Eton Bridge Partners hosted a roundtable to consider the true meaning of value creation and explore how purposeful alignment between procurement and finance can drive strategic business objectives.

The conversation was framed by the thought-provoking white paper Procurement Revolution “Getting the Board Onboard” authored by Kathleen Harmeston with supporting content from Jonathan O’Brien.

The Eton Bridge attendees comprised:

• Ross Dawson, Practice Lead, Procurement, Supply Chain & Operations
• David Taylor, Associate Partner, Executive Search, Finance Practice
• Lucy Sleeman, Candidate Manager & Executive Assistant

The Eton Bridge team were joined by senior business leaders across procurement and finance:

• Kathleen Harmeston – Author of the white paper, Chief Procurement Officer, Interim Leader, NED, Fractional Board Advisor (Lloyds Development Capital)
• Steve Day – Chief Procurement Officer – Kantar
• Laura Grant – Chief Procurement Officer – Dentsu Media
• Robert Copeland – Interim Chief Procurement Officer and Procurement Advisor
• Stuart Farrell – Chief Procurement Officer – DC Zero
• Khurram Uqaili – Chief Financial Officer – Marks and Spencer & NED for Nobody’s Child & The Sports Edit
• Robert Ross – Chief Financial Officer – Constellation Cold Logistics
• Canda Rozier – Senior global procurement and operations executive

Lost in translation: Why a shared language of value creation is vital

“Do you have standard vocabulary for what value creation actually is in your business?” asked Kathleen. A great question as without consensus on what value creation means, uniting ambitions will be problematic at best. Yes, cost savings remain a key plank of procurement agreed our attendees. But there is so much more to play for, so much more at stake and speaking the board’s language of value creation is fundamental to demonstrating what procurement can bring. “You need to channel your team’s energy into the thing that the exec level considers it most worth,” counselled Laura. A close partnership with finance is essential to develop this shared story. “I’ve seen it when procurement and finance work very closely and how powerful it can be,” Khurram shared, noting that differing KPIs between functions can lead to friction. A supportive CFO can also positively raise the profile of procurement with other stakeholders in the business observed Stuart.

Procurement must remain engaged and agile as the value story morphs

Ultimately, value is whatever the investor or shareholders want it to be at that present time. Procurement must understand what value means to the organisation and regularly recontract to it as the business evolves. “Value creation can be done in several ways, so you need to be adaptable,” said Steve. “The first question is what type of procurement function does the investor want?” noted Robert Copeland. In an immature business, he commented, it’s all about taking cost out. “That is the oxygen that procurement has before they can start talking about risk, ESG, all those other things”. In a restructuring situation, meanwhile, working capital may take precedence. Justin Le Fort, who was unable to attend but contributed his thoughts, noted that tight liquidity in restructurings may mean better payment terms are as ‘valuable’ as an outright cost saving.

The business-procurement-finance triangle: Who decides and who defers?

Inevitably, there will be trade-offs when actions to meet short-term numbers may have a negative impact on long-term value; ESG commitments versus lowest unit cost for example, or a cheaper upfront contract cost versus more flexible clauses. Who decides and who takes ownership? “Business, finance, and procurement need to have a pretty honest cards-on-the-table conversation as to what does good look like,” said Canda. Khurram spoke of the ‘business, finance, procurement triangle’ needing to work together to optimise the cost-service dynamic, with the business ultimately needing to “feel the ownership”. Steve agreed the decision sits with the business but caveated, “You can’t allow the business to make a decision unless you’re going to call out why that might be a bad decision”. The DOA as a decision-making framework was seen as key with Stuart noting it’s nothing without proper consequences for breaking it. Robert Ross shared how crucial DOA education has been in “Trying to elevate decision-making away from the shop floor,” in a push to manage operating cashflow.

Switching focus from the current to the possible

All too often, the spotlight is on where we are now – business as usual, with minds concentrated on steering a course through existing complexities and volatility. How can procurement leaders enable the board to imagine the future of procurement when attention is so firmly on the present? Most of us are not super comfortable with future-thinking and find it far simpler to focus on the day job. It’s easier to work with historic models than allocate time to scenario planning, particularly when the finance and procurement leads may have limited time together to sketch out the next multiyear plan. The CPOs we work with know just how much procurement could add from a strategic perspective. Still, without the desire, investment and acceptance of change from the business, not only within procurement but across the interfaces it touches, it’s almost impossible to elevate the conversations for future procurement. In a climate so focused on cost out, streamlining, and consolidation, how can CPOs continue to elevate the conversation and land it?

Culture and skillset: Is the door open, and do you have the relationships to enter?

This is a two-way street. First, the CPO needs the right interpersonal skills, backed by professional expertise, to be able to influence. Laura advises her team to: “Be brave, go and have those discussions, but they need to have built up some level of relationship to be let through the door”. Running a tight ship as CPO whilst maintaining good personal dynamics requires skill said Robert Copeland; “The emotional intelligence you need to have is significant; we’ve got to be exceptionally agile agents of change”. Second, the culture of the organisation must encourage collaboration and allow procurement to have a seat at the table. Many CPOs could make great things happen – they can use procurement as a strategic lever, but they are not given the opportunity. Kathleen’s white paper is a call to action. We are at an inflection point driven by new global instability and the rise of AI: there will be winners and losers. Competitive advantage will pivot on whether CPOs can manage complexity, agility, and automation in parallel, and whether organisations allow them the floorspace to do it.

Key takeaways:

1. Reframe the value story, from savings to enterprise value

Boards rarely make decisions based on cost alone. They care about growth, risk, cash, and resilience.

Procurement needs to present its impact in those terms:

• Margin improvement, not just cost savings
• Revenue enablement (for example through supplier-led innovation or faster time to market)
• Risk mitigation across geopolitics, ESG, and supply continuity
• Cash optimisation (working capital, payment terms, inventory strategy)

The most effective CPOs we see reposition procurement as a commercial lever, not a control function. They link every major initiative to a board-level priority. If the board agenda is growth in new markets, procurement should be front and centre on supply base readiness and localisation.

2. Get closer to revenue and customers

A future-facing procurement function understands the demand side of the business.

That means:

• Embedding within product, sales and operations discussions
• Influencing make vs buy decisions at the earliest stage
• Bringing supplier innovation into customer propositions
• Understanding customer expectations around sustainability, traceability and service

The shift here is subtle but powerful: procurement stops reacting to demand and starts shaping it.

3. Build a genuine risk and resilience capability

Over the past five years, boards have become acutely aware of supply risk. Yet many procurement teams still treat risk as a reporting exercise rather than a strategic capability.

A step change includes:

• Real-time visibility of tier 1–3 supply chains
• Scenario modelling for disruption (geopolitical, climate, labour shortages)
• Dual sourcing and regionalisation strategies aligned to business risk appetite
• Clear financial quantification of risk exposure

When procurement can say, “this is the revenue at risk, and here’s how we reduce it,” it becomes indispensable at board level.

4. Lead on ESG with commercial credibility

Sustainability is now a board issue, not a compliance exercise. Procurement sits at the centre of it, given 60–80% of most organisations’ environmental footprint sits in the supply chain.

But to be taken seriously at board level, the conversation needs to go beyond policy:

• Linking ESG initiatives to cost, risk and brand value
• Creating supplier incentives, not just obligations
• Using data to track impact rather than relying on declarations
• Balancing sustainability goals with commercial realities transparently

Boards respond well to pragmatism over perfection.

5. Invest in capability, not just process

Many procurement teams are still structured around category management and sourcing cycles. That alone won’t support a more strategic mandate.

Leading functions are building capability in:

• Advanced analytics and data science
• Supplier relationship management as a disciplined capability
• Commercial negotiation at a far more sophisticated level
• Stakeholder influencing at board and ExCo level

The talent profile matters. Boards engage differently when procurement leaders can operate as peers to CFOs and COOs rather than as functional specialists.

6. Use data as a strategic asset

Future-facing procurement teams are data-led. Not just spend data, but forward-looking insight.

That includes:

• Predictive analytics on price movements, demand and supply risk
• Clean, accessible data that informs decision-making across functions
• Dashboards that translate complexity into clear, board-ready insight

The simple test: can procurement answer “what will happen next?” rather than just “what happened last quarter?”

7. Show up differently at the board

Finally, this is about presence and narrative as much as substance.

Procurement leaders who secure a meaningful voice at board level tend to:

• Speak in outcomes, not procurement terminology
• Bring options and recommendations, not just analysis
• Be clear on trade-off
• Demonstrate a strong external perspective (markets, suppliers, competitors)

Boards are looking for judgement, not detail.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on any specific topics you’d like us to cover – please get in touch with Ross or David to share your ideas and help to shape the conversation.