2 Tips For New Global Process Owners

{{article.creator.firstname}} {{article.creator.lastname}}
Editor Coda
Apr 22, 2015

This week we started research for the Global Process Owner Summit 2015. This involves talking to GPOs and getting an understanding of what their sticking points are, where they need help, and what’s different in their GPO lives compared to last year.

You could say this about many roles, but it strikes me that the happiness level of a GPO depends almost exclusively on the “background scenery.” What I mean is, to what degree the company is  onboard.

This morning I was talking to a GPO working for a chemical company. It became clear to me that he could achieve so much more in his role, if he only could secure one thing. In his words, this one thing was “a mandate up front.” Although he had a mandate to drive improvements within the process scope that sat within the shared services (less than 50%), the process that sat outside shared services was beyond his control.

This means he has to spend time and energy strategizing about ways to influence the “out of scope” people’s behavior.

When asked what his number one tip for new GPOs would be, he said:

“Secure your mandate across the board up front.”

We all know what this means – it means:

  1. Getting the message right
  2. Fitting the message within the context of the company’s objectives
  3. Identifying the stakeholders that need to be on board to make it all work
  4. Presenting the GPO mission in such a way that your stakeholders will “get” it and be excited by it
  5. Ensuring (by asking them!) that they have bought into the concept of the GPO

Getting your stakeholders onboard with the concept of Global Process Ownership is a critical milestone, and needs to be done early.

His second tip was:

“Don’t just focus on the last step – so long as scale allows it, make sure your scope is end to end.”

It’s interesting to see just how many companies operate without a true end-to-end process owner. I don’t believe this means the industry really believes that the purchase-to-pay or order-to-cash processes should be treated in a truncated manner. It's just that most companies who have a GPO who doesn't actually own the whole end to end process are usually struggling with scale – ie they are just too big to have one person governing the whole end to end process. Examples are Microsoft, Citi, Oracle and BP.

But if scale isn’t an issue for you, and you still have a GPO for, say, AP and a GPO for Procurement, this seasoned GPO suggests you examine your choice. “It doesn’t make sense for a GPO to own just the last step.”

To read this article you have to be registered.

Become a member to access all content and / or download it

We value your privacy

We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience and analyze our traffic. By clicking 'Accept All' you consent to our use of cookies.