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All Hail the Procurement Chief !!!

In a recession any fool can be a Purchasing Manager, it appears.

Suppliers anxious to retain and secure business are as flexible as a rope made of super bendy rubber.  The ego glows as company spend is brought centre stage and amidst the carnage of cost cutting all look to the sage advice of a professional in spend management. Your Purchasing Manager is king of all he surveys and with the wisdom of Solomon, parcels out drops of contract gold among his devout suppliers.

I’m doing a great job he thinks, “ I’ve saved us so much on this contract and X amount on that one. It’s a tough job but someone has to …… yadeeya and so on…..

Like a hormone driven teenager not caring how he got there or the consequences of his work some purchasing managers can find themselves in power heaven. With super respect for themselves they harp on about their tough but fair approach to business and stagger around like a peacock with a feather up its a***. In a recession any fool can be a purchasing manager, it appears.

Supplier Management? Professional Negotiation? Strategic Partnerships? , don’t mention the war !  The folly of a half drunk ego is a dangerous thing.

But, how many purchasing professionals have assessed the impact of the recession on their supply-management strategy? The mismanagement of your supply base in a recession can and will have consequences. Your super bendy suppliers may just snap back and slap you in the face when things get better.

Purchasing managers must be aware that suppliers pushed to the wall in these tough times, may exact a pretty price of revenge on those who purport their professionalism with an arrogant disrespect of decent business practice.

While the recession has strengthened procurements position, short term strategies should not be at the expense of longer term objectives. This is an opportunity for purchasing and supply staff to have a ‘good recession’.

Be sure that when good times role again, and they will, your not the seen as the fool because your friendly sales rep may extend his hand of friendship and with a smile be thinking ‘your reputation precedes you Sir’ !! .

( No Purchasing Managers were killed in the writing of this article )

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