The document analyzes the evolving role of procurement in a complex, rapidly changing world characterized by geopolitical risks, technological disruption, and rising sustainability expectations.
Jon Hansen is the founder of Procurement Insights, a platform focused on procurement-related insights and advisory. He contributed to the research and interviews for the paper “The resilient edge: procurement in an era of polycrisis,” providing expertise on procurement trends and challenges.
Jon Hansen provided insights on the challenges of siloed thinking and operations within organizations, particularly in the context of digital transformation. He highlighted an example where a department’s isolated operations—such as filing purchasing forms late in the day—negatively impacted procurement outcomes despite automation improvements. Hansen emphasized the importance of having a holistic vision and understanding the entire operational chain, rather than focusing solely on technology or data. His perspective underscores the need for integrated thinking and collaboration to achieve positive impacts in procurement processes.
Jon Hansen highlighted the following key challenges in procurement:
- Siloed Thinking and Operations: He emphasized that isolated departmental operations can undermine procurement outcomes, even when technology is implemented. For example, automating procurement functions without addressing broader operational inefficiencies, such as late order submissions, can fail to deliver positive impacts.
- Lack of Holistic Vision: Hansen pointed out the importance of seeing the entire operational chain and aligning processes across departments. Without a comprehensive vision, technology adoption may not yield the desired results.
These insights stress the need for integrated collaboration and strategic alignment within organizations to overcome inefficiencies and maximize procurement effectiveness.
Procurement teams can improve internal collaboration through the following strategies mentioned in the document:
- Embedding Personnel in Other Business Units: Assigning procurement staff to work within other departments helps them gain a deeper understanding of stakeholder needs and priorities.
- Creating Procurement Orchestration Teams: Establishing specialized teams focused on process design and stakeholder experience can enhance collaboration and treat internal satisfaction as a key metric for success.
- Aligning Category Strategies with Business Goals: Collaborating closely with stakeholders to understand evolving priorities ensures procurement strategies are aligned with broader organizational objectives.
- Leveraging Technology for Visibility: Using tools like spend analytics and autonomous agents can provide “360 visibility,” enabling procurement teams to spot risks, negotiate effectively, and understand market shifts.
- Focusing on Internal Satisfaction: Treating internal stakeholder satisfaction as a priority can strengthen trust and improve collaboration dynamics.
These approaches can help procurement teams integrate more effectively into the organizational fabric and deliver strategic value.
KEY POINTS TO CONSIDER
The document highlights several benefits of increased external collaboration for procurement teams:
- Advancement in Sustainability Objectives: External collaboration helps drive progress in areas like emissions tracking, decarbonization strategies, and sustainable practices, as cited by 48% of respondents.
- Increased Supplier Innovation: Collaboration with suppliers fosters innovation, such as faster product development, cost reduction ideas, and improved logistics solutions, selected by 38% of respondents.
- Stronger Stakeholder Relationships: Building closer ties with suppliers, investors, and other external stakeholders enhances trust and alignment, contributing to long-term value creation.
- Improved Customer Satisfaction: Efficient feedback loops, tailored solutions, and faster time-to-market are additional benefits of external collaboration.
These benefits underscore the importance of fostering strong partnerships with external stakeholders to achieve strategic goals like sustainability, innovation, and operational efficiency.
Internal collaboration can enhance procurement performance in the following ways, as outlined in the document:
- Increased Cost Savings: Collaboration across business functions helps identify efficiencies and cost-saving opportunities, cited by 74% of respondents as the main benefit.
- Improved Digital Adoption: Close collaboration facilitates the integration of digital tools and technologies, enabling better automation and analytics, noted by 61% of respondents.
- Enhanced Compliance and Regulatory Alignment: Working together ensures alignment with internal policies and regulatory requirements, reducing risks and improving governance.
- Faster Time-to-Market: Collaboration streamlines processes, enabling quicker delivery of products and services.
- Improved Risk Management: Sharing insights and aligning strategies across departments strengthens the organization’s ability to identify and mitigate risks.
By fostering internal collaboration, procurement teams can better align with organizational goals, improve operational efficiency, and deliver greater strategic value.
TODAY’S TAKEAWAY
Hansen’s frameworks are not abstract theories—they serve as practical diagnostic tools and success predictors embedded within the Hansen Fit Score methodology. His presence in the Economist report brings forward the strategic, interoperable, and adaptive dimensions that are necessary for high-performing procurement ecosystems in 2025 and beyond.
Here is a visual map and scorecard overlay showing how other industry players in the report align with the Hansen models:
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Procurement Insights
My Interview With The Economist
Posted on July 1, 2025
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The document analyzes the evolving role of procurement in a complex, rapidly changing world characterized by geopolitical risks, technological disruption, and rising sustainability expectations.
Jon Hansen is the founder of Procurement Insights, a platform focused on procurement-related insights and advisory. He contributed to the research and interviews for the paper “The resilient edge: procurement in an era of polycrisis,” providing expertise on procurement trends and challenges.
Jon Hansen provided insights on the challenges of siloed thinking and operations within organizations, particularly in the context of digital transformation. He highlighted an example where a department’s isolated operations—such as filing purchasing forms late in the day—negatively impacted procurement outcomes despite automation improvements. Hansen emphasized the importance of having a holistic vision and understanding the entire operational chain, rather than focusing solely on technology or data. His perspective underscores the need for integrated thinking and collaboration to achieve positive impacts in procurement processes.
Jon Hansen highlighted the following key challenges in procurement:
These insights stress the need for integrated collaboration and strategic alignment within organizations to overcome inefficiencies and maximize procurement effectiveness.
Procurement teams can improve internal collaboration through the following strategies mentioned in the document:
These approaches can help procurement teams integrate more effectively into the organizational fabric and deliver strategic value.
KEY POINTS TO CONSIDER
The document highlights several benefits of increased external collaboration for procurement teams:
These benefits underscore the importance of fostering strong partnerships with external stakeholders to achieve strategic goals like sustainability, innovation, and operational efficiency.
Internal collaboration can enhance procurement performance in the following ways, as outlined in the document:
By fostering internal collaboration, procurement teams can better align with organizational goals, improve operational efficiency, and deliver greater strategic value.
TODAY’S TAKEAWAY
Hansen’s frameworks are not abstract theories—they serve as practical diagnostic tools and success predictors embedded within the Hansen Fit Score methodology. His presence in the Economist report brings forward the strategic, interoperable, and adaptive dimensions that are necessary for high-performing procurement ecosystems in 2025 and beyond.
Here is a visual map and scorecard overlay showing how other industry players in the report align with the Hansen models:
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