Starting a new procurement job is a rewarding journey, as procurement is a key contributor to any company growth.
Whether you start in a junior or in a senior position, we will explain in this article some of the goals you should accomplish during your first month.
Key steps to have a brilliant start:
Understand the organization
Procurement’s status and responsibilities can vary depending on the structure of the organization and the business priorities. Therefore, it is important that you get to grips with how things operate in the company, such as policies, processes, systems and procedures, in order to know beforehand what you should prioritize.
Furthermore, it is useful to engage with stakeholders to know what are their needs and expectations from procurement.
Build relationships
A career in procurement involves dealing with various different parties. Thus, it would be convenient to introduce yourself to everyone via email and arrange one-to-one meetings with key team members.
As building strong relationships with stakeholders and suppliers is crucial in procurement, it would also be important to have meetings with them. In the case of providers, it is unrealistic to meet with all of them. Although you can identify the most strategic ones and arrange a brief introductory call or pay a short visit.
Learn the main systems
In the first 30 days of your procurement role, it is also essential to learn the main systems you should work with. Although this might be taught in the onboarding sessions when you start working in the company, it is recommended to be informed with the latest procurement trends and technologies.
You may also want to take part in training sessions to learn new skills in order to be up to date with the operations of your procurement function.
Prepare meetings with suppliers
It is essential to prepare meetings in order to decide on new suppliers. To organize the meetings and make the most out of them, you should first gather information about the supplier to make sure you are in the best position to negotiate favorable outcomes for your organization.
Preparing the agenda of the meeting is also crucial to be successful in the meetings with providers. For example, you could ask the issues that the supplier would like to discuss in the meeting as it will help you to prepare answers to any questions.
Once you have the information, you can decide which is the desired outcome of the meeting and make that goal clear.
Set goals
By setting procurement goals, businesses can enhance supplier relationships, mitigate risks, improve efficiency and deliver value to stakeholders. Therefore, it is important that you establish clear objectives in line with the strategic direction of the company.
One of the goals in your procurement job could be to reduce costs. For this, you can optimize sourcing strategies, negotiate better deals and implement cost-saving measures. Another goal could be to evaluate supplier performance regularly or to implement risk assessment frameworks, diversify suppliers, and establish contingency plans to mitigate risks, etc.
Although such goals will vary depending on the company you are working with, since they should align with the broader organizational objective.
Training and development
Due to the increased demand for procurement professionals, if you desire to move up the ladder within procurement you should keep training and developing your skills in order to achieve your professional goals.
Apart from informing yourself about how future trends and technologies will help you and become an expert in modern tools and resources, it is also important to target a specific skill category such as procurement and sourcing expertise, category management, strategizing and problem-solving, supplier relationship management, analytical and negotiation skills.
The more you will learn and practice these skills, the more valuable you will become to clients and to your procurement team.
Tips for initial projects to work at
There are a great variety of projects in procurement and each of them has its own requirements and considerations. Therefore, it is important to specify the project first and gather all the requirements needed.
For example, if you need to initiate an IT project, you will need to know the specific type, as it is not the same to implement a system than to upgrade an infrastructure, and, later on, define objectives, identify stakeholders and establish communication channels.
When you start a project, it is crucial to communicate with all stakeholders involved. This includes outlining their roles and responsibilities and providing any necessary instructions or guidelines.
It is also important to review all relevant documents and agreements before starting, as any discrepancy should be resolved beforehand. Then it is important to plan everything for the project, like meetings, procuring materials or services, obtaining permits, etc.
During the project is also essential to keep a clear communication with all the parties involved.
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