BUILDING A CORPORATE SUPPLY FUNCTION

Abstract

The chief purchasing officer (CPO) plays a critical role in ensuring supply contributes effectively to organizational goals and strategies. The selection of the individual who will become the company's first CPO is especially important. A reporting line establishment occurs at the same time as an appointment of a first CPO when a large organization centralizes a previously decentralized supply function. Using case‐based methodology, this research in large North American and European organizations examined 26 appointments of the first CPO and corresponding reporting line establishments. Data collection and analysis covered six aspects: drivers, CPO background, reporting line, the key decision makers and influencers involved in the decision, tenure of the first CPO and tenure of the first reporting line. It was found that changes in corporate strategy accounted for nearly 80 percent of the first CPO appointments and the CEO had a major say in decisions related to who would be hired as the first CPO as well as his or her reporting line. Almost 30 percent of internally recruited CPOs did not have any supply experience. However, externally recruited CPOs always had supply experience, but did not necessarily come from a CPO position. The CPOs reported to a variety of different positions, with the CEO and VP shared services being the most popular. The average tenure for the first CPO was more than one year longer than his or her reporting line. The potential implications for supply executives are explored. Opportunities for future research are also identified.

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