Latest Research
As a core membership service, PIU Members receive access to a high volume of in-depth market and best practice reports, and benchmarking studies.
Topics are scoped based on member priorities, with a variety of primary and secondary research techniques and value drivers employed by the PIU analyst team to deliver practical, timely and expert sources of intelligence.
Reports are delivered at both the Executive (What to do and Why to do it) and Operational (How to do it) levels.
An introduction to the following report types can be found below;
- Executive
- Category
- Supplier Market
- Technology
- Country and Regulatory Risk
Executive Reports
Our quarterly executive research studies provide an in-depth, case study-led examination of high-priority CPO topics.
Outlined below are some recent PIU Executive Reports.
CPO Startegy 2012 (Q1 2012)
Now in its third year, the study PIU’s annual procurement strategy study identifies key procurement developments and explores high-interest topics for the function.
The executive research study also presents how the procurement function will evolve over the next five years and discusses a subject of ever increasing importance: innovation.
Further highlights of the report include movements towards shortening the supply chain, the adoption of social media and a proposal for enhancing the value of market intelligence.
Click here to find out more about this report and request a free copy of the report's Executive Summary
Procurement in a Financial Crisis (Q1 2012)
The global economy has seen faltering market conditions since 2008. Indeed, the ongoing uncertainty has created difficult trading conditions and this is especially noticeable in the financial markets. This research paper aims to answer three questions: firstly, how bad is the current environment? How does this uncertainty affect procurement? And how can procurement respond to this period of financial crisis?
This series aims to provide procurement professionals with the tools needed to weather the approaching storm.
The PIU divides the area of the series into four elements:
- Demand
- Specifications
- Sourcing
- Execution
For each of these areas, we identified levers and approaches which may aid the practice of purchasing during a time of economic uncertainty .
Click here to find out more about this series and request a copy of the introductory paper
Third-Party Risk: The Cost of Uncertainty (Q4 2011)
Third-party risk is a rising concern for procurement. The increasingly globalised nature of supply chains and the rising use of outsourcing is heightening business' exposure to risk. But how does procurement manage this risk? And how can it reduce the effect of unexpected events on the organisation?
This Executive Research piece benchmarks some of the key metrics in procurement's approach to managing risk in the supply chain. It examines risk identification, mitigation and disaster response.
Click here to find out more about this report and request a free copy of the report's Executive Summary
Strategic Category Management: A Shot in the Arm for Procurement (Q3 2011)
Category management is one of the most successful and widely used sourcing strategies in procurement. However, in many organisations the approach has stalled and failed to live up to expectations. This report aims to draw out some of the interesting practices of those companies that have delivered sustained savings and broad, non-cost value to the business. The PIU has identified the behaviours of those purchasing functions that have extracted maximum potential from category management and some of the success factors needed to produce the promised value.
Spend Analysis Tri Series (Q4 2010, Q1 2011 & Q2 2011)
The PIU defines spend analysis as a transformational process that provides organisations with the enabling mechanisms to gain greater insight into spend under management. Furthermore, effectively executed spend analysis systems act as a precursor to improving category management processes as they provide the information to support the development of effective purchasing strategy, including significant cost-reduction opportunities.
This report, comprising three related parts, focuses on the user experience, provides a unique global competency framework for Spend Analysis and finally, delivers a full vendor benchmark and analysis.
Operational Reports
Each week the PIU publishes new Operational Reports, choosing priority subjects from four main report types; Supplier Market, Category, Country and Regulatory Risk and Technology.
These studies focus on the latest topic trends, market structure and key players, subject value drivers, innovations, case studies and importantly, provide 'so what' analysis to provoke thought and supplement member decision making.
To request our latest list of published reports or to find out more about the PIU simply click here.
