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We've seen unhelpful Procurement mindsets at countless companies; the most common ones I would describe as “the policeman” and the “Procurement professional.”

The policeman is a historical legacy. Most Procurement organizations were set up to help get control of external spend, with a focus on purchase orders and necessary draconian policies of “if it doesn't go through Procurement, it doesn't go through.” This has set them up for decades-long fights with stakeholders; fights in which Procurement is the policeman, chasing down the non-compliant stakeholders (sounds like a Procurement Blade Runner!).

As a result, many Procurement teams have cast themselves (often unintentionally) in a “policeman” capacity vis-à-vis “the spenders.” Nowadays, this legacy mindset really doesn't wash with sophisticated and intelligent stakeholders in functions such as Engineering, Manufacturing, Technology, or Marketing. In fact, the opposite is required—a collaborative, open, intelligent approach, not a “you have to go through Procurement” approach. To this day, I see vestiges of this mindset in Procurement teams, and it's not helping the cause.

The other thing that doesn't help is when Procurement positions itself as too much of a profession. Rather than credentializing Procurement, this can sometimes create a barrier—the message here being, “We have techniques that you guys don't understand” and “We're better negotiators than you are.” I've found that the strongest Procurement people are the ones who never feel the need to mention their professional skills. They just relate well to the stakeholder, and they do good work.

These somewhat dysfunctional mindsets, when coupled with an already weak remit, can act to severely undermine Procurement's potential impact.