First Steps Towards a Career in Procurement

If you’re looking to begin a career in procurement, you’ve made a great choice. A field that has been growing steadily for the past decade, procurement is both interesting and innovative, not to mention hugely important to companies during these challenging economic times.

Since the financial crash in Feb/March, those working in procurement have seen their work take on a ever more significant role as businesses seek to source new products and services while reducing spending costs and managing supplier risk. If you’re fascinated by the intricacies of supply chain management and want to work in a position where you can make a direct impact on almost every area of the company you work for, procurement is the field for you.

Beginning a career in procurement is like starting any new career—it involves a combination of specific industry knowledge and relevant soft skills. To help you on your way, let’s have a look at the specifics of each.

Get to know the industry

Expertise is invaluable in a constantly-evolving field such as procurement, and boosting your knowledge base is an important first step to take. Your ability to drive cost savings, once a priority , is now only part of a far broader scope of responsibilities that include leveraging cognitive technology and AI, supplier management, risk management and responsible sourcing, to name just a few. How do you get an understanding of industry best practices and innovations?

Luckily, there are many, many resources that can help give a beginner insights. Start by reading everything you can get your hands on; there’s a wealth of free articles, journals and websites that can teach you a lot about this industry. Some of our faves here at Holyoake Search (in no particular order):

·       Buyers Meeting Point

·       Hackett Group

·       ISM

·       HBR

·       McKinsey

·       PwC

·       Procurious

·       ProcurementIQ

·       MsCategoryManagement

·       Art of Procurement

·       CPO Rising

·       Procurement Leaders

·       Spend Matters

·       Black Book Market Research LLC

·       SIG

·       HFS Research

·       HBR Consulting

·       Gartner

·       CASME Network

·       CAPS Research

·       Forrester

·       Procurement Foundry

Consider education

In the past, procurement was not considered a destination function for a lot of people. Often, we’d see individuals with a legal, finance, or contracts background, or even a supply chain background that would end up falling into procurement by accident. Today, more professionals see a future in procurement, and with a serious uptick in the number of undergrad and postgrad procurement programs and sourcing -specific professional bodies, there is an increase in people deliberately seeking out procurement as a career.

Earlier this year we put out an article outlining some of the best procurement programs, and that still stands. Undergrad procurement degrees are becoming more popular, and there are many schools offering exceptional programs.

Attend webinars & conferences

Another great way to gain knowledge about the field of procurement is to attend webinars and conferences. These are often focused on the latest innovations in technology and give you the chance to hear first-hand insights from industry leaders.

Pre-isolation, conferences such as those offered by ProcureCon, SIG and SPARK by Scout RFP, were excellent environments to network and absorb solid procurement content. Many events have largely moved online. Procurement Foundry, for example, has created a whole series of online conferences ­– FORGE, focusing on procurement, supply chain, and marketing procurement so far. There are still networking opportunities at digital conferences, with many of them offering post-conference happy hours and Zoom and Slack chats throughout.

Refine your soft skills

Industry expertise can only get you so far, and like many fields, working in procurement requires excellent interpersonal skills and sufficient self-awareness to be able to respond to feedback. Some specific soft skills seem to correlate well with success, such as street smarts, empathy, confidence, charisma, listening skills, logic, attention to detail, willingness to share, opportunism, adaptability, resilience, common sense, and approachability.

Further, to be successful in procurement, get comfortable with a rapid pace of change, using new technology, and constant learning. They are increasingly valuable skills that are always in demand in any function, but especially one evolving the way our particular function is.

With constant innovation in productivity and data technology, a career in procurement is becoming an increasingly exciting choice. Start sharpening your industry knowledge and your soft skills now, as well as expanding your network, and you’ll soon be on your way.