Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne as a case study for Procurement and Finance

I imagine that being a celebrity couple comes with its difficulties. Often forced together as it seems convenient and faced with the constant enticement from tinsel town, many treat marriage as a temporary arrangement between film roles.  There are however still a few examples of famous couples whose love and commitment have endured through tempestuous and tumultuous times and the Osbournes are a great example.

In many ways Procurement and Finance are like a celebrity couple (bear with me) and of all the celebrity couples I could think of probably most like the Osbournes.

Why?

Well first of all why exactly are they like a celebrity couple? Procurement has at various times had flings with the CEO, CFO, CAO, COO and CIO, more than enough to keep the tabloids happy. Procurement and Finance were put together primarily because they both had a shared interest in numbers and savings but it wasn’t exactly a bond considered binding – more of a mutual hobby than anything else – and a marriage of “convenience”.

Differences in the way both sides approached the hobby caused ructions. Procurement would talk about millions of savings delivered, of cost reduction, negotiation and low cost country sourcing. Finance would talk about the bottom line, reporting, inventory management and credit goals. So there was a common goal but a different approach to getting there. I’m going to try and relate this back to golf...

Procurement has grown up and has become more strategic and mellowed. Whereas in years gone by it would walked onto the course and swung away it’s now more interested in improving its handicap and sees merit in some of the things Finance was doing before.  It submits accurate scorecards for example and plans out its approach in advance.

As the two have become more aligned the two parties have grown to accept each other, the value that they can offer as well as their foibles. Procurement may have previously wandered from department to department but has now found its true home. The relationship has value and is beginning to endure.

So onto the Osbournes. There aren’t many celebrity couples that last and particularly not many that have been so (publically) stormy. It’s a relationship that has survived because together the two of them are undoubtedly stronger as a pair, share a common vision and goal, have both come to appreciate each other’s values and faults and have both mellowed with age.

As Procurement moves up the value chain and becomes more strategic it has a natural ally in Finance. Over the next few weeks I will be writing about how the two can better collaborate and integrate for the benefit of a wider organisation.