How Mature Is Your Procurement Function?

Discover the SUN Value Model by HHC Innovation

In today’s business environment, procurement teams are no longer expected to just cut costs. From managing risk and enabling sustainability to driving innovation and even boosting revenue — procurement is now at the heart of strategic growth.

But here’s the big question:

Where does your procurement function stand on this journey?

At HHC Innovation, we’ve developed a structured and proven framework to help organizations assess and grow their procurement capabilities:

✨ The SUN Value Model for Procurement Excellence

Let’s explore what it is — and how it can transform your procurement function from a cost center into a strategic business partner.

🌤 What Is the SUN Value Model?

How Mature Is Your Procurement Function?

The SUN Value Model is a procurement maturity framework designed to measure two key dimensions:

1. Cumulative Value Creation — how much value your procurement team is delivering to the business over time.

2. Organizational Integration — how well procurement is working with internal teams like R&D, finance, operations, and marketing.

By assessing both dimensions together, the model outlines four clear levels of maturity that every procurement organization moves through.

🔹 Level A – Price Focus

This is where most procurement teams start. The main goal is to get the lowest price possible. It’s all about running RFQs, comparing prices, and getting approvals. But internal collaboration is limited, and supplier relationships are transactional.

What it looks like:

• Focus on price only

• Little engagement with internal stakeholders

• Tactical and reactive approach

📉 Value Delivered: up to 2% in short-term savings

🔹 Level B – Cost Focus

At this stage, procurement starts thinking bigger. Teams analyze total cost of ownership, simplify product specs, and optimize demand. There’s also better use of data and spend analysis tools.

What it looks like:

• Cost models and dashboards

• Some stakeholder engagement

• Early stages of sourcing strategy

📉 Value Delivered: 3–7% in cost improvement

🔹 Level C – Value Focus

Now things get interesting. Procurement becomes a true partner to the business. It aligns with internal goals, improves inventory performance, and builds long-term supplier relationships.

What it looks like:

• Joint projects with internal teams

• Suppliers treated as partners

• Strategic KPIs and collaboration

📈 Value Delivered: up to +7% in business value

🔹 Level D – Revenue Focus

At the highest level, procurement is not just saving money — it’s helping generate revenue. By co-developing solutions with suppliers, enabling ESG, and managing risk, procurement helps the company grow.

What it looks like:

• Strategic supplier innovation

• Sustainability and risk governance

• Direct contribution to product and market strategy

🚀 Value Delivered: +10% or more in strategic impact

🧭 Why Use the SUN Value Model?

The SUN Model isn’t just a diagnostic tool — it’s a roadmap.

It helps you:

• Understand where your procurement team stands today

• Define where you want to go

• Build the skills, tools, and partnerships to get there

Whether you’re a multinational enterprise or a growing mid-sized company, this framework adapts to your context — and guides your procurement team toward long-term value creation.

💬 Ready to Get Started?

At HHC Innovation, we’ve helped organizations across industries apply the SUN Model to accelerate their procurement transformation.

If you’re ready to explore how your team can move from tactical to strategic — we’re here to help.

📩 Reach out to us to schedule your Procurement Maturity Assessment.