We recently attended ProcureCon Marketing 2024 in LA. It was great to get an insight into the latest developments within procurement as well as the strategic role procurement plays alongside marketing. Some of our key takeaways are below:
How procurement can lead an organization
Kim Harrison-Johnson (Sourcing Marketing and Events Director at LinkedIn) led a great presentation on how procurement can lead an organization, covering four big topics including automation, supplier innovation, customer centricity and governance & compliance. We’ve worked with many world leading brands to position marketing procurement teams as a strategic function within an organization, across category and spend analysis, contract reviews, fee benchmarking and remuneration models. To find out more about our procurement solutions, visit our website here.
Education in procurement
One of key themes to come out of the conference was the need for people in marketing feeling confident enough to reach out to the community for education and knowledge sharing, especially in companies where there isn’t a significant budget for training – how do you stay up to date? Flock is always hosting free events and webinars for the marketing and procurement community. To keep up to date with our upcoming events, follow our LinkedIn.
The laws of procurement
Matt Kelly (Americas Director of Marketing and Retail Procurement at Adidas) delivered some excellent points around best practices in marketing procurement, including how to approach partnerships in cultural marketing and the “procurement commandments” which focus on marketing procurement is a strategic art, not merely a scientific process. It involves treating marketing as an investment, not a cost, and requires strategic planning and change management, not just purchasing. Procurement professionals should view themselves as integral to the business, not as a separate function. Flock recently released a guide on procurement trends and insights, ‘The Great Balancing Act’ which includes thought leadership from several marketing professionals, exclusive insights and benchmark data trends. You can request a copy of the guide here.
In-housing
In-housing was another key theme of the two days. A panel discussed and shared insights on assessing whether in-housing is the best solution. If model is brought in-house, work needs to be defined exactly and what the outcome is. The panel also discussed establishing benchmarks and understanding the remuneration model; whether this be retainer or output based. Flock can help you with understanding your agency fees compared to benchmarks across a number of disciplines including creative, media, CRM and PR, as well as across different remuneration models. Find out more here.
Quick wins
Katie Williams (Global Category Manager at Dentsply Sirona) led an effective session on how to identify, prioritise and implement quick wins in marketing procurement. What became really clear is the need for the marketing procurement community to have access to strategies and tools, especially for those new to marketing procurement. If you’d like a have a free 30 minute consultation with a Flock marketing procurement expert to answer any questions you may have, and understand key priorities and strategies for marketing procurement teams, please get in touch here.
The client agency relationship
The ANA and 4As 2024 study delved into the critical role of value in client-agency relationships, unpacking insights and providing practical guidance for marketing procurement to foster enduring partnerships. The data presented shows that trust as well as campaign performance ROAS are the top two factors and keys to maintaining strong client-agency relationships. If you’d like to find out more about our Agency Appraisal tool, and how it is proven to improve client and agency relationships as well as quality of outcomes, visit our website here.
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