In the mid 2000’s, when I first stumbled into the world of workforce procurement category management, it felt like uncharted territory.

Procurement teams barely recognised Contingent Labour as a spend category. It was buried in countless little purchase orders, spread across a sea of suppliers, and treated as isolated, tactical transactions.

But once we started digging under the surface, consolidating data, and looking at it strategically, it became clear:

It was one of the largest uncontrolled spend categories in the business.

Services Procurement was also getting more established with centralised Procurement Category Management. But the difference was, it had clear ownership, tied to larger scale business outputs. The Procurement evolution there was more structured, but still often siloed into sub-categories, trapped within departmental ownership.

Man, I’m feeling old reflecting… But what has changed (and what hasn’t)

Many people assume technology has been the main driver of change. Yes, tech has helped enable process and create visibility, but the reality is this: It’s a structured Workforce Programme that ensures success.

What has truly changed is recognition and buy-in. Over the past 15 years:

• “Most” Procurement and HR leaders have woken up to the scale and importance of the extended workforce.
• “More” organisations are now treating non-employee labour as a strategic procurement category.
• MSP’s are expanding beyomnd traditional Contingent Workforce management and extending into Services Procurement management (consolidating all external workforce management)
• Internal Workforce Management capabilities are being built out (in recent years there has been a visible shift in companies putting in place there own internally managed external workforce programmes).

And it shows:

• A decade ago, non-employee workforce made up less than 20% of total talent.
• Today, it’s approaching 50% in many organisations.

Workforce Programmes can help you manage more, with less.

With centralised data, smarter tools, and cross-functional collaboration, you can control a sprawling category without adding headcount.

Instead of guessing the size of your external workforce, you’ll see it in real time. Instead of worrying whether AI will “take jobs”, you’ll make AI a productive member of your team.

Call to action:

If you haven’t started, not matter the size of your business, now is the time.

Workforce management is not a fad. It’s a fundamental business process that’s finally getting the attention it deserves. The technology is there, but the bigger shift is in mindset.

Treat your extended workforce as a strategic category. Invest in visibility and governance. Bring HR, Procurement, and IT together.

You’ll be amazed at how much value, and how much time, you can unlock.