Forward-thinking players are setting their sights on advancing the future of procurement with active value management. But there’s a long way to go to become an essential part of the enterprise performance conversation.

The new language of procurement speaks to an agenda driven by delivering value. Leading procurement organizations are well-versed in areas that resonate with financial officers and the performance narrative. They know both the hard and intangible value that procurement contributes to the company and can discuss an array of value drivers. Knowledgeable about how their teams are performing, they know what they need to do to improve and are laying out career paths to attract and retain the best talent.

Chief procurement officers who are literate in this new language are building the brand of procurement by making themselves invaluable to chief financial officers and the rest of the C-suite. To learn this new language, forward-thinking procurement teams are using value management tools adapted for supply management.