Survey of Procurement Leaders of Ukraine 2021

The article was prepared by Olha Tereshchenko – the Head of the Center of Excellence in Procurement, Kyiv School of Economics.

On April 29, 2021, the presentation of the first Ukraine survey of procurement managers in the commercial sphere – the Survey of Procurement Leaders of Ukraine 2021 – took place. This is an important stage in the development of the procurement sector in our country! After all, purchasers grow professionally every year, thereby raising the level of work standards for the entire procurement sector in Ukraine.

What Was the Purpose of the Survey?

We conducted this survey in response to a request to analyze the current state of procurement, identify trends, compare and summarize strategies for effective planning of procurement activities. A powerful team of professionals from the Center of Excellence in Procurement at the Kyiv School of Economics, Deloitte in Ukraine, and Odgers Berndtson worked on the study.

Of course, there are many procurement studies and surveys in the world that are organized by various companies (AT Kearney, Accenture, and others). But the majority of Ukrainian companies are not included in the list of respondents in the international survey. Also, global polls have a very broad focus, while our research team worked to highlight trends in Ukraine.

Survey Results

We interviewed 50 heads of the procurement function of leading companies, whose total revenue exceeds UAH 170 billion, and the procurement budget is more than UAH 110 billion. Our respondents are purchasing leaders with companies present in all major sectors of the economy.

Survey of Procurement Leaders of Ukraine 2021

Polls show that the problems, challenges, and focus of the procurement function are inextricably linked with the situation of the business in general, both in Ukraine and in the world. Simultaneously with the whole world, the main challenges for business were and remain the following:

- economic situation (inflation, hryvnia devaluation, unemployment, shrinking markets) – for 80.4% of respondents;
- consequences and quarantine caused by the pandemic – for 54.3%;
- restrictions on foreign trade – for 26.1%;
- political instability – for 23.9%;
- risks associated with changes in the terms of cooperation with suppliers – for 21.7%.

The main focus of the procurement functions of Ukrainian companies in 2021 remains business support by reducing company costs (87%) and through operational efficiency (62%). Another opportunity was to understand the role of the risk management system: 2020 provided an excellent opportunity for companies to do a crash test and assess how are they prepared to address risks. Therefore, it is not surprising that risk management is in the top 3 priorities among the participants in the 2021 survey (53%). Also, among the priorities for forming a procurement strategy, they noted the course towards digitalization and automation (47%) and supplier management (38%).

Over the next two years, 62% of purchasing executives in the commercial sector plan to introduce or expand electronic workflow with digital solutions.

Most companies (66%) have a high level of centralization. Usually, the organizational structure of the procurement function is driven by the decision-making structure of the company. Accordingly, the advantage that is used in the centralization of procurement is the relative ease of making managerial decisions.

Survey respondents are almost unanimous that automation measures will enable them and their executives to speed up procurement processes, improve data quality for decision-making, increase transparency and stability of supply, and reduce administrative costs.

We are confident that the research results will help all participants in the procurement sector of Ukraine to achieve maximum synergy and grow every year!

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