A Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) is an executive role focused on supply management for an enterprise.

A report by Aberdeen Group shows a marked acceleration in the significance of procurement's role. Although it remains an exception for procurement to be considered the leading competency of an enterprise, 73 percent of surveyed CFOs indicated that the procurement function has grown more strategic over the past three years.^[1] Procurement's continued stride forward is also evidenced by the fact that nearly a fifth of all CPOs now report to the president or CEO of their company.

Globalization, compliance pressures, supply market risk and procurement automation have simultaneously elevated the visibility of the procurement discipline within companies and increased supply management challenges. In response, procurement executives have established agendas for organizational transformation. These plans incorporate activities to bring more spending under management, enhance the procurement organization's skills and visibility, and increase both internal and external collaboration.

The U.S. non-profit educational and professional association for Chief Procurement Officers and other supply management profesionals is the Institute for Supply Management.

[edit] References

1. ^ The CFO's View of Procurement [1]