Is procurement under-resourced?
Teams are drowning in bureaucracy, buried under manual processes that add zero value. We’re fighting for more headcount. Instead, the focus should be fighting inefficiency.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: procurement is not under-resourced. The problem is much deeper than that. The approach we currently have is wrong. Instead of throwing more people at broken processes, procurement operations need a complete redesign. This requires entrepreneurial, out-of-the-box thinking.
The mindset must shift from thinking like a government bureaucracy, and instead approaching it with a business owner mindset. Results must come from limited resources.
The solution isn’t more headcount. The savvy solution is redesigning smarter operations for the AI era.
Define Where the Biggest Bottlenecks Are
Before fixing anything, it’s essential to first understand what exactly is actually broken. Most teams operate in reactive mode. Urgent requests get responses, but we often fail to step back to analyse patterns. Honestly, we often don’t seem to have the time. But taking one step back to take two steps forward is what’s urgently needed.
Mapping the entire procure-to-pay process is crucial. Document every handoff, every approval, every email chain. Time how long each step takes. Count how many people touch each transaction.
The discoveries will be shocking. Purchase orders requiring five approvals for $500 purchases. Travel requests taking three days to process. Contract amendments sitting in legal queues for weeks.
These bottlenecks create frustration for stakeholders and for strategic procurement teams alike. They drive shadow procurement where departments bypass procurement entirely. Procurement teams spend time on administrative busywork instead of strategic value creation.
Identifying the top ten processes that consume the most time relative to business impact is essential. These become elimination or automation targets.
Eliminate Any Process That Doesn’t Add Value
Brutality is required. Take no prisoners. This is the easiest way to banish waste and inefficiency.
The question to ask: where is effort greater than benefit?
Travel approval requests for standard business trips add zero value. Just give team leaders a budget to manage, and treat knowledge workers like adults. Eliminate these nonsensical, bureaucratic processes that waste everyone’s time. Let employees book directly, as long as they stay within policy guidelines.
Approval requests for payment terms changes on tail spend vendors consume Category Manager time for minimal impact. The savings from optimising payment terms on a $10,000 annual supplier doesn’t justify a senior professional’s hourly rate when spent gathering approval signatures.
Contract reviews for standard software licenses below $25,000 can create legal bottlenecks without meaningful risk reduction. Develop pre-approved contract templates and let procurement execute directly where vendor risk is perceived to be low.
Vendor onboarding questionnaires for SMEs and one-time vendors should be reduced to essential information only. Don’t force an SME to list their diversity policies or ESG credentials. They probably don’t have them. Have a conditional workflow for your vendor onboarding, based on risk.
Every recurring meeting, every approval workflow, every documentation requirement needs scrutiny. If the business value can’t be clearly articulated in thirty seconds, eliminate it.
Stakeholders will thank procurement teams. Teams will focus on work that actually matters. Procurement’s reputation within the business will improve.
Now Look at Automation
What can’t be eliminated can hopefully be automated. But technology selection shouldn’t come first. Process understanding is the starting point.
Complete procure-to-pay (P2P) and source-to-contract (S2C) audits are essential. Map every step, every decision point, every data input. Understanding current state prevents automating broken processes.
Document the ideal future state. How would processes work if designed from scratch with modern tools? What manual work would disappear? Which approvals would become unnecessary?
Limited knowledge of the procuretech landscape shouldn’t be a barrier. External expertise can pay dividends here. Fractional procurement advisory services can guide technology assessment without full-time consulting overhead.
Contact our Founder, James Meads, if you’re struggling here.
Note down all processes which could ideally be automated or simplified. Then categorise them using a simple quadrant framework:
Easy to Implement, Low Risk, High Impact
Examples:
- Automated approval routing for standard purchases
- Electronic invoice processing for existing suppliers
- Spend analytics dashboards for category insights
- Supplier performance scorecards
Easy to Implement, Low Risk, Low Impact
Examples:
- Digital contract storage and search
- Automated vendor onboarding notifications
- Purchase order acknowledgement reminders
- Basic supplier directory maintenance
Hard to Implement, High Risk, High Impact
Examples:
- AI-powered contract analysis and risk assessment
- Integrated source-to-pay platform replacement
- Supplier relationship management transformation
- Advanced demand forecasting and planning
Hard to Implement, High Risk, Low Impact
Examples:
- Custom reporting solutions with complex integrations
- Highly specialised niche software tools
- Extensive ERP customisation projects
- Boutique artificial intelligence implementations
Tackle easy implementation, high impact items first. These deliver quick wins that build momentum and justify further investment. Success breeds success in technology adoption.
Then move to harder implementation projects that deliver significant business impact. Save low-impact activities for last, regardless of implementation difficulty.
Assess What Technology Is Out There
Modern procurement technology has evolved dramatically. Best-of-breed tools integrate through standard APIs. Implementation timelines have shortened from years, to months, to just weeks.
The procurement technology landscape now offers affordable solutions for organisations of all sizes, making transformation accessible without massive capital investment. Understanding the landscape requires systematic research.
Each category offers dozens of vendors with different strengths, pricing models, and integration capabilities. The key is matching technology capabilities to specific bottlenecks and requirements.
Procurement software databases such as ours can accelerate research. These platforms catalogue hundreds of solutions with feature comparisons, helping teams understand available options without lengthy individual vendor evaluations.
Advisory services provide deeper guidance for complex decisions.
The goal isn’t finding perfect solutions. It’s identifying tools that solve the biggest problems while fitting budget and technical constraints.
Implement Technology That Provides Quick ROI
Results are needed quickly to justify more investment. Year-long planning cycles and complex implementations don’t cut it anymore, especially for smaller procurement teams.
Building simple AI agents and automations is possible with current tools. Microsoft Power Automate, Zapier, Make, n8n, and other emerging AI platforms enable rapid development of basic workflow automation.
Outsource AI expertise for more complex requirements. Specialist consultants can develop custom solutions faster and cheaper than internal development teams. They bring experience from multiple implementations.
Buy best-of-breed technology for complex processes where custom development doesn’t make sense. Established vendors offer proven solutions with support infrastructure.
Focus on solutions that demonstrate ROI within six months. This might include:
- Spend analytics platforms that identify immediate savings opportunities worth 10x their annual cost
- Accounts payable automation that reduces processing costs by 70% within ninety days
- E-sourcing tools that compress sourcing cycles from months to weeks
- Contract management systems that eliminate contract renewal surprises and missed savings opportunities
Measure and communicate these wins aggressively. Success stories justify additional technology investments and organisational change management initiatives.
Track time savings, cost reductions, error elimination, and stakeholder satisfaction improvements. Convert these metrics into financial impact that CFOs and senior leadership can understand.
Finding Top Talent Is Key to Achieving More with Less Headcount
Assuming elimination, delegation, and automation of wasteful processes, teams might end up disjointed. Some team members will adapt to higher-value work. Others won’t make the cut.
Traditional recruitment approaches attract process-oriented personalities who follow established procedures. Entrepreneurial procurement requires creative problem-solvers who challenge conventional thinking.
The war for talent in procurement demands a fundamentally different approach to hiring and retention.
Write engaging job descriptions internally. Don’t let HR anywhere near this process. Generic corporate language attracts generic corporate candidates.
Talk to candidates like they’re intrapreneurs, not process monkeys. Highlight the technology they’ll use to eliminate routine work. Emphasise autonomy to make decisions without endless approval chains.
Describe the impact they’ll have on business results. Explain how their work directly affects company profitability, operational efficiency, and strategic objectives.
Enable remote work and flexible schedules. Top talent values work-life integration over traditional office requirements. Geographic constraints limit candidate pools unnecessarily.
Engaging job descriptions should speak to entrepreneurial mindsets rather than corporate conformity. Cultivate a culture of trust and agency. Micromanagement drives away entrepreneurial personalities.
Create environments where people can experiment, fail fast, and learn from mistakes. Look beyond traditional recruitment channels and geographic boundaries. Consider international hires where employment costs are lower but talent quality remains high.
Target jurisdictions with favourable employer social contribution rates, or which offer excellent talent pools but with competitive employment costs.
Look at markets where the jobs environment is currently challenging. Economic downturns create opportunities to attract exceptional talent that might otherwise be unavailable.
Focus on competencies over experience. Analytical thinking, communication skills, and technological adaptability matter more than years in procurement roles.
| Traditional Procurement | Entrepreneurial Procurement |
|---|---|
| Process compliance focus | Business results focus |
| Risk avoidance | Calculated risk-taking |
| Manual workflows | Automated processes |
| Reactive responses | Proactive planning |
| Cost reduction only | Value creation emphasis |
| Departmental silos | Cross-functional collaboration |
Conclusion
The entrepreneurial procurement revolution requires fundamental mindset changes. Stop operating in a technocratic manner that prioritises process over tangible results. Start thinking like entrepreneurs who must deliver value, despite constrained resources.
Eliminate wasteful processes ruthlessly. Automate everything that remains. Implement technology that delivers measurable ROI quickly. Hire talented people who embrace change rather than resist it.
This approach creates a virtuous cycle. More efficient processes free up time for strategic work. Strategic contributions increase procurement’s organisational influence. Higher influence attracts better talent and bigger budgets.
Leading organisations are transforming their operations by making their existing headcount more productive and focused on value-generating activities. Others cling to outdated processes and work for work’s sake.
The tools exist to transform procurement operations. The question is whether teams have the courage to abandon comfortable bureaucracy for entrepreneurial uncertainty.
Stakeholders are waiting. Organisations need procurement teams that drive value rather than manage compliance. The choice is clear: evolve or become irrelevant.
