual and live events, gain insight
from surveys and research, interact
with a panel of procurement advisors,
and learn more about how other chief
procurement officers are approaching
the global market. Take the CPO Circle
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cpocircle.com/virtualtour. E-mail
cpocircle@accenture.com.