Profit from the Source: Transforming Your Business by Putting Suppliers at the Core

Procurement can be your company’s secret weapon for winning in turbulent times.

In most companies, procurement is an unglamorous, unloved part of the business. A job in the procurement office? A fast track to nowhere. Sourcing and supplier management is strictly about costs, the thinking goes, and all that matters is playing hardball to get these as low as possible. No connection to innovation or strategy or creating positive value.

Not so fast. As Boston Consulting Group thought leaders Christian Schuh, Wolfgang Schnellbächer, Alenka Triplat, and Daniel Weise explain in Profit from the Source, procurement should be regarded in a new light, because it has the potential to be a CEO’s secret weapon in these fast-moving, disruptive times. The authors offer a wake-up call and a new strategic blueprint for leaders everywhere. With vivid stories and in-depth case studies, they illustrate that no other business function offers the same holistic view of a company--from suppliers who provide the organization with raw materials and components to consumers who buy the finished product. While it’s true that a core task of any procurement function is to keep costs from spiraling out of control, the authors show how procurement can help businesses generate phenomenal value from five other sources of competitive advantage critical to success--innovation, quality, sustainability, speed, and risk reduction.

Drawing on BCG research and the authors’ firsthand experience working with some of the world’s leading companies--in high tech, automotive, consumer goods, and many other industries--Profit from the Source provides proven strategies to drive new bottom-line, as well as top-line, growth for your company.

Christian Schuh is senior partner and managing director based in BCG’s Vienna office, in Austria. He focuses on global leaders in the Automotive and High-Tech sectors, and he is best known for the book The Purchasing Chessboard and his YouTube channel, Procurement in the Park.

Wolfgang Schnellbächer is partner and managing director based in BCG’s Stuttgart office, in Germany. He wrote his PhD thesis on game-theory-based negotiations in procurement, with a focus on auctions. He leads BCG’s procurement activities in Europe, and he advises global leaders in the Industrial Goods and Consumer Goods sectors.

Alenka Triplat is partner and managing director based in BCG’s Vienna office, in Austria. She advises global leaders in the High-Tech, Defense, and Industrial Goods sectors, and she often works at the intersection between the procurement function and other key functions, such as engineering, product marketing, and manufacturing.

Daniel Weise is partner and managing director based in BCG’s Dusseldorf office, in Germany. He leads BCG’s procurement activities globally, and he advises global leaders in the Industrial Goods, Energy, and Consumer Goods sectors. His work concentrates on creating maximum value from suppliers and often focuses on postmerger integration, restructuring, and transformation.

You can find the authors at:
Christian Schuh: bcg.com/en-us/about/people/experts/christian-schuh
Wolfgang Schnellbächer: bcg.com/about/people/experts/wolfgang-schnellbacher
Alenka Triplat: linkedin.com/in/alenkatriplat
Daniel Weise: bcg.com/about/people/experts/daniel-weise