There's myriad ways to describe how procurement functions are organised - centralised, central-led, decentralised are the three most common. But one phrase which I heard at the Procurement Leaders Forum perhaps explains current thinking more than most - regionalisation.

The CPO I was speaking to told me how his company was increasingly adopting a strategy of regionalisation to ensure product sourcing is done with the local markets in mind. Nothing particularly new in that, you're might be thinking.

But it's worth mentioning, because in the current climate, with senior leadership looking for cost benefits wherever they can find them, a return to regionalisation might seem contradictory. Not so. The focus on the regions will allow this particular company to improve its offering and adapt their portfolio to local tastes and requirements.

Equally, it will help the company to innovate. Through a network of local supplier relationships built around original design manufacturing agreements, the company in question can tap into the local expertise of suppliers while maintaining ownership of the innovative new product developments.

This particular CPO wasn't the only one who talked about a move away from centralisation. One attendee from a relatively well-known energy company said how his organisation was pulling back from centralised procurement with a business-unit led model being the current thinking.

Both examples offered food for thought at a time when most would say that centralised procurement is the panacea.