While the use of technology can greatly improve an organisation’s procurement process, soft skills are still the best tools a procurement officer can have in their field.
It is known that individuals with soft skills have higher rates of innovation and productivity; outcomes that can be beneficial to those within the procurement sector.
Since the supply chain disruption caused by the global pandemic, organisations are focusing more on developing long-term supplier relationships, sustainable sourcing and increasing collaboration.
While these goals can be achieved with the adoption of digital technologies, procurement officers are also pressed to develop their soft skills to keep up with the changes.
1. Leadership
Being at the forefront of handling the organisation’s goods and services necessary for day-to-day function, procurement officers should ensure that they are on top of everything as a leader.
Organisations should have someone who can utilize resources better, re-evaluate and modify the procurement team to suit business needs and stay on top of industry standards and trends. To do this, procurement officers should work to demonstrate leadership qualities such as integrity, the ability to delegate tasks, self-awareness, and practising gratitude and empathy.
2. Communication
Since working in procurement means negotiating with internal and external stakeholders and suppliers, procurement officers should ensure that they have an effective communication strategy so that they can get their message across channels without the risk of confusion or error.
Communicating effectively with a broad range of individuals, such as actively listening and addressing their concerns, can help streamline the procurement process quicker and achieve greater returns for the organisation.
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3. Collaboration
Collaborative procurement, or the practice of organisations’ centralising their procurement for common goods and services, can be beneficial in terms of cutting down costs, streamlining procurement processes, improving supplier relationships, and bringing in more expertise.
This opens the need for procurement officers to improve their collaboration skills as the traditional procurement process and working relationship between stakeholders can slow down an organisation. Working with the skills and abilities of one’s peers can help in developing the best solutions internally and externally.
4. Supplier relationship management
The last few years have made it clear that establishing long-term relationships with suppliers is one of the best ways for organisations to stay afloat.
As such, it is necessary for procurement officers to work on their relationship management skills to work effectively with suppliers. Understanding the supplier’s goals and the outcomes of the contract in order to set achievable objectives for all parties can create value and build strong relationships.
As organisations continue to improve upon their ability to acquire goods and services by shifting to automated processes, procurement professionals should continue to refine their soft skills along with technical training so that they can work better on business-critical activities such as decision-making.