McKinsey: Procurement Is Having a Moment
You don’t have to look any further than the supply-chain quagmire of the last three years to understand how important procurement is to the construction industry. But, according to new research from McKinsey & Company, it’s about to get even more important thanks to two factors: the drive to improve profitability and the growing importance of meeting sustainability goals.
While construction as a whole has lagged other sectors in innovating procurement operations, McKinsey reports, companies with “best-in-class procurement practices actively contribute to improving their companies’ financial results, with margins that are sometimes 5 to 10 percentage points higher than those of procurement laggards.” In addition, because procurement is responsible not just for what materials are used on a project but where and how they’re sourced, the function stands to play a major role in “decarbonizing construction.”
The stakes couldn’t be higher. As McKinsey concludes: By targeting both profitability and sustainability, “procurement will be elevated to new heights as it emerges as a strategic function.”
A Brand-New NCCER
It’s not you. The National Center for Construction Education and Research looks different—thanks to a new brand identity that the education foundation recently debuted.
In addition to introducing a new logo and relaunching its website, NCCER has revised its mission (“To provide rigorous and relevant workforce development solutions that create opportunities for individual career advancement and support industry growth”) as well as its vision (“A qualified and successful workforce of diverse individuals whose lives were improved through construction education”).
“With the recent and upcoming enhancements throughout our organization,” NCCER President and CEO Boyd Warsham said, “we are committed to taking important steps to better serve industry partners, contractors and educational program providers.”
