Asia Pacific CPO Insights:

As AI continues to transform procurement, the key to unlocking its true potential is maintaining a careful balance. AI-driven insights, autonomous systems, and predictive analytics can streamline processes and accelerate decisions, but the human element remains irreplaceable in navigating complexities, ensuring ethical integrity, and providing the empathy machines lack.

Cost optimisation isn't just about reducing expenses, they’re a strategic lever for driving performance and organisation value. Here’s where CFOs should focus. ArcBlue spoke with CFO Magazine to share 7 key insights for CFOs to consider before embarking on a cost program.

For the longest time in Australia, Energy has been a story of state or natural monopolies, regulated tariffs and minimal choice. The fundamental of the energy transition is now being turned on its head. ArcBlue spoke with ecogeneration magazine about how procurement and supply chain is key to overcoming these challenges.

Successful procurement transformation programs are pivotal for organisations aiming to optimise costs, enhance efficiency, and drive innovation. However, that success relies on strategic planning and effective execution, the use of data and digital technologies, and adaptability to evolving market dynamics. Read our top 10 tips to help you navigate the intricate landscape of procurement transformation and...

ArcBlue Hong Kong Director, Keith Gauntlett, was recognised in CEO Insights Asia’s Top 10 Business Consulting Companies in Hong Kong for 2024. Read Keith's interview on 'Navigating industries & driving transformative impact through strategic excellence'.

Inclusive workplaces are not just a moral imperative but also a strategic advantage for businesses and has broader positive impact on economic growth. Embracing inclusivity within teams fosters a diversity of perspectives, innovative solutions, and a breadth of thinking that can drive organizational success. This article explains the importance of Inclusive Employment principles within social procurement,...

CFOs and Finance Leaders play a vital role in ensuring resilience across the entire company. In today’s dynamic and unpredictable business environment, supply chain resilience is essential for navigating disruptions ranging from inflation and geopolitical tensions to natural resource shortages and technological advancements. This whitepaper explores the role of Finance in supply chain resilience.

ArcBlue surveyed Chief Procurement Officers across Asia to understand how they perceive the maturity, strengths and weaknesses of their procurement operating model. We have now released the Asia CPO Insights: Procurement Maturity Report 2024, which details the survey results and provides readers with an understanding of the self-perceived maturity of procurement functions across Asia.

Establishing and maintaining ‘social licence’ is critical for Australia’s ability to deliver our massive renewable energy project pipeline. Chris Newman spoke with Ecogeneration Magazine on how to achieve social licence in regional communities and the importance of social procurement.

In 2024 we're experiencing a shifting procurement landscape marked by complex challenges calling for strategic adaptation. In this report, we address 7 key trends to watch in 2024 with advice and tips from the experts on how organisations and procurement teams can prepare themselves to take action.

This whitepaper discusses how a collaborative, place-based program such as GROW supports social procurement when supported through buy-in from Contract Managers. A systematic approach is described for relationships where Contract Managers have opportunities to work with GROW.

This whitepaper explores how inflation is impacting supply chains, steps that organisations can take to generate procurement savings, a design-to-cost approach, when (and how) to consider supplier price increases, strategies to manage the talent shortage and the road to transformation.

As ArcBlue celebrates it’s 10 Year anniversary operating across Asia Pacific in 2023, we took some time to reflect on the changes we’ve seen to the procurement function over the last decade. From our beginnings with a small team in Melbourne to now with offices across Asia Pacific, so much has changed for ArcBlue, in procurement...

Supplier diversity’s potential social and economic impact is far-reaching and increased spending on diverse suppliers can generate life-changing access and possibilities for people within underrepresented groups. This whitepaper encourages organisations to take an ambitious approach to supplier diversity to maximise meaningful change.

Effective SRM can enhance supply chain resilience and improve the organisation’s ability to respond to unexpected events. Our whitepaper explores how conducting a “voice of the suppliers” (VOS) online survey is a key step to set up or improve on an organisation’s SRM programme.

This whitepaper explores the demand for talent, the appeal of a career in procurement, and the responsibility for organisations to build the right blend of capabilities and skills required to succeed in our changing and often volatile procurement landscape.

~70% of digital transformations fail because of a focus on technology and not on the needs of the organisation and people. In order to successfully implement digital procurement technology, businesses need to focus on the people and processes involved in such a transformation. Technology Implementation lead, Kerrie Anson offers her Top 10 Traps & Tips for...

Increasing regulatory requirements around issues such as modern slavery and carbon emissions mean that companies can no longer afford to ignore what is happening in their supply chains. Chris Hampden offers his Top 10 Traps & Tips of the biggest challenges organisations face and what to do to address them.

Procurement teams with highly developed negotiation skills deliver savings and improvements in efficiency and value. Managing Director Dan Fielding explores the concept of 'win-win'.

Read our whitepaper, produced in partnership with Supply Management Insider: The Case For Sustainable Procurement: generating value for people, planet and the bottom line - the risks, opportunities and challenges relating to sustainability, and why a collaborative supply chain is vital for the future.

Many organisations have implemented social statements into their vision & values and are asking procurement to align the sourcing process to meet the organisation’s objectives.

More than 40 million people worldwide are subject to modern slavery including 25 million victims hidden within global supply chains. Therefore, it is vital that businesses understand modern slavery risks and their procurers take action to combat this within their supply chains.

Time delays and millions of dollars can be wasted on infrastructure projects due to poor project planning, management and delivery practices. Read our Top 10 Traps & Tips for why Infrastructure projects fail.

In this article we explore 3 key ways to rethink procurement in order to help deliver Australia’s growing infrastructure needs.

Why is strategic procurement so important for International Development? Chris Gunn explores the current dynamics in this space.

The COVID-19 'Circuit Breaker' in Singapore started in April 2020 and last for almost two months before it was lifted on 1st June. Here are our observations on the trends in the Singapore job market post the circuit breaker period...

Do you know what the cost of running out of time is for your procurement projects? Justin Sara & Fiona Nissen explain the cost of time in this article, and offer tips to avoiding the last minute procurement crunch.

Times are unprecedented these last few months, especially for procurement and supply chain teams. Some organisations are coping better than others to ride the storm. What lessons can be learned?

In this article, we share our Supply Chain Risk, Resilience and Recovery (Supply Chain RRR) roadmap to help guide procurement functions and supply chains through this catastrophic event.

The Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act 2018 came into force in Australia in 2019 to help organisations combat the serious issues relating to the 40 million victims of modern slavery around the world.

Organisations are embarking on procurement digitalisation journeys to take processes and data online, providing their stakeholders with interactive tools and reports to support buying activities.

For great procurement outcomes, organisations need to understand large volumes of spend, financial & operational data. Read our Top 10 tips for unlocking the power of your procurement data.

Many organisations struggle to develop effective category strategies. Dan Fielding asks these 10 questions to help you ensure your strategy is robust, thorough and positioned for success.

Procurement leaders are increasingly asked to deliver more. Executive Manager Jacqui Priestly explains how you can develop your team's capability drive better procurement performance and achieve more.

Negotiation is a crucial skill for procurement professionals, and one that can be developed. Managing Director Dan Fielding offers his Top 10 tips for negotiating the best possible deals.

Between 60% – 70% of change initiatives are reported to fail. Senior Consultant Kerrie Anson discusses how to develop a effective change management strategy and how to measure success.

Many organisations struggle when it comes to initiating and implementing IT change. Read how you can develop an effective change strategy when implementing procurement tech solutions.

There is a waste crisis in Australia at the moment. This article explores what is happening, how you may be able to help, and insight into the potential for the country to benefit from the crisis.

Effective supplier relationship management can enhance supply chain resilience and improve an organisation’s ability to respond to unexpected events. Organisations can benefit from working with their suppliers – rather than viewing them as the competition.

The definition of "value" in New Zealand has now been extended to include social and sustainable outcomes. Managing Consultant Fiona Nissen discusses how organisations can become social procurement ready.

We live in a data driven world, to the point where data-based decision making is now mainstream. Read how understanding how your business spends money using analytics can drive business change.

Managing Consultant Fiona Nissen explains why having a robust procurement strategy that is aligned to your business strategy is key in enabling your council to deliver high quality community services. 

If you are new to procurement or are looking to begin a career in this field, rest assured, you are stepping into a great profession! Read the ArcBlue Top 10 series list of the top reasons why we love working in procurement.

Often buyers don’t know where to start, there are myriad systems available and IT is not a common purchase for most. Read these tips to help you choose the right eProcurement system.

Managing Director Dan Fielding explores how procurement needs to change to adapt to a new business environment. Do we need to shift the thinking about the way procurement is operating?

Managing Director Chris Newman provides background and insight into the fast-emerging field of Social Procurement and outlines ways in which it can be implemented across organisations.

Leadership in procurement is something we can all aspire to and practice at every level of a procurement function. This article offers our Top 10 tips for developing your leadership skills to optimise productivity.

"Blockchain is a really interesting technical solution in search of a problem to solve." Senior Consultant Emerson Boyle explores if Procurement leaders need to have a blockchain strategy.

Take a deep dive into Asia's procurement maturity and explore the CPO insights from our 2024 report. Discover key trends and best practices for enhancing procurement functions across the region.

With the demand for talented procurement professionals outstripping supply, how can you turn to your existing team and build the skills they need for your organisation to thrive? Access our On Demand webinar we delve into the competencies procurement professionals require both now and in the future, and discuss how leaders can efficiently develop those capabilities.

Download our 2024 ANZ CPO Insights Report that highlights the maturity of procurement functions across ANZ and the opportunities to enhance value delivered through procurement for businesses.

Procurement will play a pivotal role in driving the energy transition towards a sustainable future. Hear from ArcBlue New Energy & Renewables experts who explore some of the key challenges and opportunities in this space.

Download our 2024 Asia CPO Insights Report that highlights the maturity of procurement functions across Asia and the opportunities to enhance value delivered through procurement for businesses.

Download our key strategies that businesses and government have used to build social impact into their supply chains.

Access our On Demand Webinar on how you can best prepare for the introduction of the NACC and offering practical advice.

This checklist is designed to help you tackle the selection and implementation process for a digital procurement ecosystem.

Download this checklist of questions that are designed to give you a snapshot of your company’s Sustainability Maturity.

Access our On Demand Webinar exploring the complex topic of Modern Slavery in supply chains, offering practical advice.

Access our On Demand Webinar exploring the challenges of negotiation in the current market and offering practical advice.

Download this checklist of best practice measures to track your process and to highlight gaps in your Infrastructure Procurement journey.

Download the Spend Optimisation Playbook as a guide to optimise your spend, ensuring that procurement is delivering increased value for money.

Download this checklist of best practice measures to track your organisational progress and highlight gaps in your Social & Sustainable procurement practices.

How do you measure the performance of your procurement function? Download our list of 50 Procurement Key Performance Indicators to get the best out of your procurement function.