Difficulty giving innovation a financial value means buyers are "more conservative" when selecting suppliers, preferring partners with a proven track record for delivering on time and to a budget, the report by marketing firm APS Group said.
More than half of buyers surveyed (55.56 percent) said they put the greatest value on a strong track record, a quarter said they valued a consultative approach most, and 10 percent prioritised a cultural fit. Innovation was considered “nice to have” and topped the list of secondary considerations, it said.
Buyers do recognise the benefits of innovation, the report said, and of those surveyed almost as many said they were most likely to research market innovations by talking to suppliers (35 percent) as talking to their peers (36.84 percent).
Pressure to show savings and a lack of a standardised way to financially measure innovation was a key problem, the report said. Although senior management might say they wanted innovation, “when push comes to shove what matters most is financial performance.”
