While technical qualifications are a baseline requirement in procurement, they are not the differentiator for success. Advanced professionals separate themselves with superior soft skills—the ability to build trust, communicate effectively, and align diverse stakeholders is what enables true strategic impact and career advancement.
Standard corporate processes, like 90-day payment terms and complex RFPs, can cripple small, diverse suppliers. Adapting by offering shorter payment terms and streamlined processes is essential not only for their survival but also for large companies to tap into a wider pool of creativity and diverse thought.
Procurement has evolved from a transactional cost-saving function to a strategic partner. True value is now created by acting as a business advisor, bringing external market trends and supplier innovations into the organization to help shape and achieve commercial objectives, requiring deep business acumen.
Successful, long-term vendor relationships are built on cultural alignment and a shared vision, not the lowest bid. Intensive due diligence should focus on finding a partner who is transparent, trustworthy, and willing to innovate and grow with your organization. A mismatched culture will lead to revisiting the selection process within a year.
While AI can structure RFP responses, its overuse leads to generic text that fails to convey a vendor's unique value proposition and cultural fit. This trend heightens the need for multi-stage evaluations with direct human interaction to discern if a potential partner is truly aligned and being transparent.
Procurement leader Helen Thompson reveals her ADHD diagnosis at age 41 was transformational. It allowed her to understand her unique brain wiring, recontextualizing past challenges and enabling her to consciously harness neurodivergent strengths like creativity and hyper-focus that she couldn't previously leverage systematically.