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CHAPTER 3
THE PLANNING, ORGANISING, LEADING AND CONTROL OF PROCUREMENT
affected by the changing business environment and the need to refresh and
reassess those skills constantly [8].
3.5.1 LEADERSHIP SKILLS
A leader who demonstrates leadership is any person who influences individuals
and groups within an organisation, helps them in the establishment of goals,
and guides them toward the achievement of those goals, thereby allowing them
to be effective. Given the magnitude of change a company faces as it endorses
a strategic view of procurement, it should become evident why the profession
needs supply managers who are capable of being supply leaders, and supply
leaders who are capable of demonstrating leadership.
The five most important skills that a procurement leader is expected to have
are technical skills, interpersonal skills, internal and external enterprise skills,
and strategic business skills.
3.5.1.1 Technical Skills
These are the basic administrative skills necessary for any procurement
professional in the 21
st
century. They include product knowledge, computer
literacy, total quality management and government legislation. Technical skills
can include Advanced Procurement Process (APP) skills, such as category
management, global sourcing development and detailed cost driver analysis. It
includes the need to use and manage e-procurement technology and processes
effectively. This means optimising supplier selection to leverage the opportunities
offered by e-procurement [9, 10, 11]. These basic procurement skills are the
foundations for building more strategic skills [12, 13, 14].
3.5.1.2 Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal skills allow one to interact effectively with people. They include
written and oral communication, conflict resolution, influencing and persuasion,
group dynamics, problem solving and interpersonal and cultural awareness.
3.5.1.3 Internal Enterprise Skills
These skills relate to the overall business and how the different functions interact.
Internal enterprise skills will enable procurement professionals, for example,
to effectively conduct market analysis, manage internal relationships, evaluate
global sourcing, manage internal change and plan.
3.5.1.4 External Enterprise Skills
These skills relate to the supply chain/network and its stakeholders and will,
for example, enable the management of external relationships and stakeholder
change.