Swiss Marketing Procurement Network kicks off ambitious 2025 agenda with full house in Zurich

A full house of 25+ experienced marketing procurement delegates in Marketing Procurement roles from cross-industry major brands met last week in Zurich. Sponsored by Marketing Procurement iQ, attendees enjoyed a dynamic peer-to-peer exploration of the challenges, solutions and benefits of strategic business partnering.

The group were guided through a 12-step partnering framework by independent consultant Martin King, heard insightful case studies from J&J’s Holger Apfel and Mondelez’s Claire Muret Grimbert, and engaged in a lively open format discussion of best practices.

The subsequent networking session was a great opportunity to make new connections, catch up with old friends, and digest the finer points of the debate (and a delicious apero) in an informal setting.

Key Learnings

• Business partnering is an essential part of the Mar Pro toolkit, and it’s a skillset that takes practice to get right.
• Moving from superficial ‘stakeholder engagement’ towards true business partnering takes time, trust and credibility. A structured approach to establish allies, build connections and deliver impactful results is needed.
• Constant business partner engagement and education is especially important in marketing, where turnover of business partner roles is typically 18-24 months, and understanding of procurement’s role is limited. Perhaps unsurprisingly, being brought in too late to projects is the number one barrier to making a strategic impact for those in the room, resulting in the familiar problem of ‘busy work’ at the expense of valuable work.
• Developing deep subject matter expertise in the marketing category is critical for anyone new in role. Marketing Procurement professionals who demonstrate an understanding of marketing spends and drivers will win the most trust. Remaining curious, getting deep into the data, and expanding our learning and networks all help here.
• Clear roles and responsibilities for strategic marketing procurement teams are essential. Without them we run the risk of being reduced to “the people who process my purchase orders and renew my contracts.” Taking a leadership position on this can make or break a business partnering relationship.
• Seeking regular, two-way feedback with business partners helps us to continuously improve our skills and ensure that procurement’s efforts are aligned with the needs of the business.
• Joint planning and objective-setting between procurement and business partners sets everyone up for success at the start of the year, and enables collaborative problem solving when the inevitable mid-year shifts in priority occur.