Independently of your area of activity or industry if you are buying anything for your activity you have a procurement responsible or function. Or at least someone who is acting like it.
What is that person doing?
Well, the procurement activity is the one overseeing the steps of the complete procurement cycle, such as market analysis, sourcing, negotiation, contracting and supplier relationship management for goods, works and services, covering both acquisitions from third parties and in-house providers.
This process spans the whole procurement cycle from the identification of needs, through to the end of a services contract or the end of the useful life of an asset. It will include the options appraisal and the critical “make or buy” decision where the case.
So why do you need a procurement professional? Just in case all the above sounds too complicated.
Because you need at least one person, or a team, who’s main job within the organization is to ensure these purchases are smart, align with the company’s goals, and are cost-effective.
To keep it simple, consider them your personal & strategic shoppers. They find you the best deal for everything you need, from paper clips to materials, machines, services and all.
If you don’t have a procurement professional this is your confirmation to get one.
If you have a procurement responsible or a team but struggle to get the results you want for your business this is your reminder to dedicate some time and resources to train them, properly.
When you have a Procurement/ Purchasing team that is new, re-organized or in a growth phase there is a need for structure, clarity, vision and support systems. A detailed and efficient Skills assessment may be needed, but learning procurement processes – assessing, adapting, and implementing them – will make the difference between goals and actual achievements.
If you are lucky and already have a great team is in place despite the changing business environment you already know that the challenges of the market require new skills, strategies and actions to keep competitiveness at the needed level. We recommend you look for the Next level Procurement – Supplier mapping, commodity strategy and commercial negotiation training programs that will support your team to the next level of performance.
And just in case you already had professional training dedicated to your procurement resource, but your everyday reality seems to not really match with what the trainer, book, YouTube, or your business plan told you. Than what you need is a The Mentoring program for Procurement Professionals – it will facilitate growth both professionally and personally.
Remember – We all are just a work in progress, but the speed of that progress will define the success of your business!
