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Since I first joined Procurement, I felt that Procurement has a reputation problem. Its reputation is based on equal measures, misunderstanding, and bad experiences. For most stakeholders, the idea of engaging Procurement is associated with negative terms like ‘slow, savings-focused, inflexible.’ Compared to Sales and Marketing or Supply Chain Management, Procurement has not established itself as the place to be, the department that helps overcome business-critical challenges, or the one that drives strategic initiatives.
Practical tips for branding Procurement
Procurement has historically not been a very active communicator. What is our offering? What are our terms of service? What are our processes? "We have an intranet page and a procurement policy, and people need to check those to understand how to make a purchase or when to engage us." This is still the standard response I get when I ask for a communication strategy.
To me, it has always been obvious that this is not how relationships work and that procurement will never get a seat at the table with this behavior. But puzzled looks are all I get when I point this out. We need a clear positioning and communication strategy to ensure people understand why, how, and when to engage us. These are all elements a brand can deliver.
In our webinar ‘Branding Procurement,’ we draw on our experience in creating powerful ProcureTech & B2C brands to outline practical tools and steps for branding Procurement as the strategic business partner it desires to be. We explain how to create a powerful brand for your Procurement team based on an established brand framework and how to incorporate your own ambitions and your organization's unique requirements and objectives into it.
As the webinar is very focused on how branding for procurement can be applied, you can get more background on the relationship between Procurement and Marketing in this podcast episode of 'The Way We Source' I recorded with Kodiak Hub. The podcast explores the gaps between Procurement practitioners, stakeholders, and solution providers, my experience walking in all of their shoes, and perspectives on the changing role of Procurement and how ProcureTech providers can cut through the noise of the space.
How is your procurement organization perceived? Do you think your value-add is recognized across the organization and the business knows what you do for them? I would be very interested in hearing your perspective and discuss how branding might help your organization gain more traction and respect. You can always book a meeting using our contact form.
