Moaning about our jobs sometimes feels like a national sport. If you think about it, though, there’s plenty to be thankful for if you’re lucky enough to be working in procurement.
Your role is dynamic, strategic, and full of opportunities that extend far beyond the everyday churn. In the spirit of the season, here are 11 reasons to be thankful for your role.
1. Variety and Transferable Skills
Procurement offers endless variety, with each day bringing new challenges like adapting to market shifts or exploring global opportunities. The skills you develop, like negotiation, analysis, and relationship management, translate well to other areas of life and work.
There's also the potential for travel, professional development, and the fulfillment of contributing to your organization's efficiency and growth. It's a career that keeps evolving, full of growth potential.
2. Direct Networking with CEOs and Leaders
One of the standout perks of procurement is the chance to connect directly with CEOs and other executives from supplier organizations, especially in smaller firms. Seriously, how many of your colleagues in other functions have a bunch of C-suite leaders in their phone contacts?
Many professionals in the field have turned these interactions into long-term alliances that benefit their organizations. It's a form of networking that positions you at the heart of business growth. And if you ever find yourself job-seeking in the future, these high-level connections are invaluable.
3. Handling Large-Scale Budgets
There's an undeniable excitement in managing substantial sums of money, even though it's not your own. Negotiating deals involving millions can feel like a strategic challenge, with the satisfaction of securing savings or optimal terms. Procurement specialists often oversee budgets that impact the entire organization, making each decision feel significant and rewarding.
4. Procurement with a Greater Purpose
Employees increasingly expect their jobs to help fulfill a sense of purpose. Fine words, but finding purpose isn’t always easy, depending on the job. Luckily, modern procurement offers opportunities to pursue meaningful goals, such as social responsibility initiatives.
If your organization prioritizes combating modern slavery, promoting sustainability, or supporting diverse suppliers, your work contributes to positive change. Knowing your decisions can have a broader societal impact is something to be thankful for.
5. A Shift to Strategic Involvement
Procurement has moved far beyond its traditional back-office roots. Today, professionals are involved early in planning and sit at the decision-making table, influencing key strategies.
This evolution means contributing to risk management, forecasting, and overall business direction. In other words, you can be thankful for a role where your opinion is valued.
6. Gatekeeper of Innovation
As the primary link to suppliers, you're often the first to encounter new ideas, technologies, and processes. This makes procurement a key source of innovation for the organization, allowing you to introduce advancements that drive efficiency or competitiveness.
Whether it's adopting new materials or software, you play a pivotal role in keeping the company ahead of the curve.
7. Automation Handles the Routine Tasks
Increasingly, automation is taking over the repetitive elements of procurement, such as data processing, invoice management, and basic reporting. This shift frees up time for more engaging activities, like complex negotiations, supplier relationship building, or strategic problem-solving.
For instance, instead of manually reviewing contracts, you might focus on analyzing market trends or developing contingency plans for supply disruptions. So we can be thankful that we weren’t working in procurement decades ago when manual, repetitive work was often the norm.
8. At the Forefront of AI Transformation
Procurement is standing at the dawn of an AI-driven future, where tools assist with tasks like predictive analytics and automated sourcing. This positions us as orchestrators of intelligent systems, overseeing AI agents that handle research and optimization.
It's an exciting phase, promising to make the profession more efficient and creative, with humans focusing on oversight and innovation.
9. Building Internal Relationships
The best procurement people know everyone. The nature of procurement requires collaboration across departments, from finance to operations. This fosters strong relationships with stakeholders throughout the organization.
Effective communication here can lead to smoother processes and greater buy-in for procurement initiatives … and a strong internal network is a must for your career progression.
10. A Robust Professional Network
Interacting with numerous people in supplier organizations naturally builds a wide-reaching network. This extends beyond your current role, providing connections that can support career advancement when the time comes to leave your company. In a field where relationships matter, this network is a valuable asset, often stronger than those in more siloed professions.
11. The Thrill of a Big Savings Win
Finally, there’s the excitement, professional pride, and thrill involved in nailing a big cost saving for your organization. Major wins can take months or even years of work, but sometimes they’re achievable by simply picking up the phone.
For example, as a GPO member, you’ll be able to utilize the power of group purchasing to secure the best pricing on the products and services you need to run your business. Una members enjoy an average of 18-22% across indirect categories.
Get the Most Out of Working in Procurement
We typically follow a 3-step process so you can start saving as a GPO member right away.
Step 1: The Discovery Call
As the first step to savings, this is where we get to know each other, define what success looks like for you, and set a timeline for the connection process.
Step 2: Running a Cost Analysis
This is Una’s time to shine and where we can show real value. We’ll send your spend data directly to our supplier base to compare costs and identify savings.
Step 3: Connect to Suppliers
After the cost analysis, we’ll work quickly to get you connected so you can start saving as a GPO member right away. It really is as easy as 1, 2, 3!
Ready to take your procurement skills to to the next level? Contact us today to get started.
