Marketing and procurement have often found themselves in a tug-of-war match for resources, but new research shows how the disparity between procurement objectives and marketing goals can be mitigated by outsourced marketing execution experts.
The 2017 ProcureCon Benchmarks report is the latest study from marketing execution partner HH Global, in partnership with business intelligence firm WBR Digital. The installment is titled, Revenue Responsibility and the Evolving Role of External Procurement and Marketing Capabilities: How procurement teams can align with marketing goals to exceed corporate fiscal expectations.
“Our research disclosed that procurement executives understand that marketing has increasing accountability for their lead generation pipeline activities,” said Christopher Rand, WBR Insights digital content manager, in a news release. “The most revealing trend is for companies to outsource their creative execution and production. This process allows procurement capabilities to offer solutions to marketing to maintain their accountability—control time to market, carry out brand control, and reduce costs. By partnering with marketing execution experts, procurement becomes the hero.”
“[This] research reveals attainable solutions for the tension and misalignment between procurement and marketing,” said HH Global Americas CEO Mike Perez, in the release. “The results of the research are clear. The engagement of an outsourced marketing procurement solution, one that is technology-driven and with the expertise to leverage the buying market, provides value to marketing beyond the cost savings.”
Survey results substantiate the advantages of managing marketing print with an external partner indeed go far beyond cost reduction, according to the research. Respondents include engagement of improved time-to-market over the competition, achieving ROI, and brand control as benefits mirroring the pain points reported by those that with internal print management.
Other key findings include:
- 53 percent of respondents that internally manage print procurement report increased cost as a pain point
- 32 percent of respondents have not undertaken a formal assessment of the creative execution process
- 31 percent of respondents report additional results beyond visibility of spend from a formal assessment including disclosure of inefficiencies in processes
Achieving visibility through an independent assessment of the complex procurement processes is the first step to a resolution that provides advantages for both marketing and procurement and ultimately in the greater corporate environment.
