At the most basic level, procurement is the act of obtaining something from an external source. For businesses, those responsible for procurement deal with the sourcing activities, negotiation and strategic selection of goods and services, and effectively managing the procurement process helps business ensure they're using resources most efficiently, says Reginald Peterson, director of indirect products at AmeriQuest Business Services.
"When there is confusion about procurement procedures, a company is not as profitable as it could be," Peterson said. Expenses related to procurement have a direct impact on a company's bottom line.
The survey conducted online consisted of 2,000 screened respondents who were directly involved in the procurement process. Results include:
• One in five respondents said their company does not have a procurement process in place.
• One in five respondents were unaware of discounts and rebates they could be tapping when making purchases for their company.
• Over a third of respondents are unsure of how procurement is viewed within their company, and nearly one in five said it has no visibility within their company.
• Procurement sits within many different departments at companies - nearly a quarter said the financial department, 22 percent said the operations department, and seven percent said IT.
• Almost one-third of respondents said they weren't sure who had the final sign-off rights to procurement at their company.
