work around – PME4U

PME4U Blogs

Managing overload in procurement

I have found that generally ten concurrent procurement projects of varying complexity per practitioner is about the upper limit of being able to ensure enough focus is placed on each job. Right now though, with the combination of team members being on leave and the new year projects kicking off, I find myself with closer to 30 concurrent jobs. As I was attempting to review a complex plan, I could see the Outlook popups fading in and out in an almost constant stream. I likened it to sitting in a boat under a waterfall trying to bail it out with a thimble. So what tactics can we use to manage these periods of intense overload?

What is so bad about single sourcing?

Proponents of single sourcing will identify value for money in the close working relationship, saved time through removal of ramp up requirements and extensive knowledge of the organisation. So why do procurement professionals frown upon single sourcing to the point of implementing policies and extended approvals in an attempt to deter it?

Taking the long way round, but don’t walk it

Let me state emphatically off the bat that this “Procurement Made Easy for You” website is not targeted at shortcuts or workarounds, few things will kill process efficiency and effectiveness quicker than taking the easy way out. There is nothing clever or admirable in delivering an outcome by skipping over all the foundations, keystones and frameworks that ensure the outcome is built to last.