The year 1864 – What’s in it for procurement?

The year 1864 can be considered as a very important year in American history – The battle of Monocacy which saw a full-field engagement between some 12,000 battle-hardened Confederate troops led by the Jubal Anderson Early, and some 5,800 Union troops, under Lew Wallace. The engagement had resulted in the death of some 1,000 Union troops and close to 800 casualties in the Confederate camp. Early had won the battle but the war was not over!

Basking in the glory of his win, camped at the gates of Fort Stevens in the upper northwestern fringe of Washington, D.C., Early was contemplating on whether or not to order his men to invade the nation’s capital? The battle worn troops exhausted from the fight at Monocacy and the ensuing march forced Early to pause his attack on the feebly manned Fort Stevens.

Not engaging earlier, gave just enough time for the Union leaders to garner a force of volunteers to the union troops which was reeling with wounded & raw recruits. If Early had engaged with the Union troops a day earlier, the attack could have potentially brought about a different conclusion to the war – an opportunity to have the seat of the Federal Government!

Well that was way back in history. Coming back to the present let us bring our focus back to the world of procurement and the generals who run them – the CPO’s. It’s no surprise that CPOs today are working their way to have a seat on the executive table. With that in mind what does it take for the CPOs to get their organization to the next level of performance and ensure their claim on the seat?

Ardent Partners and Zycus are collaborating on a webinar series – CPO Game Changers, with volume 1 focusing on Early Engagement. The webinar will focus on the strategies and approaches that CPOs and their teams can use to engage the budget-holders in proactive planning discussions and formalize their levels of interaction and support.