My procurement journey has been incredibly varied in terms of industries, sectors, and both direct and indirect categories. Having been mentored by some great leaders, one stood out - a leader who prior to his procurement career was a private investigator. This showed in his ability to problem solve dissecting problems from angles and viewpoints which would be second-nature to private investigators or detectives. This is the mentality I bring to strategic sourcing; a detective mindset to big gnarly problems and challenges.

While I have significant experience in large organizations, the SME sector is an area of real potential. Most SMEs (< $50m turnover) don’t have a specialized procurement function. For those that do, the team is typically focused on their highest costs – often purchasing goods for resale or raw materials.

Expertise in buying one product or service doesn’t necessarily translate into expertise in buying others. It is not practical to have niche experts (such as IT or fleet) on the payroll when contracts are negotiated every few years.

However, having one on your side of the negotiating table when you do, means that they can use their market knowledge, price visibility and understanding of contracts to significantly reduce their outgoings when compared to historic pricing models.