Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 18/12/2025 09:30

Procurement expert says profession must be people-centred, value-driven

PROCUREMENT is at an inflection point, veteran industry leader John Dickson suggested to delegates at the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply’s (CIPS) Caribbean Conference and Awards 2025, arguing that the profession must move decisively beyond its traditional fixation on cost-cutting. Instead, he said, procurement must reposition itself as a driver of value, resilience and long-term competitiveness. Addressing procurement and supply chain leaders at the Hyatt Regency in Port of Spain on December 10, Dickson said too many organisations still misunderstand what procurement actually does. “If you think about (procurement as) an iceberg, the one-ninth that a business sees is typically about cost reduction and cash generation,” he said. “What drives this function… is much more deep than that.” The conference, described by organisers as the region’s largest gathering of procurement professionals, brought together representatives from government, energy, telecommunications, logistics, finance and other major industries. Sessions focused on artificial intelligence and data analytics, supply chain risk and workforce transformation. Dickson’s keynote challenged delegates to step back and reconsider the purpose of procurement. Drawing on four decades' experience in the field, he traced procurement’s evolution from cost control in the 1990s, through efficiency-focused process reform in the 2000s, to digital transformation in the 2010s. The current phase, he said, is one of “true intelligent integration”, driven by AI, automation and machine learning. “These are not mutually exclusive phases,” Dickson said. “They’re all strongly connected. They’re cumulative.” Technology alone, however, will not deliver change. Dickson cautioned against treating digital tools as a cure-all. “Procurement needs to align intelligence with purpose,” he said. “It’s not just enough to say technology will do everything for us. How does the technology mould into the direction and strategies that we have?” That question, he suggested, cuts to whether procurement is genuinely embedded in the business or merely influences how money is spent. “Is your function of procurement deeply integrated within the business that you serve in order to influence the direction of that business, or is it just to influence how they spend money?” he asked. Dickson’s remarks echoed broader regional discussions on supply chain vulnerability. Earlier panels addressed the Caribbean’s exposure to hurricanes, fuel price volatility and global trade disruptions, with speakers outlining strategies such as redundancy, simplification and predictive planning. Those realities, Dickson said, underline why procurement must evolve from reactive to predictive thinking. While not every risk can be foreseen, he argued the function has a responsibility to plan scenarios and protect organisations operating in an increasingly volatile and uncertain environment. He also challenged procurement professionals to move beyond transactional thinking. “When it comes to talking about the broader business agenda… that’s where procurement sometimes lets itself down,” he said, recalling a conversation with a chief financial officer who questioned why procurement so rarely features at board level. Without a holistic understanding of the business, he warned, procurement risks marginalising itself. Dickson pointed to his experience at AstraZeneca during the covid19 pandemic, when a vaccine was developed in eight months rather than the typical six years. The effort, he said, succeeded because hierarchy was stripped away and a common goal took priority. “Suppliers didn’t do the usual kind of trading off against us or negotiation,” he said. “We just did not have the time. That whole concept of having a common goal was critical for that ecosystem to come together.” That experience shaped his views on collaboration, sustainability and responsible sourcing. Dickson rejected the idea that sustainability is a competitive advantage, arguing instead that it becomes a risk when ignored. “I do see sustainability as a competitive disadvantage if you don’t engage with it,” he said, stressing the need for collective action in industries that rely on shared supplier bases. Cybersecurity and resilience were also flagged as growing concerns, with Dickson referencing major cyberattacks that have crippled organisations and cost hundreds of millions. Procurement, he said, has a role in strengthening resilience by understanding supplier strategies, market shifts and emerging risks. Despite rapid technological change, Dickson rejected the notion that people will become secondary. “Human-centric talent isn’t going away,” he said. “It’s going to shift. It’s going to be different. It’s certainly not going to go away.” He encouraged leaders to remain curious and to learn from younger colleagues more fluent in new technologies. “Rather than pretend to know everything about AI or machine learning, I lean on them to learn,” he said. Returning to a recurring theme, Dickson emphasised that people remain the foundation of performance. He urged organisations to focus less on outcomes alone and more on what sustains them. “Looking after the soil,” he said. “Cultivating the soil, look after your people. Care for your people. Know your people.” For a profession long defined by savings targets, Dickson stressed that procurement’s future lies not just in tighter controls, but in deeper integration, shared purpose and the ability to translate intelligence into decisions that matter. In a region where disruption is part of everyday business, his message landed as more than theoretical. He challenged procurement professionals to look beyond how organisations buy — and to rethink their role in how businesses prepare, adapt and endure. The post Procurement expert says profession must be people-centred, value-driven appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.