Earlier this month, in our Procurement Key Issue 2013 post, we noted that CXO’s still don’t get the disconnect and that the average CFO, COO, and CEO still does not understand the value of the Procurement Organization. Furthermore, despite the ever increasing need for Procurement Training, from what we’re seeing, for the fifth year in a row, as part of the continued drop in operating budgets for the Procurement function, Procurement training budgets are (again) being slashed, if they exist at all!

In order to achieve the objectives being put before you, which include:

• the acquisition of game-changing innovation and technology,
• the increase in purchasing’s scope and influence,
• the increase in value of the organization’s product and service offerings

and, SI’s favourite,

• a further decrease in organizational spending

(even though inflationary times are back with a vengeance and the pursuit of cost reductions is a lost cause in this market where food reserves are at an all time low, China has a monopoly on rare earths, oil (and energy) demands are skyrocketing around the world, and metal prices are shooting off of the charts), you need training. The skill sets and knowledge you need to keep up with today’s supply markets is almost overwhelming!

Right now, you’re probably asking why you should front the time and money to train yourself. Especially when it looks like the organization will get all of the benefit. Well, the organization will get a lot of benefit, but so will you. At the end of the day, the fact of the matter is that you will be more skilled and you will be worth more. If you are unable to negotiate a pay raise with your current employer that at least reimburses you for the effort and money that you spent getting yourself trained within three months, then another Procurement organization will be happy to give you a significant raise. The reality is that many companies would rather pay more for already trained talent than pay to train the talent themselves. While the exact amount that training will boost your salary is hard to quantify, some institutes claim that the acquisition of a purchasing management certification can boost your salary by 30% to 40% and Next Level Purchasing knows of at least one case where an individual obtained a 67% salary increase! While increases of this magnitude are atypical, salary increases in the 10% to 20% range are not!

So train thyself. It will be worth it!