What does a procurement specialist do?
A procurement specialist sources goods/services, runs RFx events, negotiates terms, manages supplier relationships, and enforces policy to reduce total cost of ownership (TCO) and risk.
What are the key skills to assess while looking for a procurement specialist?
- Strategic Sourcing & TCO: Market analysis, make-vs-buy, lifecycle cost thinking
- Negotiation & Contracting: Terms, SLAs, warranties, risk allocation
- Supplier Management: Scorecards, QBRs, corrective actions, development
- Analytics & Tools: Spend analysis, e-sourcing (Coupa/Ariba/Jaggaer), dashboards
- Risk & Compliance: Due diligence, ESG/diversity, audit trails, anti-corruption
- Stakeholder Partnership: Change management, communication, adoption
What are the KPIs for a procurement specialist?
- Cost Savings % / Cost Avoidance %
- Contract Compliance % / Maverick Spend %
- RFx Cycle Time / PR-to-PO Cycle Time
- Supplier On-Time Delivery % / Quality (PPM, defect rate)
- Invoice Match Rate / Dispute Rate
- Payment Terms Improvement (DPO)
- Supplier Diversity/ESG Spend %
- Supplier Risk Rating / CAPA Closure Time
