The CFO'S View of Procurement

BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - December 9, 2009) - The global recession has served to align the goals and interests of the Chief Financial Officer with that of the Chief Procurement Officer to unprecedented levels reports "The CFO's View of Procurement: Work in Progress," a new study by Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS).

"This first decade in the new millennium has witnessed first-hand the broad transformation of the procurement function from tactical back-office department to a strategic function that can deliver value across a wide-range of areas and is now worthy of a 'C-level' leader," states Andrew Bartolini, Vice President of Global Supply Management research, Aberdeen Group. "As this report and a decade of our research focused on procurement and supply management has shown, the average procurement department is just scratching the surface of what it can ultimately deliver. The CFO can be a major catalyst in driving value from procurement operations."

Aberdeen evaluated 176 finance and procurement professionals in October and November of 2009 to determine the view or perspective that the finance leadership within the average enterprise has of its procurement counterparts. Leading enterprises in this study are notable for their superior performance and for their ability to manage enterprise spend more efficiently and more effectively. They also:

--  Reflect (or book) 73% more, on average, of their identified savings in
    their budgets
--  Have department operating costs that are, on average, 23.6% lower than
    their peers
    

A complimentary copy of this report is made available due in part by the following underwriters: Ariba and Zycus. To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=6026.

For additional access to complimentary Global Supply Management Research, please visit http://research.aberdeen.com/index.php/-global-supply-management.

About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company

Aberdeen provides fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having queried more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen for insights that drive decisions.

As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement - Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit Aberdeen or call (617) 854-5200, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748.

© 2009 Aberdeen Group, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
451 D Street, Suite 710
Boston, Massachusetts 02210-1928
Telephone: (617) 854-5200
Fax: (617) 723-7897
www.aberdeen.com

Contact Information: Media Contact: Andrew Bartolini Aberdeen Harte-Hanks (617) 854-5310 andrew.bartolini@aberdeen.com