The addition of the word 'post truth' in the Oxford dictionary as word of the year 2016 is evidence; if any was required, of rapid cultural changes in how we perceive ‘the truth'.

2017 opened with hefty fines levied against EE for overcharging its customers, and failing to rectify the situation when discovered. Eye watering levels of corruption being unveiled within BT Italia makes us wonder about general corporate honesty and integrity; but most of all about leadership. In the banking world the subprime saga continues as RBS has set aside £3 billion for fines. 'My inauguration was bigger than yours' played out in the media with the stark photographic evidence being labelled "alternative fact" - in other words just because something looks and seems incontrovertibly so, doesn't mean that it actually is.

Truth... the bedrock of our civilisation
And yet at a human level we seek 'truth' in all aspects of our lives, in relationships we have, personal and professional; the very bedrock of our civilisation. Are we more dishonest now than other periods of history, or are we just living in a hectic and transparent, viral world where many more words are used in a disposable and careless way?

This week we held our inaugural supplier partner event in London, and we had an honest and candid presentation from Clydesdale Bank about what they look for in supplier relationships. The group were technology companies large and small, HR and training organisations and the outsourcing community.

A partner who walks the journey with you...
Observations were argued and plentiful; there was a consensus that everyone is officially time poor, if you are selling you don't have time to indulge in costly 'fishing' exercises, which turn out not to be level playing grounds. If you are buying you need a partner who walks the journey with you, understands the general direction of the business before making an approach, and is agile enough to offer levels of flexibility that fast moving businesses need.

Ironically honesty is paramount; don't over promise and when engaged as a supplier, put your hands up when things go wrong ASAP; it will come out anyway. If you are the buyer, come to the procurement having properly engaged the views of customers and all relevant internal stakeholders who have the required knowledge and experience (a core element measured by CCA Global Standard©).

Improved professionalism in procurement of products and services will impact us all as consumers. Innovation leading to improvement is urgently required and CCA is looking forward to working quickly with industry to raise the bar - honestly.

For details of the CCA Supplier Partner Council initiative please contact pauline.cochrane@cca-global.com