If there was one thing that you could change about the perception of procurement division in your organization what would it be and why?

The perception of procurement in organisations varies significantly. Some of this is a result of where organisation structures but we can do more to promote procurement as a function and a profession and us as individuals.

This article looks at some of the underlying causes of the current state of perception of the procurement function and offers some tips on how to improve that perception.

The article is intended to be thought provoking rather than a statement of best practice.

Background

There are a number of factors which directly impact the perception of procurement in your organisation. These include (and I am sure you can think of others which are particular to your situation)

• The nature of the organisation - Most organisations will buy goods and services to help deliver their outcomes. The extent to which the business outcomes depend on these bought-in goods and services will determine the relevance of procurement and will drive perception - or perhaps where less relevant there is no perception.
• The organisational hierarchy - Is procurement an independent part of the corporate centre, part of the corporate finance function, embedded into business units or some other construct including being itself an outsourced service. If procurement has no identity it is unlikely to have any (positive) perception
• The style of the functional leader and their direct reports - Is the CPO an ambassador for the function? Does his/her behaviour make Procurement a place to go to help address business issues? Or is the benefit of charismatic leadership outweighed by being so different from the overall team?
• The general approach of procurement as a function - Is the procurement function helping the business deliver the required outcomes or is it enforcing policy and stopping things from happening?
• The representation (or lack of representation) of procurement at the top table - does procurement get to input into the fora where key business decisions are made?
• The approach to engaging with the business - Do you build relationships with the business and make procurement accessible? Do you provide a business partner or does the business need to find the specific individuals?