Find a Fulfilling Career in Procurement

Procurement is a wonderful, niche career in a world where most people don’t know we even exist! As procurement professionals, we seem to be behind the scenes of most organizations, but it is such a fulfilling career where we play a background yet crucial role in allowing an organization to fulfill its duties to its citizens. Procurement allows for the continuation of operations when purchasing office supplies and guiding in proper procurement methods in other small purchases to the fruition of larger projects such as drainage, road, park and playground improvements/ development, new building construction and remodeling.

We may be in the background most of the time, but our role is essential to a smooth and successful project. The better the solicitation is drafted, the better the expectations are outlined, and the better we can advise and assist with project accountability through the contract. Thus, planning and preparation is key. As part of middle management, I take pride and responsibility in training the team of procurement professionals around me. By asking the right questions, the project stakeholders are given the opportunity to provide us with the information needed to understand the overall end goal of the project at hand. Doing so will afford us the opportunity to create ‘value added’ through our advice and recommendations while ensuring the end goal is met as it pertains to the procurement process and the lifecycle of the asset – from ‘cradle to grave,’ meaning from planning the project to the solicitation process, to award, ownership/acceptance of the asset, and finally, to asset disposal.

The lifecycle of an asset, in its most basic form, is always the same. The length of that cycle (and what happens in between) will vary depending on the type of asset and its funding source (to ensure it is an allowable expense under that specific fund), but ultimately, the life cycle of an asset will begin with the procurement of the asset, accepting delivery and taking ownership of the asset, and lastly proper disposal of the asset.

In my time as a procurement analyst, I was able to analyze the internal operations of the purchasing department as a whole. The goal was to bring cohesiveness into our internal operations and eliminate duplication of work within the divisions of our own department: procurement division, contract management division, fixed assets division, and compliance division. I dove into the ‘Lifecycle of an Asset’ more in-depth and learned the processes of each role and their effects on other roles.

In this role, I learned to appreciate the differences between roles and the importance of each. I learned of their daily duties and how each role eventually led to information required for the submittal of the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR). As per the State of Texas Comptroller’s office, an “ACFR is a set of financial statements for a state, municipality or other governmental entity that comply with the accounting requirements established by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board” (GASB).

To be a successful procurement professional, one must be a little mad in the best way possible

As a ‘numbers’ person, I was able to quickly learn and bridge the gap between each role’s duties and responsibilities within our department and the department responsible for the ACFR.

It is easy for me to get lost in industry lingo, but in this role, I became a big proponent of reminding myself (and the team as they got trained) to know the audience when presenting our point of view and doing so in as plain English as possible for effective communication. It’s essential for the audience to understand where we are coming from, but also build that trust in our department that our goal is to be an extension of their department and help them achieve their overall goal through the procurement of the requested goods and/or services.

Part of that trust is built in continuous education. When others understand the importance of our policy or procedures, their effect, but most importantly, how it affects them - it is easier to get someone to ‘buy-in.’ Most people are willing to learn and willing to abide by guidance given when they understand why and what is being requested of them.

For anyone looking to make a career change into procurement, I would advise that it is the best niche career that is heavily sought out in other industries. To be a successful procurement professional, one must be a little mad in the best way possible. This field requires active listening, critical and analytical thinking, quick adaptability to change, and the ability to read the room - read the person, read what is not being said, all while taking into consideration local, state, and federal ordinances, codes, laws, regulations, yet remains to be a fulfilling career that allows me to hold a head for business, a heart for people, and passion for results