FEATURE
‘TEAR DOWN THIS WALL!’
The relationship between FM and procurement is rarely a perfect one. In the battle of price and performance, Matt Smith, Head of Procurement at Office Depot, gives the view from his side of the fence.
It is a commonly-cited problem that procurement and FM departments often find themselves at odds with each other over the priorities and targets they are working to.
The perceived conflict of interests at play here is founded upon a misinterpretation of the roles that both disciplines can, and should, play within an organisation. But, by pitting themselves against each other, organisations are missing out on the benefits of a co-operative procurement/FM relationship. In a bid to get both procurement and FM professionals to start thinking about each other differently, I hosted a round-table discussion at this year’s Facilities Show, to illustrate that, in fact, these supposedly disparate departments are actually complementary elements of a shared vision.
Despite opinions to the contrary, the roles and challenges that procurement and FM face are, in fact, very similar. At the core of both is that they provide essential support to operational requirements and add strategic value to their organisation. Consequently, FM and procurement professionals both have a clear vision of what they can add to a business. As I argued in my talk at the Facilties Show, this vision can be a united and commonly shared one, which, when set out correctly, can make FM and procurement a powerful combination. So how can these two traditionally divided disciplines work successfully together?
32 | TOMORROW’S FM
One of the major factors in pitting FM and procurement against each other is the belief that their objectives are fundamentally opposed. To combat this misconception, teams need to be aligned both in the planning and response stages of every decision- making process. The central tenet of this process is to decipher a key objective, which will allow FM and procurement departments to respond to requests as one team, rather than separate entities. This eliminates any risk of conflict setting in, and helps instil a work ethic of joint involvement from the initial stages of a project.
“The challenges that procurement and FM face are, in fact, very similar.”
Once objectives have been aligned and agreed, however, there is still scope for teams to go their separate ways and end up straying into old habits. This is why initial objectives need to be supported by strong continual communication between teams, to ensure that agreed objectives remain so. In response to this, at Office Depot we have monthly meetings so that procurement and FMs have an opportunity to provide each other with updates on activity. As Head of Procurement, this reinforces my team’s priorities, and how they fit into the wider context of the strategies both we and the FM team are working towards.
As opportunities for procurement and FM to engage with each other develop, the more open communication and relationship-building becomes. This promotes another key element of connecting the two: the need to appreciate and understand the roles both disciplines play. This learning process complements that of continual communication, and helps cultivate a culture of knowledge- sharing. Once this understanding is integrated into daily work practice, teams begin to use each other’s professional expertise to the organisation’s, and most importantly, the customer’s advantage.
If identifying common ground is the starting point for good relations between procurement and FM professionals, then successfully arriving at a unified final objective is the finishing line. This is why compromise must be a part of a workable internal relationship. End results should not be viewed as a competitive face-off between procurement and FM departments. Shared initial goals must lead departments to shared final rewards, or risk breaking apart the unity that can power an organisation forward.
A business is only as strong as the sum of its parts, and the more interconnected those parts, the stronger a business will become.
www.officedepot.com
twitter.com/TomorrowsFM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64
