Bibby Financial Services

Responsible for leading the Procurement & Properties functions. Driving the strategy, building the team, driving cost efficiency and commercial best practice across the business.

Head of Procurement & Properties

Responsible for heading up a new procurement function, building the team, driving cost efficiency and procurement best practice across the business.

Head Of Procurement

Nisbets 

•	I led a team of buyers across all buying activity across £100M + of spend.
•	I was responsible for delivering the budgeted revenue, profit and margin of the third party range.
•	I developed and evolved a Supplier Relationship SRM strategy
•	I was responsible for leading a developing a buying team.
•	I  developed and maintained strategic relationships with key functional leaders in marketing, sales, sourcing & finance.

Global Head of Buying

Clarks

•	Head of Procurement for Brand, Marketing & Digital Marketing. Led Procurement Transformation, redefining procurement role.
•	Simultaneously Head of Procurement for all Corporate Categories: Professional Services, HR, Properties, Consultancy Spend, Finance & Legal.

Head of Procurement: Corporate, Brand, Marketing & Digital Marketing 

•	Global Supply Chain & Logistics Procurement Lead
•	Delivered multi-million savings on Inbound & Outbound Transportation
•	Led RFP to source new WMS for UK
•	Led Global Procurement Team
•	Expanded scope delivering savings in Shoecare & Accessories

Head of Procurement: Supply Chain & Logistics 

The Hut Group

•	Headed up the Purchasing Team for the Lifestyle Division at the Hut Group, the UK's leading multi-site online retailer.
•	Reported into the Divisional CEO and led a team to deliver best in class availability, cost benefits and working capital improvements to the business.
•	With full responsibility for all elements of Supply Chain and Buying, I drove the profitability of myprotein.com, the leading online retailer for Sports nutrition & supplements, as well as the newly launched myvitamins.com

Head of Purchasing - Lifestyle Division

The Co-operative Group

•	Led a team of range managers to develop and recommend product strategies by store format for the food business. Ensuring branded and own label ranges exceeded customer expectations.

Range Strategy Manager

•	Successfully bought the entire Soft Drinks range - Carbonates, RTDs, front of store chilled soft drinks, ambient juice, cordials, water. Annual Turnover £450 Million.

•	Delivered market share increases across chilled soft drinks, take home soft drinks and ambient juice categories with YOY cash margin benefits. Exceeded stretching budget targets.

Soft Drinks Buyer

•	Transformed YOY sales & increased Spirits market share by introducing a clear & consistent range strategy. Annual Turnover £350 million.

Spirits & Fortified Wine Buyer

•	Consistently delivered versus budget targets while responsible for Desserts & Puddings, Homebaking, Sugar, Sauces & Pickles, Canned Fruit & UHT Milk categories.

Grocery Edibles Buyer

•	Grey market buying, negotiating costs from alternative sources to deliver enhanced margin against standard cost price for branded goods.

Strategic Purchasing Buyer

•	Fast Track Head Office Management Training Scheme: 4-6 month projects in Stores, Depots, Supply Chain, Marketing and Buying.

Graduate Management Training Scheme

I simplify Procurement | 5900+ newsletter subscribers get insights making them 1% smarter at Procurement each week | Link below 👇

I’m Tom Mills Procurement Protagonist®️

My blog (link in bio) is free and full of gems. 

I simplify Procurement.

Join Procure Bites, weekly newsletter, designed to help anyone in Procurement get 1% better at it every week.

It's free to subscribe. The quick link is in my featured section, it's also in my bio under my banner.

Are you at the start of your Procurement career?

- want to join a community where knowledge is shared straight to your inbox for free

In the midst of your Procurement career?

- want to progress into a leadership role and learn how to build effective teams

Working in Sales?

- want to get the inside track on Procurement and learn how to sell effectively to them?

Join the thousands who are already subscribed to my newsletter. It's an absolute no brainer.

A bit about me....

PASSIONATE ABOUT Procurement 

➡️ Buying and Procurement. Both are intrinsically the same but also critically different.

➡️ Negotiation. So many I meet think they understand this skill. Few understand how much they’ve given away before they’ve even begun talking costs.

➡️ Procurement (repeat) Meeting internal customers and external suppliers. This isn't just making a living, it's truly being alive at work.

➡️ Leadership. I thrive when building strong teams. I love to develop individuals and then watch their careers grow. It's the number one way to pay it forward in the workplace.

CORE BELIEFS 💡

✅ Businesses are full of those who over complicate. The cleverest are those who keep it simple. They’re the ones delivering real change. Search those people out in your business. 

✅ Communication is our most powerful and under trained tool. How you talk to others determines your success. Keep it simple. Use acronyms infrequently (UAI).

✅ Truly diverse business workplaces are also the most innovative and fun environments. If the team you work in doesn't embrace diversity, you are being held back. Find ways to fix that or leave.

✅ You are only successful (happy) when your core beliefs align with your actions. As so many of your actions are at work, your workplace MUST align with your values if you want happiness.

IT'S OKAY TO HAVE A LIFE OUTSIDE OF WORK

When I'm not working you are most likely to find me:

🏃Running (or talking about running)

📗Reading about history (or listening to a Dan Carlin Hardcore History podcast).

⚽Tinkering with my fantasy football team.

MOST IMPORTANT QUOTE

💡"You are what you do, not what you say you'll do", Carl Jung.

Tom Mills

Serious about delivering better Procurement?

Sign up here for free: https://procurementprotagonist.substack.com

The quick link is in my featured section, it's also in my bio under my banner.

Are you at the start of your Procurement career?

- want to join a community where knowledge is shared straight to your inbox for free

In the midst of your Procurement career?

- want to progress into a leadership role and learn how to build effective teams

Working in Sales?

- want to get the inside track on Procurement and learn how to sell effectively to them?

Join the thousands who are already subscribed to my newsletter. It's an absolute no brainer.

A bit about me....

PASSIONATE ABOUT Procurement 

➡️ Buying and Procurement. Both are intrinsically the same but also critically different.

➡️ Negotiation. So many I meet think they understand this skill. Few understand how much they’ve given away before they’ve even begun talking costs.

➡️ Procurement (repeat) Meeting internal customers and external suppliers. This isn't just making a living, it's truly being alive at work.

➡️ Leadership. I thrive when building strong teams. I love to develop individuals and then watch their careers grow. It's the number one way to pay it forward in the workplace.

CORE BELIEFS 💡

✅ Businesses are full of those who over complicate. The cleverest are those who keep it simple. They’re the ones delivering real change. Search those people out in your business. 

✅ Communication is our most powerful and under trained tool. How you talk to others determines your success. Keep it simple. Use acronyms infrequently (UAI).

✅ Truly diverse business workplaces are also the most innovative and fun environments. If the team you work in doesn't embrace diversity, you are being held back. Find ways to fix that or leave.

✅ You are only successful (happy) when your core beliefs align with your actions. As so many of your actions are at work, your workplace MUST align with your values if you want happiness.

IT'S OKAY TO HAVE A LIFE OUTSIDE OF WORK

When I'm not working you are most likely to find me:

🏃Running (or talking about running)

📗Reading about history (or listening to a Dan Carlin Hardcore History podcast).

⚽Tinkering with my fantasy football team.

MOST IMPORTANT QUOTE

💡"You are what you do, not what you say you'll do", Carl Jung.

Leanne Ross

Landry NGOUAN 蓝迪

I wish I could put my arms around the 34 year old man in this photo and tell him that everything was going to be alright. 

In fact, more than alright. 

I’d tell him that despite being just 6months away from a deep, dark and crippling period of severe anxiety disorder, where thoughts of a ‘dramatic accident’ felt like my only way out, I’d eventually find the courage to ask for help and gradually get better through Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. 

I’d tell him that despite the huge pressure I felt of relocating my family from North West to South West England, all because of a job, businesses would be forced to wake up to flexible working in 2020 and that I’d never have to make that type of life choice again. 

I’d tell him that despite the miserable attempts by the guy with the framed MCIPS certificates above his desk to undermine me and make me feel so unwelcome in my first Procurement role, I’d one day be confidently sharing all my knowledge in public and creating a Procurement community of my own.

And finally I’d tell him I’d one day be okay with my vulnerability, okay with any mistakes I’ve made and proud of the mental health challenges I’ve overcome. 

That these are what make me uniquely who I am today and far better equipped to help others as a mental health first aider myself.

YouTube is a University for Procurement 

But it’s hard to cut through the noise.

Top 8 channels worth a subscribe:


1. Zerite Network https://lnkd.in/ey-B8SyS

I cannot tell you how good this one is. The channel offers in-depth tutorials, lectures, and how-tos about Procurement, online learning, financial planning, business start-up, CPA lectures, and ACCA tutorials. 


2. The World of Procurement https://lnkd.in/e8JNtJaE

Daniel Barnes needs no introduction. Lots of superb quality how to videos on Contract Management and Procurement.


3. Let’s talk Supply Chain https://lnkd.in/e3vUZ7AA

I met Sarah Barnes-Humphrey at DPW Amsterdam. She’s great. Lots of great interviews on Supply Chain and a real focus on women in the profession.


4. Skill Dynamics https://lnkd.in/e-rH_27f


This channel features e-learning content related to negotiation, RFPs, contract writing and strategic procurement. 


5. CIPS https://lnkd.in/efXj67Uc

This is actually pretty good. If you fight through the videos where they are celebrating CIPS there’s some really informative videos. I’ve never understood why they don’t make more of their Digital content. 


6. Supply Chain Doctrine https://lnkd.in/emS-98xP

Loads of educational resources on various aspects of supply chain management, from procurement and inventory management to warehouse management, store management, distribution management, green supply chain and general management.


7. Wonder Services https://lnkd.in/ej5CBsBQ

A great channel for any business or Procurement team looking to drive transformation, digital, organisational or anything else with a focus on how to bring your people along.


8. SCMDOJO https://lnkd.in/eG6n5wMB

On demand Supply Chain Knowledge Content & Expertise. This is a great resource for anyone looking for tips to help solve the problems they face in their jobs and business. This is a one stop knowledge bank.

Has this helped?

What have I missed?

P.S. for more free content subscribe to my newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/eXWjbkFS

Procurement is not about:
 
- Slashing costs and budgets 
- Hard nosed negotiations
- Creating category management plans 
- Policing the work of others
- Obsessing over the outputs of an activity tracker 
- Mastering the Kraljic matrix or any other framework to perfection
- Acting like the CEO of supplier spend 

Anyone can do that.

It's about:
 
- Understanding stakeholders problems, needs and desires
- Understanding the market 
- knowing your own business in depth
- Collaborating closely with all areas of the business
- Becoming well known and being known well
- Identifying opportunities, ideating solutions, and tackling the risks together
- Being humble (it's ok not to be the smartest person in the room)
- Experimenting with different options 
- Leading without authority
- Turning chaos into clarity
 
Start with these questions:
 
- Why are we buying this thing?
- Why are we buying it now?
- For whom are we buying it?
- What's the unique value of the purchase?
- What does success look like? 
- How can we measure it?
- What are the stakeholder needs (functional, emotional, social)?
- How can we create value for the business?
- Can our business support it?
- Should we be buying it at all? 
- Are there any ethical considerations?
- What are the riskiest elements of this purchase? 
- How can we validate them?
- What is the market telling us?
- Whar are suppliers telling us?

Be curious. Learn and experiment. 

Question things and push back on things that don’t feel right.

Remember that Procurement is about creating a full 360 value proposition.

After 11 years in Procurement, I'm still learning daily, and I do not know everything, but I can give you my perspective on any questions you have.

Drop them below.

How to deliver cost savings in Procurement: Free guide. 🎁

Cost savings has been much maligned as a metric in recent years.

Not least due to people like me shouting about the importance of Value in its wider sense.

But cost is still a critical part of that wider Value definition. 

Cost savings will always be a Procurement team’s primary route in to demonstrating stakeholder value. 

And with economic instability, supply chain fragility and inflationary volatility all impacting businesses more than ever…

Procurement teams will continue to be asked to deliver cost reduction as a primary output.

In this cheat sheet I’ve laid out:

➟ How to deliver cost savings 
➟ Short/ Medium/ Long term initiatives 
➟ A Procurement cost savings framework 

You can use this cheat sheet as

✅ your personal checklist
✅ an interview question guide
✅ a guide to plan delivery of your target
✅ a checklist against your current plan

Has this helped?

Let me know in the comments. 

Feel free to ♻️ repost or share this with your network. 
____________________

📌 Do you want a hi-res PDF of this cheat sheet and all the other ones I produce straight to your inbox?

I’m Tom Mills Procurement Protagonist®️

I Simplify Procurement.

Simply sign up to my free newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/eXWjbkFS 

You’ll get this cheat sheet and other valuable gems for free, released every Monday via the newsletter.

Why hire someone into Procurement with 0 years experience?

- Infuse new generational perspectives
- They can teach you something new
- They bring a learning mindset
- Someone asking lots of questions can inspire creative ideas for change
- People excited to learn and work can positively boost Procurement culture
- Improve the diversity of your team
- Give established Procurement managers the ability to grow through mentoring and teaching
- Outsiders who haven't been brainwashed with traditional Procurement methods are the best people to advance the profession
- Because their experiences matter far less, you’ll focus on interviewing for soft skills instead

The best Procurement teams blend people with different levels of experience.

We shouldn’t ignore true, entry level candidates.

We need ideas from everyone.

Prediction for Procurement in 2024: 
 
More talented individuals will quit teams or businesses that fail to invest in the profession.
 
More tech solutions, higher income potential, more opportunities to shape the function, more flexibility & the ability to unleash the potential of what we can really deliver.

Here’s how you can start: https://lnkd.in/eXWjbkFS

Remember: Procurement underpins good Businesses. 
 
Not the other way around.

~~~

If you found this helpful, consider resharing ♻️ and follow me Tom Mills  for more content like this.

How to deliver cost savings in Procurement: Free guide. 🎁

Cost savings has been much maligned as a metric in recent years.

Not least due to people like me shouting about the importance of Value in its wider sense.

But cost is still a critical part of that wider Value definition. 

Cost savings will always be a Procurement team’s primary route in to demonstrating stakeholder value. 

And with economic instability, supply chain fragility and inflationary volatility all impacting businesses more than ever…

Procurement teams will continue to be asked to deliver cost reduction as a primary output.

In this cheat sheet I’ve laid out:

➟ How to deliver cost savings 
➟ Short/ Medium/ Long term initiatives 
➟ A Procurement cost savings framework*

*This framework was developed by Lance Younger in his time at EY. It’s the best one there is, I’ve been using it for years.

You can use this cheat sheet as

✅ your personal checklist
✅ an interview question guide
✅ a guide to plan delivery of your target
✅ a checklist against your current plan

Has this helped?

Let me know in the comments. 

Feel free to ♻️ repost or share this with your network. 
____________________

📌 Do you want a hi-res PDF of this cheat sheet and all the other ones I produce straight to your inbox?

I’m Tom Mills Procurement Protagonist®️

I Simplify Procurement.

Simply sign up to my free newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/eXWjbkFS 

You’ll get this cheat sheet and other valuable gems for free, released every Monday via the newsletter.

Be careful. Most "Procurement Teams" are, in fact, Purchasing functions*.

6 red flags (and how it doesn't work to act this way):

1. No Analytics: no measurement beyond costs so total value is missed.

2. 100% Savings Driven: an imbalanced priority misaligned to functional needs.

3. Supplier Conflicts: creating negative friction that slows business down.

4. Hierarchy Driven: 'yes' people and thus lacking consistency and integrity.

5. Not Liked: poor reputation and limited stakeholder relationships across the business leads to low compliance.

6: No Strategy: no plan or alignment with the business, meaning no opportunity to improve year on year.

-

Here's a better way:

1. You measure multiple KPIs that will all drive the function forward.

2. You manage the value, usability, feasibility, and viability risks of all supplier decisions.

3. You build fair, transparent and collaborative partnerships. Suppliers enjoy working with you.

4. You're invited into Exec level conversations, not simply to agree or endorse, but to sense check, challenge and advise.

5. You're well known across the business and not just for what you do in Procurement.

6. You have an outcome led approach: preferably using the now-next-later framework.

-

And if you're new to an organisation:

1. Discover the market and define a unique value proposition, initial vision, and strategy for your team.

2. Align your activities, prioritisation and success criteria to those of the functions you work with.

3. Meet with key suppliers early - not just at contract expiry/ RFP. Build trust, understanding and partnership early on.

4. Be clear on your value proposition and get senior endorsement of Policy within 3-6 months.

5. 'Walk the floors', get involved in cross functional workstreams, even those not directly related to Procurement.

6. Once you deliver, use your analytics and apply a continuous improvement approach to update the strategy a minimum every year.

-

Hope that helps.

What are your thoughts?

*I've added a footnote in the comments on the value of Purchasing.

-

P.S. want to learn more about how to do this? Join 9050+ Procurement Pros who get weekly insights straight to their inbox, as well as hi-res PDFs of all the cheat sheets I create:

It's free: https://lnkd.in/eXWjbkFS

ChatGPT can help 10 x your Procurement productivity. But 99% don’t use it correctly.
 
Here’s how to use ChatGPT to stand out and save 1000’s of hours in 2024: 

1. Analyse large amount of data

You can integrate ChatGPT directly into Excel with plugins. But in simple terms you can copy and paste excel into it. E.g. for RFP evaluation analysis ask:

“Please analyse this [spreadsheet]. Which supplier has scored the highest overall?”

Of course, anonymise the data before you do this.

2. Create the first draft of an RFP, SOW or contracts

Often the hardest part is knowing where to start but even if you have a business template, you can use ChatGPT to hone this for a specific requirement. Ask ChatGPT:

“Please adapt the contents of this RFP template and add in the specific requirements and assessment criteria associate with buying [service].
 
 3. Have it be your practice negotiation partner
 
Negotiations are often the hardest thing to practice alone. ChatGPT can be your training partner. Ask it:
 
"Let's simulate a [details] type negotiation. Please be the seller and make a proposal, and we'll go through several steps together"
 
 4. Research a company
 
Knowing the business you’re considering meeting with is super helpful. You can learn what other clients are saying about them. Just ask ChatGPT:
 
 "What have customers said about [Company]? Or what can you infer about their culture from what is available online?”
 
 5. Brainstorm the right Procurement approach
 
Not all Procurement processes are equal. Establish the best use of time. Ask ChatGPT:
 
 "I need to purchase a [specific service] and we have [X number of options] with [Y amount of time available]”. Please outline the best Procurement approach with a suitable timeline to implement.

6. Inspire your interview responses
 
ChatGPT can help inspire your first draft response - personalized to you. Direct ChatGPT to your LinkedIn, then ask the question. Like this:
 
 "Read my Linkedin [URL]. Then craft a compelling response for the question: [Question]."

 
Power tips:

One of the most important things for all of this is to understand the value of prompt engineering.

The more instructions you can give ChatGPT, the more it can do for you in return.

Say you need to write an e-mail to stakeholders about a Procurement process. Your prompt should include:

- Context (“We’re a mid-sized organisation in the financial services industry. Inflation is running high”)

- Tell the AI what its role is (“Imagine you’re a Procurement Professional”)

- Describe the task (“Write an e-mail about the importance of selecting the right supplier and doing Procurement due diligence”)

- Describe the audience (“The readers are time poor and have little knowledge of Procurement”)

- Set the tone (“Use a friendly but clear tone”)

- Give Parameters (“Don’t exceed 300 words”)


Is this helpful? Feel free to repost it for others.

Any thoughts or questions? Let me know in the comments.

3 x Questions to ask ahead of any Procurement activity 

(many neglect at least one of these)

But the questions you ask at the start of a Procurement activity define:

• the process
• the outcomes
• the evaluation 
• the success of the activity

And perhaps most important of all, whether the activity should even be taking place at all. 

Do you agree with the importance of these questions?

What would you add?

Share or repost this if it’s helpful to your network ♻️

Let me know your thoughts in the comments. 

 ~~~~~~~~

P.s. Coffee or Tea first thing in the morning. What can’t you function without?😊

How to deliver Category Management: Your free guide 🎁

It‘s an underrated and vastly under used strategic tool. 

The best Procurement teams use Category management to build the foundations for long-term success. 

In this cheat sheet I’ve laid out:

➟ What is Category Management
➟ What are the Procurement Categories 
➟ Key Practices in Category Management 
➟ The benefits of Category Management
➟ The 8 steps of Category Management 

You can use this cheat sheet as

✅ your personal checklist 
✅ an interview question prompt 
✅ share it with your Procurement team
✅ give it to stakeholders to explain
✅ store it on your intranet as a guide

Has this helped?

Let me know in the comments. 

Feel free to ♻️ repost or share this with your network. 
____________________

📌 Do you want a hi-res PDF of this cheat sheet and all the other ones I release straight to your inbox?

I’m Tom Mills Procurement Protagonist®️

I simplify Procurement.

Simply sign up to my free newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/eXWjbkFS 

You’ll get this cheat sheet and other valuable gems for free, released every Monday via the newsletter.

Procurement Cost Savings: Free guide. 🎁

Cost savings has been much maligned as a metric in recent years.

And often abused by Procurement pros  reporting rogue savings (see my post yesterday)

Often sidelined to people like me shouting about the importance of Value in its wider sense.

But cost is still a critical part of that wider Value definition. 

Cost savings will always be a Procurement team’s primary route in to demonstrating stakeholder value. 

And with economic instability, supply chain fragility and inflationary volatility all impacting businesses more than ever…

Procurement teams will continue to be asked to deliver cost reduction as a primary output.

In this cheat sheet I’ve laid out:

➟ What are cost savings 
➟ Why is cost reduction necessary 
➟ Types of Procurementcist savings

You can use this cheat sheet as

✅ your personal checklist
✅ an interview question guide
✅ a guide to plan delivery of your target
✅ a tool to share with your teams 

Has this helped?

Let me know in the comments. 

Feel free to ♻️ repost or share this with your network. 
____________________

📌 Do you want a hi-res PDF of this cheat sheet and all the other ones I produce straight to your inbox?

I’m Tom Mills Procurement Protagonist®️

I Simplify Procurement.

Simply sign up to my free newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/eXWjbkFS 

You’ll get this cheat sheet and other valuable gems for free, released every Monday via the newsletter.

Today I’ve been on this earth exactly 46 years.

Here’s my 46 tips for a better life:

1. To quieten the mind, exhaust your body.
2. Give your power over to no one.
3. Read more, especially about things you disagree with.
4. Maltesers taste better from a box.
5. Get used to feeling stupid, it’s the surest sign of growth. 
6. Be reliable, hardly anyone is these days. 
7. Keep people around you who will tell you the truth. 
8. Whenever you commit to something you don’t actually want to do, ask first who are you being loyal to?
9. Quit a horrible boss fast.
10. Go to bed early and wake up early. It’s the easiest way to get ahead. 
11. Even when you’re nervous as hell, show up. 
12. Devote the majority of your time doing the things that give you the most energy.
13. Repeat people’s names when you meet them & remember one detail they tell you about themselves.
14. Help people who have never helped you, especially those who can’t. 
15. Commit to things regularly that are far beyond your ability.
16. Walk in nature every single day.
17. Read autobiographies. They’re free access to some of the best mentors in the world. 
18. Find ways to play the game, just never cheat people. 
19. Making your bed straight away guarantees your day will be productive. 
20. Give away your best work for free. 
21. If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. 
22. Write or create one new thing every single day. 
23. Keep a bird feeder topped up and in view of your window. 
24. The Pomodoro technique (25mins on, 5mins off) really does work.
25. Consistency beats raw talent. 
26. Parkrun every Saturday, it’s a community mental health event disguised as a race.
27. If you are able, always take the stairs. 
28. Be polite to rude people - it’s oddly empowering. 
29. Always sleep with your phone in a different room. 
30. Go out of your way to say thank you to someone who won’t expect to hear it from you. 
31. Thank a teacher or mentor who changed your life. 
32. Have one family meal together every day (phones off).
33. Beer chilled in a freezer for 1hr is like nectar from the Gods on a hot day. 
34. But avoid alcohol as often as you can. 
35. Always keep a book in your bag or car.
36. Make a friend from a different generation. 
37. Done is always better than perfect. 
38. Discipline is far more important than motivation.
39. Run a major marathon once in your life (see point 15). 
40. Remember that what you resist always persists.
41. If you’re lucky enough to still have a grandparent alive, record the stories they tell you about their past. 
42. Nobody is ever judging you as hard as you judge yourself.
43. How you spend your day is how you spend your life.
44. Play A-ha ‘Take on Me’ loud for a guaranteed happiness boost. 
45. Those who mock you for being different, are the least happy with their own lives.
46. What matters most is not how you feel, but how you make others feel (see point 13).

When you master these 16 biases as a Procurement Pro,
↳ you have an advantage over 99% of people in your business.

Clear, rational decision-making delivers the best outcomes.

Ever felt like unseen forces guide a decision where you work?
These biases are those forces.

Uncover them to become powerfully objective:

1. Anchoring Bias: Make more rational buying decisions.
↳ First seeing a more expensive quote that makes the second offer seem so much cheaper.

2. Authority Bias: Question authority; think for yourself.
↳ The CEO knows and trusts the supplier, so they must be good.

3. Availability Heuristic: Base decisions on more facts.
↳ A recent availability issue is easier to recall than two prior years of perfect supply.

4. Bandwagon Effect: Choose by values, not popularity.
↳ All your competitors are using it, so it must be good.

5. Confirmation Bias: Consider all views; judge fairly.
↳ Dismissing information that questions the effectiveness of your favourite supplier.

6. Dunning-Kruger Effect: Enhance self-awareness.
↳ You've read one article on a topic and think you're an expert.

7. Endowment Effect: Know the true value of things.
↳ You love your business so why wouldn't a supplier want to work with you?

8. False Consensus Effect: Improve communication.
↳ You assume everyone else must prefer this supplier too. Why wouldn't they?

9. Halo Effect: Evaluate people and things objectively.
↳ The supplier presented themselves so well, so the product must be good.

10. Illusory Correlation: Use evidence, not superstition.
↳ You mistakenly believe because there have been two unrelated instances of service downtime, the supplier will not ever provide good service

11. Negativity Bias: Focus on growth, not setbacks.
↳ An account manager says one thing wrong, but the rest of the meeting was incredibly productive.

12. Outcome Bias: Make decisions driven by process.
↳ A bad investment was smart because it unexpectedly paid off.

13. Recency Effect: Use various info, not just the latest.
↳ The last supplier that pitched to you is the best.

14. Self-Serving Bias: Enhance accountability & growth.
↳ When your supplier selection went well, the Procurement process was brilliant. When it didn't, it was the business' fault.

15. Spotlight Effect: Reduce anxiety; build confidence.
↳ Assuming when you make a mistake in an e-mail, everyone will notice and judge you.

16. Sunk Cost Fallacy: Focus on the future, not past.
↳ You keep going with a failing supplier implementation because you've invested too much time and cost to change direction now.

Take control.
Understand these biases.
Become the master of your destiny.

Which bias do you notice the most in business?

P.S. Find this useful? Repost for your network ♻️.
Thank you!

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Grab my list of the most important Procurement Books to read in 2024.

Books covering key themes
- Procurement and Purchasing (10)
- Negotiation (5)
- Influencing (3)
- Supply Chain Management (6)
- Digitalisation (4)
- Sustainability (3)
- Finance (3)
- Data Analysis (2)
- Process Management (1)

All books listed here as a free Notion collection: https://lnkd.in/emGvHMSY

No e-mail and no paywall to access. 

What's inside?

- Brief descriptions of each book
- My personal top 10 (and top 5) if you had to choose
- Summary articles
- YouTube videos about each book
- Amazon links
- World of Books links (second hand: cheaper + better for the environment) 🙂 

What book did I miss?

P.S. Repost or share this if it's a helpful resource

7% of Stakeholders will engage in Dark Purchasing 

No matter how good your communication & processes are. 

This comes at huge cost to organisations in terms of

- money
- business risk
- supply chain fragility 

But the biggest untold consequence is on a Procurement Team’s time. 

Many take one of two approaches 

1. The harbour blockade

A common tactic is to block entry. To put out all the stops to prevent the supplier being onboarded

This comes at cost to your 

- reputation 
- future stakeholder engagement 
- mental health 

2. The tug boat approach 

This is when you row out to help salvage with all hands on deck approach 

This comes at cost in terms of

- resource 
- mental health (again)
- and presents mixed messages to the business*

*as the consequences of non compliance are not felt and the stakeholder thinks it’s okay to engage Procurement so late. Any delays get blamed on Procurement. 

————-

I advocate my M.A.S.T. framework instead 

M = Measure and record the potential cost of the dark purchase. 

A = Ask the stakeholder what value they think you can provide at this stage, then clarify what you can/ can’t do 

S = Solve only the key risks that can be addressed at this late stage (eg. DP and Infosecurity)

T = Transistion fast. Don’t get embroiled, move on as soon as you can to activity where you can add real value 


TL;DR?

Don’t waste valuable time on the 7%.
Deal with the risks quickly and transition to where your value is understood.


Let me know your thoughts in the comments 👇

4 x Best Spend Analysis Models

To get control and understanding of your third party spend and influence decision making.

In this cheat sheet I’ve laid out the best ones to use to display your data

➟ Spend Cube 
➟ Tail spend analysis 
➟ Treemap report
➟ Category Spend Analysis 

You can use this cheat sheet as

✅ a framework to develop your analysis 
✅ a guide to share with your teams
✅ a reference point for interviews

Has this helped?

Let me know in the comments. 

Feel free to ♻️ repost or share this with your network. 

____________________

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I’m Tom Mills Procurement Protagonist®️

I Simplify Procurement.

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