What Good Procurement Training Is NOT

Lower performing procurement departments have something in common. When asked about their procurement training plan, they usually say that someone sits with a new employee for most of that new employee's first week on the job.

That is not good procurement training.

Perhaps sufficient training at a fast food restaurant is a one-time event. Learn how to greet the customer, which buttons to push on a cash register, and where to put the money and you're done.

But good procurement training is something that is done continuously. Think about it: if you just get trained for part of one week, can you possibly know how to achieve maximum cost savings? Minimize risk? Negotiate better than the best supplier negotiators? Get internal operations to function more efficiently? Develop successful relationships with both internal customers and suppliers?

I could go on and on.

One can never stop learning all there is to learn about procurement. The more a procurement professional learns, the greater the positive financial impact s/he can have on the organization.

If your organization provides would-you-like-fries-with-that-style, one-time procurement training, it is a clear signal that your organization is not maximizing the contribution that procurement can offer.

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