ALIGNING PROCUREMENT AND MARKETING

      

 I believe it is a process of education. Specifically, the role of procurement is to manage a process that ensures efficiency, cost reduction and/or value creation. In short, to develop a value/function blueprint. Marketing's role is to manage strategy to build business. If marketing can provide a better understanding to procurement how the components of communications is bought and sold, and the circumstances that can affect pricing, procurement will have a larger opportunity to define that value/function relationship in a more realistic and genuine way. This is a critical step when one considers the fact that marketing, unlike raw materials for example, deals with long term benefits, competitive positioning and opportunity.