Oliver’s view on what skills distinguish a good global procurement manager from a not so good one.
If you have worked in different procurement organizations, you surely have realized they all differ from one to another – as companies typically do too. Some procurement teams are more successful, while others fail trying to achieve their targets. But what is the secret of a good global procurement manager, that enables a team to achieve their (assuming they are realistic) targets?
In my opinion there are mainly three things that distinguish a good global procurement manager from a poor one. Those are:
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A good manager sees and understands the big picture. Purchasing is not an end in itself. Instead of that, procurement is a service provider for the company it belongs to, for its employees and at the end also for the customers of the company. That does not mean procurements value is lower than e.g., the one from sales. But it is important to recognize that without customers, there is no need neither for procurement nor for the sales team. A customer centric approach is key for success.
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Assuming a procurement manager has such customer focus in mind, he also must lead a team. Leading nowadays means to have a clear vision of procurements targets. To be able to paraphrase them. To embed them into the company structure and targets. To align on the procurement targets with major stakeholders. Typically, all the above can be found in a procurement / category strategy document. However, even though it might mean quite some work, good procurement managers must be able to make and admit mistakes and correct them if needed. Otherwise, they might appear inflexible and unable to adjust to rapidly changing business needs.
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And finally, the manager must lead a team. The leadership style definitely differs depending on the team members and must be well „customized“. While some employees need more guidance, others can fully manage their role without any help. What I have experienced to be appreciated well in any case: Give your employees a leap of faith! They allegedly have the job because they were found to be the best candidate for it – always bear this in mind. Offer each of them coaching, really aiming at making them better every day. And provide backup – no matter who in the company may tackle them. A great defender which stands next to a team is the best proof that it is part of the team…
… which at the end of the day, is jointly working towards achieving realistic goals, that were clearly communicated, are aligned with stakeholders and contribute to satisfy the customers clients.
Doesn’t that sound easy?
Maria’s perspective on what, in addition to traditional procurement-related skills, it takes to succeed in a strategic global procurement role.
By adding another word to the title and hence scope to the responsibilities – “Global”, should the required competencies change? There has been a lot of ‘buzz’ around global careers – if you scroll through procurement job postings, it is likely that one in 5 will require regional or global responsibilities. But, how in essence does it differ from a role of a local procurement lead?
My experience taught me that in addition to so well understood analytical skills, knowledge of procurement tools and techniques, ability to manage internal clients and balance their interests with the needs and targets of procurement, and staying always hungry for a good negotiation but also be able to build strong relationship with your partners through SRM programs, the following elements are essential to succeed in a role (let’s take an example of a global category manager, for simplicity):
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Be a self-starter
Global category manager’s role is a role of a leader: be ready to constantly put yourself in a driver’s seat: it is likely you will be required to put savings targets in place, develop global strategies and bring those to actions, and in many cases – in a virtual environment (well, but who do I surprise these days with that?!) covering the regions you may not know much about.
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Exercise ability to see a big – truly big! – picture
Global procurement role reminds solving a jigsaw puzzle – you may feel that you have only a few pieces of information, and from these multiple smaller pieces which you put together (and loose some from time to time ‘under the table’, obviously) you will need to build an overarching strategy that will be high performing and delivering excellent results. You will be practicing induction reasoning, same way as CPOs do in absence of all the details, and building meaningful assumptions.
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Be an investigator & stay constantly curious
Openness and curiosity to learn about other markets/perspectives, seeking for the information – and people – within fragmented global organization is what your daily job will comprise of: to a common for a leader question ‘Why’ you will add a good amount of ‘How’: How the sourcing is done? How suppliers were selected? How a specific procurement area is supported? Besides, add ‘Who’ to the mix: who are the stakeholders? Who are the decision makers? In a global role your communication circle is not only your direct internal clients and respective functions, but also indirectly those stakeholders that are located in the regions: pretty wide circle it becomes! Thus, be ready to exercise your communication skills.
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Embrace cultural awareness and business sensitivity
In a global role be ready to follow the sun – start your day with a call with Asian region, then your agenda is packed with the calls with your European team, and you end up talking to Americas. Of course, the sequence may differ depending on where you are! Nevertheless, no matter who you are talking to – your peer, manager, internal client or your supplier – you may find yourself willing to learn more about how to deliver the information efficiently and how to be heard depending on the culture or the role of your business counterpart.
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