Lessons learned at ProcureCon 2023

We recently attended ProcureCon 2023 in Tampa, Florida. It was great to get an insight into the latest developments within procurement as well as the role this plays alongside marketing. Some of our key takeaways are below:

More than just an RFP

There was a real shift around the procurement function being much more than just the process of an RFP, but more about holistic agency management and agency operations which essentially can help to avoid the need for putting your agencies up for review often. This is a sentiment we carry at Flock- our Agency Appraisal Tool was built with the aim of building better relationships, improving return on investment and delivering stronger outputs.

Procurement as a strategic function

Overall the role of procurement itself was discussed in much depth – there was a lot of talk around reframing procurement as a strategic partner to marketing that has influence and can act as an agent of change, strengthening the relationships between brands and their agencies as well as strengthening internal relationship with marketers to ultimately reduce complexity (in scoping, in ways of working, clarity in goals)

Driving efficiencies

Driving results can be overwhelming for procurement departments trying to align with marketing. A key take away was around ensuring you have reliable data financial data, being rigorous with scope creep and encouraging honest conversations with the marketing team around needs vs budgets and the importance of being at the table when budgets are discussed.

We’ve worked extensively with procurement teams and have developed market leading agency management tools; our Agency Appraisal Tool and Agency Scoping Tool have been crucial in strengthening agency relationships and driving value and results. Get in touch to see how we can help.