Fortnightly insights for leaders who shape how organisations buy, build, and negotiate — by Wes Jones, Principal, Triple‑A Strategy
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Fortnightly insights for leaders who shape how organisations buy, build, and negotiate — by Wes Jones, Principal, Triple‑A Strategy
Subscribe on LinkedIn →Archive
Every edition explores one idea that matters to procurement and commercial leaders — a sharper lens, a practical framework, or a provocation to think differently. Published fortnightly. All past editions are available in full below.
← Back to Triple‑A StrategyToday marks the launch of The CPO Briefing — a concise, insight-driven publication for people who shape how organisations buy, build, and negotiate. One idea every two weeks: focused, useful, and designed to elevate your commercial leadership.
Today marks the launch of The CPO Briefing, a new publication designed to bring sharper thinking, clearer frameworks, and practical commercial insight to procurement and commercial leaders.
Across commercial and procurement roles, I’ve seen a consistent challenge: leaders are expected to deliver more strategic value than ever, yet the insights available rarely match the complexity of the decisions they face.
The CPO Briefing exists to close that gap.
A concise, insight-driven publication for people who shape how organisations buy, build, and negotiate.
One idea every two weeks - focused, useful, and designed to elevate your commercial leadership.
To be clear, this newsletter is not:
CEOs and COOs who want procurement to be a strategic engine
If you influence how your organisation spends, negotiates, or partners — this is for you.
Procurement and commercial leadership are in a moment of transition.
Expectations are rising.
Budgets are tightening.
Risk is multiplying.
And the leaders who thrive will be those who combine commercial intelligence with strategic clarity.
The CPO Briefing is built to support that shift — and to contribute to the evolution of the profession at a time when it matters most.
This newsletter is also my opportunity to acknowledge — and pay forward — the leadership, support, and generosity I’ve benefitted from throughout my own journey. The CPO Briefing is one way of contributing back to the community that shaped me.
This is the launch edition — providing an outline.
Edition #1 — The Three Capabilities Every Modern CPO Must Master — will be re-published today. Subsequent editions will follow every fortnight onwards, starting Tuesday 31 March.
If you’d like future editions delivered directly to your LinkedIn feed and inbox, subscribe below.
And if you know someone who would benefit, feel free to share it.
Let’s build a community of leaders who raise the bar for procurement — together.
Also, if there’s a topic you’d like me to explore in a future edition, just reply — I read every message.
The CPOs who consistently deliver outsized impact all master the same three capabilities. Not tools. Not processes. Capabilities. Strategic clarity, commercial intelligence, and leadership through influence — and why mastering all three transforms a procurement leader into a value engine.
The expectations placed on today’s CPOs have outgrown the job description most of us inherited. The leaders who thrive now operate with a different level of clarity - and they’re shaping the next decade of commercial performance.
Across industries, one pattern is unmistakable:
The CPOs who consistently deliver outsized impact all master the same three capabilities.
Not tools or processes.
Capabilities.
Let’s get into them.
The modern CPO isn’t a functional operator - they offer a strategic lens for the entire organisation.
read the business model like a CFO (financial acumen is no longer optional
understand where value is created - and destroyed
see risk and opportunity before they hit the dashboard
simplify complexity so others can act
This is the capability that moves a CPO from “procurement leader” to “executive thought partner”.
Without it, everything else becomes reactive.
Commercial intelligence is the difference between running a process and shaping an outcome.
It’s the ability to:
This is the capability that determines whether a CPO can actually shift an organisation.
Clarity → Insight → Influence → Impact
Clarity: See the whole board
Insight: Understand what truly drives value
Influence: Move people and decisions
Impact: Shape outcomes that matter
Choose one decision, meeting, or negotiation this week and ask:
“Am I approaching this with clarity, insight, and influence - or just process?”
That single question will shift how you show up.
The CPO Who Masters All Three
When a CPO combines:
strategic clarity
commercial intelligence
leadership through influence
…they stop being seen as a functional leader and start being treated as a strategic one.
They become one of the people the CEO calls when the stakes are high.
They become someone who shapes decisions, not just executes them.
They become the leader who turns procurement into a value engine.
This is the direction the profession is moving - and the leaders who embrace it early will define the next decade of commercial performance.
Coming next:
Edition #2 — The Procurement Maturity Gap: Why Most Teams Plateau at Developing (Level 2).
If you’d like future editions delivered directly to your LinkedIn feed and inbox, subscribe below.
And if you know someone who would benefit, feel free to share it.
Let’s build a community of leaders who raise the bar for procurement - together.
If there’s a topic you’d like me to explore in a future edition, just reply - I read every message.
Most procurement teams don’t fail. They stall. And almost always at the same place: Developing (Level 2) maturity — where processes are defined, tools are implemented, and activity is high … but strategic impact is limited. The root cause is rarely capability. It’s almost always misdiagnosis.
Most procurement teams don’t fail. They stall.
And almost always at the same place: Developing (Level 2) maturity - where processes are defined, tools are implemented, and activity is high… but strategic impact is limited.
It’s a pattern I see in global enterprises, mid-market manufacturers, and fast-growth scale-ups.
The root cause is rarely capability. It’s almost always misdiagnosis.
Organisations mistake process maturity for functional maturity.
And that misunderstanding keeps teams stuck.
Let’s break it down.
The simple model looks like this:
Emerging (Level 1) → Developing (Level 2) → Established (Level 3) → Leading (Level 4)
The jump from Emerging (Level 1) to Developing (Level 2) is fast and visible:
It feels like progress — and it is. But Developing (Level 2) creates a false sense of security:
Established (Level 3) is where procurement becomes commercially intelligent - where the function shapes outcomes, not just manages processes.
But reaching Established requires capabilities that processes alone cannot create:
These are judgement-based capabilities. Which require experience, context, and confidence - not templates.
The truth is: You can’t process-engineer your way to Established (Level 3).
Many organisations assume digital transformation will lift maturity. It won’t.
Digital accelerates what you already are.
AI amplifies your existing clarity - or your existing confusion.
If you’re stuck at Developing (Level 2):
AI optimises decisions you shouldn’t be making in the first place
tools free up time that never gets reinvested in capability
Technology doesn’t fix maturity gaps. It exposes them.
The teams that break through the Developing (Level 2) plateau make one decisive shift:
They stop relying on process maturity and start building commercial maturity.
That means:
This is the shift that moves a function from Developing (Level 2) to Established (Level 3) - where procurement becomes commercially intelligent and materially shapes business outcomes.
From there, the path toward Leading (Level 4) is about integration: procurement embedded in how the enterprise creates, protects, and grows value.
If you want to understand where your team sits on the maturity curve, the Procurement Maturity Diagnostic is a fast way to get clarity.
Choose one major initiative and ask:
“Are we operating at Developing (Level 2) or Established (Level 3)?”
The answer will tell you where the real work is.
Coming next:
Edition #3 — The New Commercial Intelligence: What Great Leaders See That Others Miss.
If you’d like future editions delivered automatically, tap Subscribe at the top.
And if you know someone who would benefit, feel free to share it.
Let’s raise the bar for procurement leadership.
Also, if there’s a topic you’d like me to explore in a future edition, just reply - I read every message.
Commercial intelligence used to mean “knowing the market” or “understanding cost drivers”. That’s table stakes now. The leaders who consistently outperform operate with a different level of perception — they see patterns earlier, interpret ambiguity faster, and connect dots others don’t even notice.
Welcome to Edition #3 of The CPO Briefing - and thank you for reading.
The CPO Briefing is a publication for leaders who shape how organisations buy, build, and negotiate. Each edition focuses on one idea that matters: a sharper lens, a practical insight, or a framework you can apply immediately in your role.
Edition #2 explored why most procurement teams plateau at Developing (Level 2).
Edition #3 builds on that foundation by examining the capability that separates good commercial leaders from exceptional ones: the new commercial intelligence - the ability to see what others overlook, interpret signals earlier, and shape outcomes before the negotiation even begins.
Let’s get into it.
The New Commercial Intelligence
Commercial intelligence used to mean “knowing the market” or “understanding cost drivers”. That’s table stakes now.
The leaders who consistently outperform operate with a different level of perception. They see patterns earlier, interpret ambiguity faster, and connect dots others don’t even notice.
Three shifts define the new commercial intelligence.
Most teams drown in data but starve for insight.
Great leaders don’t chase more information — they extract meaning from the information they already have.
They ask:
Knowing the market is useful.
Positioning yourself advantageously within the market is transformative.
Great leaders understand:
The most effective commercial leaders don’t win because they negotiate better.
They win because they frame the problem better.
Narrative is now a source of leverage:
When you control the narrative, you influence the outcome long before the negotiation starts.
Meaning → Positioning → Narrative → Advantage
Meaning: Extract insight from complexity
Positioning: Create leverage before the negotiation
Narrative: Shape how value and risk are understood
Advantage: Win through clarity, not confrontation
This is the operating system of modern commercial leadership.
Choose one negotiation, supplier meeting, or internal decision this week and ask:
“Am I interpreting the situation - or just reacting to it?”
That single shift moves you from participant to strategist.
Coming next:
Edition #4 - The Four Procurement Operating Models (and Why Most Organisations Choose the Wrong One).
If you’d like future editions delivered directly to your LinkedIn feed and inbox, subscribe below.
And if you know someone who would benefit, feel free to share it.
Let’s build a community of leaders who raise the bar for procurement - together.
If there’s a topic you’d like me to explore in a future edition, just reply - I read every message.
Most procurement transformations fail not because the strategy is wrong, but because the operating model can’t deliver it. There are four dominant models — centralised, decentralised, hybrid, and federated — and most organisations choose theirs by accident.
Welcome to Edition #4 of The CPO Briefing - and thank you for reading.
The CPO Briefing is a publication for leaders who shape how organisations buy, build, and negotiate. Each edition focuses on one idea that matters: a sharper lens, a practical insight, or a framework you can apply immediately in your role.
Edition #3 explored the new commercial intelligence - what great leaders see that others miss.
Edition #4 shifts from capability to structure: the operating model that determines how procurement actually works day to day, and why so many organisations get this choice wrong.
Let’s break it open.
Why Operating Models Matter More Than Most Leaders Realise
Most procurement transformations fail not because the strategy is wrong, but because the operating model can’t deliver it.
The operating model determines:
Yet most companies choose their operating model by accident - legacy, politics, or convenience - not by design.
There are four dominant models.
Only one fits the needs of a modern, commercially intelligent organisation.
Strength: Control
Weakness: Speed
This model concentrates decision-making, capability, and governance in one place.
Strength: Speed
Weakness: Fragmentation
This model pushes ownership into the business units.
Decentralised models often deliver speed, but at the cost of leverage and consistency.
Strength: Balance
Weakness: Ambiguity
This is the most common model - and the most misunderstood.
Strength: Influence
Weakness: Complexity
This is the model modern CPOs increasingly choose.
When done well, this is the model that unlocks true commercial performance.
Direction → Intelligence → Enablement → Execution
Direction: Strategy, governance, and commercial standards
Intelligence: Market insight, risk sensing, and performance visibility
Enablement: Tools, playbooks, capability building
Execution: Category leadership, supplier management, negotiation
This is the architecture behind high-performing federated models.
Choose one category, supplier, or decision flow and ask:
“Is our operating model helping or hindering this?”
If the model is slowing decisions, diluting influence, or creating friction - it’s the wrong model.
Coming next:
Edition #5 — The Executive Presence Gap: Why Many Procurement Leaders Struggle to Influence the C-Suite.
If you’d like future editions delivered directly to your LinkedIn feed and inbox, subscribe below.
And if you know someone who would benefit, feel free to share it.
Let’s build a community of leaders who raise the bar for procurement - together.
If there’s a topic you’d like me to explore in a future edition, just reply - I read every message.