The Coupa Top 5: How to do Everything Better From the Top Down

We’re feeling rather bold this week, with advice on how to do everything better. The brains at McKinsey have the C-suite covered, with advice for CEOs, CFOs and CIOs. For CIOs and IT pros in banking, we’ve got a little extra advice on services procurement just for you. We’d be remiss to leave out CPOs and procurement types; Tania Seary weighs in on how to be a great procurement boss.

Three ways CEOs can improve the supply chain - McKinsey
What can your supply chain do for you? Too many companies maintain a rudimentary supply chain, perhaps because they don’t realize the strategic advantage that a nimble, adaptable supply chain can confer. McKinsey’s Glatzer, Niemeyer and Rohren provide examples to help us visualize what a more strategic supply chain could look like, and tips on using the supply chain to maximum effect.

The CFO’s role in the pursuit of growth - McKinsey

CFOs need to step up their game when it comes to driving growth, according to a recent McKinsey survey. CFOs and non-CFOs alike identified finding new sources of growth as the most pressing of six growth-related challenges. Notably absent: strategic cost-cutting and process improvement, which while less sexy, does grow the bottom line.

Why CIOs should be business-strategy partners - McKinsey

McKinsey’s latest survey on business technology finds CIOs have little influence in shaping corporate strategy and confidence in IT’s ability to support growth and other business goals is waning. This is perhaps not surprising. The role of IT is in flux as many traditional IT tasks shift to off-premise cloud providers, leaving many wondering what their role should be. There's a crying for data management and analytic talent, says the report, so IT needs to sit up, take notice and get to work reinventing itself. And, it needs a seat at the table so it can understand and apply its capabilities to the evolving business context and regain strategic importance.

Five top tips: How to be a great procurement boss  - Supply Management

With procurement talent in short supply, competition for proven professionals is fierce. Assuming you've got good people, it’s a lot easier to keep the talent you have than find new talent. The best way to retain talent is to be a great boss - a rare gift in itself. Tania Seary, founder of three procurement related businesses, shows how to be the kind of boss people love to work for and will keep working for.

Banking Procurement: It's Time To Think About Value  - Procurement Leaders

Banks aren't known for being technological innovators, yet as bricks and mortar banking fades away, that's exactly what they must become - by providing a user friendly, customer centric, always-on mobile presence. The most successful banks in terms of leveraging mobile media outsource this function to a third party. As their less successful counterparts catch up, they’ll need to become savvier in the procurement of these services in order to retain their edge says Harry John, industry intelligence manager at Procurement Leaders.