"We've always done it this way"

It's a common business notion to challenge this status, and I had a manager at a previous employer who would actively encourage myself and the team to do so. Being new to the world or procurement, looking at this from an alternative point of view, I see huge potential benefits to organisations if procurement teams are empowered to challenge the notion "we've always done it this way". Does anyone have any thoughts on this? How do you change the mindset of organisations to encourage this behaviour? Do you work for an organisation that encourages you to adopt this approach? Does anyone have any success stories?