A Profession That Needs To Be Renamed?

Contract management is a critical process. I've addressed that in a previous video podcast.

But, after attending the NCMA conference this week, I am not so sure I like the job title "contract manager" or the profession title "contract management."

As I spoke to attendees at the conference and asked what their role was, I often got the response "contract manager." And the problem was that it took at least one additional question to get a clear picture of what exactly their role was. Those roles included:

1. They were a government employee responsible for purchasing goods and/or services
2. They were a private company/government contractor employee responsible for selling goods and/or services to the government
3. They were a government contractor employee responsible for purchasing goods and/or services

And, in government, it seems that the term "acquisition" is used more commonly than procurement, purchasing, and supply management. So couldn't we just call ourselves Acquisition Contract Managers and Client Contract Managers or Sales Contract Managers?

The purpose of titles for jobs and professions is to communicate what we do. I'm not so sure that "Contract Manager" is specific enough.

But maybe it's just me...

To Your Career,
Charles Dominick, SPSM
President & Chief Procurement Officer
Next Level Purchasing, Inc.
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