Being a procurement specialist entails a lot of different responsibilities and skills, from liaising with vendors to keeping track of your company’s supply chain. There’s a lot of areas where procurement can go wrong, especially if you’re working on large-scale orders or multi-year projects. In this post, we will go through a few tips that a procurement contract specialist can try out to streamline processes and make their jobs a little bit easier.
Outsource work whenever you can
As you may know, there’s a lot of research and analysis that goes into the procurement process. A lot of the work involves lots of data entry, analysis, and other tedious tasks. Remember, you are the strategic backbone of the procurement process. Less strategically-demanding tasks like invoicing, cost analysis and sending out RFQs (request for quotes) can be outsourced or delegated to an associate.
Keep supplier relationships at the top of your priorities
Since you will likely be interacting with the same suppliers frequently, it is important to develop and cultivate a healthy relationship with them. This involves having honest, clear communication and voicing out your thoughts, concerns, and opinions throughout the contract. Discussing areas of compliance in a timely and truthful manner can help you navigate through any issues with your vendor. You should try to consistently ask for feedback after a contract ends, whether or not you are certain you would do business with the vendor again.
Don’t be afraid to try out new technology
Procurement is all about processes, steps and procedures. There are a plethora of business software out there that can help automate some of your duties. Contract management software, in particular, can help you keep files in a central location and distribute copies of the contract to all parties for signing, automatically. Other software can help you visualize and analyze your costs and give you a better financial picture of your procurement history. Additionally, there is all-encompassing procurement management software that encapsulates all of these helpful features.
Although it does require some financial investment, putting your money into technology will save you time, clearing up your schedule to tackle bigger, more strategic tasks. Integrating technology into your procurement workflow is the same idea as outsourcing work – both of these tips will clear your desk for more important tasks.
Create an agenda for the negotiation process
Not all procurement contracts go through negotiation, but for the ones that do, this step can usually drag on much longer than both parties want it to. Negotiating is undoubtedly one of the most uncomfortable aspects of being a procurement specialist, but a necessary skill. Setting an agenda to have certain sections and clauses finalized during the negotiation period will give both parties benchmarks to aim for. Without a timeline, you can easily put off this part of the process to the next meeting, next email, next call until weeks have passed and little has been accomplished. Having a goal or a soft deadline to sift through different sections of the contract will at the very least give both you and the vendor some structure and goals to refer to.
Critically assess local vs. global sellers
In this day and age, you can do business with anyone in the world. The globalization of our economy has opened up business opportunities with companies pretty much anywhere in the world. While you’re researching companies to hire, it’s important to think about the pros and cons of hiring a local vendor versus a global one. Will you save money on shipment if you go local? Does an international company have other perks, better quality and/or better service? Do those advantages compensate for the fact that you might have to communicate across several time zones? There are lots of considerations for both sides, but being aware of these questions can help you approach your procurement from a more informed angle. Having access to so many suppliers can be seen as both a blessing and a curse, so choose wisely!
Recent Comments