What Makes a Procurement Professional?

I recently came across a discussion about what makes someone a procurement professional. One of the responses caught my attention. It suggested that the strongest professionals combine knowledge, experience, judgement and continual learning. More importantly, the real test should not be which route someone took to enter the profession, but what decisions they can make, how well they can justify those decisions, and what business outcomes they produce.

I found myself agreeing with this point.

It also made me think about my own career path and how I came to work in procurement and supply chain management.

There Is More Than One Way Into Procurement

I did not start my career in procurement. My first role was in international trade sales, where I worked with overseas customers and manufacturers. At that stage, my understanding of the business was mainly from the sales and trade perspective.

As my responsibilities developed, I became increasingly involved in sourcing, supplier management and supply chain operations. Over time, procurement became a much bigger part of my work.

My route into procurement was therefore quite different from someone who studied procurement or supply chain management from the beginning.

Later, I decided to study for the CIPS qualifications. I wanted to build a more structured understanding of procurement, rather than relying only on what I had learned through work. I studied from Level 4 through to Level 6 while continuing to develop my practical experience.

Looking back, both parts of that journey were important. My work experience helped me understand the real challenges businesses and suppliers face. CIPS gave me a more systematic way to understand procurement principles, evaluate different approaches and connect day-to-day decisions with wider business objectives.

This is one reason I do not believe there is only one correct route to becoming a procurement professional.

Does a Professional Qualification Make Someone a Professional?

Professional qualifications such as CIPS are valuable. They provide a structured framework for learning procurement principles, processes and practices. They can also help professionals identify gaps in their knowledge and develop a broader understanding of the function.

However, holding a qualification does not automatically mean someone can handle every practical procurement situation.

Knowing the principles of strategic sourcing, for example, is different from developing and implementing a sourcing strategy when suppliers have different capabilities, costs, risks and commercial interests.

Understanding supplier relationship management in theory is also different from managing a supplier through quality problems, production delays or difficult commercial discussions.

At the same time, I would not say that someone without a professional qualification cannot be a procurement professional.

There are people who have built substantial procurement expertise through years of practical work. They may not hold CIPS or another formal qualification, but they understand suppliers, markets, costs, production, quality and delivery. They can assess situations, make independent decisions and explain the reasons behind those decisions.

Their professional capability should not be dismissed simply because they followed a different learning path.

Experience Matters, but Experience Alone Is Not Enough

I also think it is important not to treat years of experience as proof of competence.

Someone may have worked in procurement for fifteen years, but that does not necessarily mean they have developed the same level of professional judgement as someone with fewer years of experience.

Experience becomes valuable when we learn from it.

In procurement, we regularly face situations where there is no straightforward answer. A supplier may offer a lower price, but can they maintain the required quality and delivery performance? A supplier may promise sufficient production capacity, but does the actual production process support that promise? Should we continue negotiating with an existing supplier, or is it time to develop an alternative source?

These decisions require more than following procedures or relying on what worked in the past.

They require us to understand the business requirements, assess the available information, consider the risks and make a decision that can be justified.

I believe this is where professional judgement becomes particularly important.

What Should We Really Look at When Assessing a Procurement Professional?

For me, it comes down to several connected capabilities.

• Knowledge: Do they understand procurement principles, sourcing strategies, supplier management, cost analysis, contracts and supply chain risks?
• Experience: Have they dealt with real suppliers, production issues, quality concerns, delivery challenges and commercial negotiations?
• Judgement: Can they assess different options, recognise risks and make sound decisions when information is incomplete or circumstances change?
• Accountability: Can they explain why a decision was made and take responsibility for its consequences?
• Continual learning: Are they willing to review their own decisions, learn from mistakes and keep their knowledge relevant as the business environment changes?

These capabilities do not always come from the same place. Some may be developed through formal education, some through practical work, and others through reflection and continued learning.

They should complement one another.

Procurement Is About Business Decisions, Not Just Purchasing Tasks

Another point worth considering is how procurement itself is understood within a business.

If procurement is viewed only as finding suppliers, comparing quotations, placing orders and negotiating prices, then the value of the profession is easily underestimated.

In practice, procurement decisions can affect product quality, production continuity, inventory, cash flow, delivery performance and the overall competitiveness of a business.

Choosing the lowest-priced supplier is not always the best commercial decision. Increasing order volume with one supplier may reduce unit cost, but it may also increase supply risk. A supplier's quoted production capacity may look sufficient on paper, but the actual production process may tell a different story.

A procurement professional needs to look beyond the immediate transaction and understand the wider business impact.

This is also why I believe the quality of a decision matters, not just whether the final outcome was successful. External factors can affect even a well-considered decision. What matters is whether the professional assessed the situation properly, considered the risks, made a reasonable choice and learned from the result.

Qualifications, Experience and Continuous Development Should Work Together

I do not see professional qualifications and practical experience as competing alternatives.

A qualification can provide structure to what we know and challenge us to think beyond our existing experience. Practical work shows us how those principles apply in real situations, where business priorities, supplier capabilities and unexpected problems rarely fit neatly into a textbook.

For me, the value comes from bringing these together.

Some procurement professionals enter the field through formal study. Others develop their expertise through years of hands-on work. Some, like me, move into procurement from another business function and build their professional knowledge along the way.

The route may be different, but the responsibility is the same: to make sound decisions, understand their business impact and keep improving.

Ultimately, I believe a procurement professional should be judged less by the qualification they hold or the number of years they have worked, and more by the knowledge they apply, the decisions they make and the value they bring to the business.

There is more than one way to become a procurement professional. What matters is the professional capability you build and demonstrate along the way.