EDITOR’S NOTE: Today is the promised follow-up to the May 18th “Do We Really Need To Reinvent Procurement Versus Finally Understanding Procurement?” post regarding the recent Ardent Partners webinar.
To start, I thought it was a well-structured webinar, adroitly delivered. It is clear that the participants knew their material quite well. For me, and no disrespect intended, it was an uninspired revelatory exercise that echoes so many others I have seen on the very same subject matter. For example, here is a screenshot of one of the slides.
As I listened to the discussion on the Top Challenges CPOs face in 2025, I thought, “Yes, the information being delivered is accurate, but so what?” It was a rinse-and-repeat presentation, only with different-colored graphics. It’s like someone telling you not to put your hand on a hot stovetop or not to run with scissors.
However, this particular slide did make me think: why do we keep hearing about the same or similar challenges year after year? This led me to ask the following question: If these same concerns keep popping up, why? Are we hearing without taking meaningful action?
So, I did a little digging. I asked if these same issues existed between 2008 and 2025 and what priority they were given. The following table shows the results from multiple sources, including the Procurement Insights archives.
Here is a line graph for the above table:
As you know, I have an insatiable curiosity, so I thought, what if I went back 50 years? Did these concerns exist in what some consider the procurement world’s darker ages?
Let’s now unpack the above table, with a line graph focusing on each concern:
Once again, the above was culled from multiple sources using the RAM 4-Model Assessment Tool and Prourement Insights’ deep archives.
MY TAKEAWAY
As I look at the above, I have the following two primary takeaways:
- Budget Constraints and Challenging Market Dynamics are relative constants, meaning that the best approach is recognition and adaptation, as they are driven by external factors that cannot be controlled, only anticipated.
- Process System Alignment, Technology Gaps, and Difficulty Engaging Stakeholders require an adjustment approach because they are within our control. Regarding technology, the issue is that we keep doing the same things repeatedly, e.g., using a technology-driven, equation-based development and implementation model versus a human-led, agent-based development and implementation Metaprise model. The high and continually increasing generational initiative failure rate shows why all three line graphs steadily increased over the past 50 years.
Returning to the Ardent Partner webinar, I think digging deeper into archives and historic data is more helpful than merely repeating the same, albeit correct, but generationally siloed challenges.
What do you think?
30
Procurement Insights
Ardent Partners Webinar Review On 5 CPO Challenges
Posted on May 21, 2025
0
EDITOR’S NOTE: Today is the promised follow-up to the May 18th “Do We Really Need To Reinvent Procurement Versus Finally Understanding Procurement?” post regarding the recent Ardent Partners webinar.
To start, I thought it was a well-structured webinar, adroitly delivered. It is clear that the participants knew their material quite well. For me, and no disrespect intended, it was an uninspired revelatory exercise that echoes so many others I have seen on the very same subject matter. For example, here is a screenshot of one of the slides.
As I listened to the discussion on the Top Challenges CPOs face in 2025, I thought, “Yes, the information being delivered is accurate, but so what?” It was a rinse-and-repeat presentation, only with different-colored graphics. It’s like someone telling you not to put your hand on a hot stovetop or not to run with scissors.
However, this particular slide did make me think: why do we keep hearing about the same or similar challenges year after year? This led me to ask the following question: If these same concerns keep popping up, why? Are we hearing without taking meaningful action?
So, I did a little digging. I asked if these same issues existed between 2008 and 2025 and what priority they were given. The following table shows the results from multiple sources, including the Procurement Insights archives.
Here is a line graph for the above table:
As you know, I have an insatiable curiosity, so I thought, what if I went back 50 years? Did these concerns exist in what some consider the procurement world’s darker ages?
Let’s now unpack the above table, with a line graph focusing on each concern:
Once again, the above was culled from multiple sources using the RAM 4-Model Assessment Tool and Prourement Insights’ deep archives.
MY TAKEAWAY
As I look at the above, I have the following two primary takeaways:
Returning to the Ardent Partner webinar, I think digging deeper into archives and historic data is more helpful than merely repeating the same, albeit correct, but generationally siloed challenges.
What do you think?
30
Share this:
Related