Preparing Procurement Professionals: Your Organization’s Competitive Advantage

Skilled procurement professionals are in high demand, especially after the supply chain disruptions organizations have faced over the past year. However, APQC finds that current-state procurement talent development is not adequate. Procurement faces a leaky talent pipeline as young professionals see the discipline as a mere stepping stone to other, more lucrative career paths. This sentiment is amplified by the structure and focus of most organizations’ talent development programs for procurement, which offer only the most basic and traditional approaches and focus on yesterday’s skillsets rather than future-ready capabilities.

This paper explores the root causes of the procurement talent problem and offers actionable solutions for building more relevant, productive, and attractive development programs.