Procurement Leader vs. Purchasing Manager<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div>PurchTips edition #368<\/p>\n<\/div>
What Separates A Procurement Leader From A Purchasing Manager?<\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>The business world often tries to distinguish leaders from managers. In this edition of PurchTips, we\u2019ll apply this distinction to our profession. Here are three ways true procurement leaders are different than mere purchasing managers.<\/p>\n
\n- How one motivates his\/her team.<\/strong>\u00a0A purchasing manager\u2019s primary motivational tool is \u201cholding people accountable.\u201d In other words, if team members fail to meet performance standards, the purchasing manager will discipline them. Unfortunately, that encourages in-the-box thinking, achieves performance that rarely exceeds minimum expectations, and creates a culture that will not retain higher-echelon talent. In contrast, a true procurement leader behaves in a way that\u00a0inspires<\/em>\u00a0his\/her team to achieve great things. A procurement leader encourages and praises innovative ideas that produce positive business results. As an outcome, true procurement leaders consistently get breakthrough performance from their teams while rarely having to \u201chold people accountable.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\n- What metrics have the highest priority.<\/strong>\u00a0Purchasing managers give the highest priority to metrics like length of sourcing cycle, percentage of spend under contract, and number of suppliers in the database. Those are all decent things to measure. But, they are purchasing-specific. They don\u2019t closely correlate with the strategic goals of the organization, which may include things like contributing best-in-class value in the supply chain, growing market share, and hitting earnings-per-share targets. True procurement leaders will give the highest priority to metrics that directly support the strategic goals of the organization.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\n- How well the team understands its purpose.<\/strong>\u00a0Purchasing managers are focused on getting the purchasing department\u2019s work done. Subordinates of purchasing managers know what they have to accomplish, but they may not know why. Subordinates of procurement leaders always understand how their work contributes to the success of the organization, improves the lives of the ultimate customer, and\/or makes the world a better place.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Want A More Rewarding Procurement Career?<\/h5><\/div>![](\"https:\/\/www.certitrek.com\/nlpa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/04\/career.jpg\" "\\"career\\"")
<\/span><\/div>Are you tired of not getting enough opportunities, respect, and money out of your procurement career? Nothing will change unless you take action towards becoming a world-class procurement professional. Work your way up NLPA\u2019s CPO Suite Programs, an enhanced version of our SPSM certifications and bring the most modern procurement practices into your organization and achieve your career potential.<\/p>\n
Download our NLPA Course Catalog<\/strong> for a comprehensive list of the CPO Certification Programs and their corresponding modules per level.<\/p>\n<\/div>
PurchTips edition #368<\/p>\n<\/div>
What Separates A Procurement Leader From A Purchasing Manager?<\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>The business world often tries to distinguish leaders from managers. In this edition of PurchTips, we\u2019ll apply this distinction to our profession. Here are three ways true procurement leaders are different than mere purchasing managers.<\/p>\n
\n- How one motivates his\/her team.<\/strong>\u00a0A purchasing manager\u2019s primary motivational tool is \u201cholding people accountable.\u201d In other words, if team members fail to meet performance standards, the purchasing manager will discipline them. Unfortunately, that encourages in-the-box thinking, achieves performance that rarely exceeds minimum expectations, and creates a culture that will not retain higher-echelon talent. In contrast, a true procurement leader behaves in a way that\u00a0inspires<\/em>\u00a0his\/her team to achieve great things. A procurement leader encourages and praises innovative ideas that produce positive business results. As an outcome, true procurement leaders consistently get breakthrough performance from their teams while rarely having to \u201chold people accountable.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\n- What metrics have the highest priority.<\/strong>\u00a0Purchasing managers give the highest priority to metrics like length of sourcing cycle, percentage of spend under contract, and number of suppliers in the database. Those are all decent things to measure. But, they are purchasing-specific. They don\u2019t closely correlate with the strategic goals of the organization, which may include things like contributing best-in-class value in the supply chain, growing market share, and hitting earnings-per-share targets. True procurement leaders will give the highest priority to metrics that directly support the strategic goals of the organization.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\n- How well the team understands its purpose.<\/strong>\u00a0Purchasing managers are focused on getting the purchasing department\u2019s work done. Subordinates of purchasing managers know what they have to accomplish, but they may not know why. Subordinates of procurement leaders always understand how their work contributes to the success of the organization, improves the lives of the ultimate customer, and\/or makes the world a better place.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Want A More Rewarding Procurement Career?<\/h5><\/div><\/span><\/div>Are you tired of not getting enough opportunities, respect, and money out of your procurement career? Nothing will change unless you take action towards becoming a world-class procurement professional. Work your way up NLPA\u2019s CPO Suite Programs, an enhanced version of our SPSM certifications and bring the most modern procurement practices into your organization and achieve your career potential.<\/p>\n
Download our NLPA Course Catalog<\/strong> for a comprehensive list of the CPO Certification Programs and their corresponding modules per level.<\/p>\n<\/div>
The business world often tries to distinguish leaders from managers. In this edition of PurchTips, we\u2019ll apply this distinction to our profession. Here are three ways true procurement leaders are different than mere purchasing managers.<\/p>\n
- \n
- How one motivates his\/her team.<\/strong>\u00a0A purchasing manager\u2019s primary motivational tool is \u201cholding people accountable.\u201d In other words, if team members fail to meet performance standards, the purchasing manager will discipline them. Unfortunately, that encourages in-the-box thinking, achieves performance that rarely exceeds minimum expectations, and creates a culture that will not retain higher-echelon talent. In contrast, a true procurement leader behaves in a way that\u00a0inspires<\/em>\u00a0his\/her team to achieve great things. A procurement leader encourages and praises innovative ideas that produce positive business results. As an outcome, true procurement leaders consistently get breakthrough performance from their teams while rarely having to \u201chold people accountable.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
- \n
- What metrics have the highest priority.<\/strong>\u00a0Purchasing managers give the highest priority to metrics like length of sourcing cycle, percentage of spend under contract, and number of suppliers in the database. Those are all decent things to measure. But, they are purchasing-specific. They don\u2019t closely correlate with the strategic goals of the organization, which may include things like contributing best-in-class value in the supply chain, growing market share, and hitting earnings-per-share targets. True procurement leaders will give the highest priority to metrics that directly support the strategic goals of the organization.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
- \n
- How well the team understands its purpose.<\/strong>\u00a0Purchasing managers are focused on getting the purchasing department\u2019s work done. Subordinates of purchasing managers know what they have to accomplish, but they may not know why. Subordinates of procurement leaders always understand how their work contributes to the success of the organization, improves the lives of the ultimate customer, and\/or makes the world a better place.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Want A More Rewarding Procurement Career?<\/h5><\/div>
<\/span><\/div>Are you tired of not getting enough opportunities, respect, and money out of your procurement career? Nothing will change unless you take action towards becoming a world-class procurement professional. Work your way up NLPA\u2019s CPO Suite Programs, an enhanced version of our SPSM certifications and bring the most modern procurement practices into your organization and achieve your career potential.<\/p>\n
Download our NLPA Course Catalog<\/strong> for a comprehensive list of the CPO Certification Programs and their corresponding modules per level.<\/p>\n<\/div>
- How well the team understands its purpose.<\/strong>\u00a0Purchasing managers are focused on getting the purchasing department\u2019s work done. Subordinates of purchasing managers know what they have to accomplish, but they may not know why. Subordinates of procurement leaders always understand how their work contributes to the success of the organization, improves the lives of the ultimate customer, and\/or makes the world a better place.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
- What metrics have the highest priority.<\/strong>\u00a0Purchasing managers give the highest priority to metrics like length of sourcing cycle, percentage of spend under contract, and number of suppliers in the database. Those are all decent things to measure. But, they are purchasing-specific. They don\u2019t closely correlate with the strategic goals of the organization, which may include things like contributing best-in-class value in the supply chain, growing market share, and hitting earnings-per-share targets. True procurement leaders will give the highest priority to metrics that directly support the strategic goals of the organization.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n