"I don't get no respect"

Rodney Dangerfield could have had Procurement as a career! The number of times I've heard the sighs at senior levels in Procurement and Supply Chain wondering why they "don't get no respect" is significant.

So why is it, no matter where you go and what you do, the organization as a whole does not "seem" to respect the Procurement team?

Firstly, procurement grew up in organizations as the paper-pushing (PO) group...more closely aligned with Finance, than the business as a whole. This Purchase Order tactical process is still what will be mentioned by most if you ask them what Procurement (or Purchasing) do...
"Oh, they are the ones who cut the Purchase Orders and help us buy stuff."

Secondarily, there are many procurement organizations that are perceived to be an obstacle to getting business done! "If I get Procurement involved, they'll just slow down the process, it's like running an obstacle course!" In some cases this may be true (there are many horror stories out there), yet in most it is not. Unfortunately, procurement hasn't made the time to develop the relationships in the organization and explained their value add -- they just expect others to know and understand!

Thirdly, Procurement teams are much too humble. Constantly phenomenal business approaches, technological advances, reduction of total costs, alliances, strategic partnerships, etc. etc. etc. that enable gains in the financials through driving additional revenue and reducing costs occur....but alas...no one knows, because no one is telling them.

Finally, Procurement organizations have a certain arrogance which leads them to believe that because they are an internal service, that of course everyone will use them "because its mandated". It is amazing the creativity that people in organizations can find around processes and departments that they don't understand and don't recognize the value.

So what can be done?

The pity-party is what needs to stop first. If you are not respected, then you have not promoted yourself and your team effectively, and as such, have not earned the respect.

To start down the road of recovery it is necessary to view Procurement from a Sales, Marketing and Business Development point of view.

Ask the questions: Who is my market? What is my market expecting from my services vs. what I'm delivering? How can I close the perception gap? How can I package my services to appeal to my clients? Are there key individuals whom I should target, who can become champions of Procurement within the organization (or as I like to call them FOPs -- Friends of Procurement/Purchasing)? What organizational construct should I have that ensures ease of access and understanding of the services which I provide and allows for business development among the stakeholders? How should I be communicating to the organization and provide it with the insight that the team is about more than POs and obstacle creation?

In the next number of entries I will expand on the areas above and provide insight to Procurement organizations as to how they can obtain client satisfaction; create customer loyalty and have continual repeat business from all the internal stakeholders.