THE OBSERVATION
One of the most common complaints about procurement is that it slows the business down.
Sometimes that criticism is deserved. A bad process can turn a simple purchase into an expedition through forms, approvals, and meetings. If routine buying takes weeks, the business will eventually find another route.
But there is another version. Procurement gets called after the supplier is selected, the specification is fixed, the budget is committed, and the deadline was apparently last Tuesday. Then everyone is surprised when procurement asks questions.
The fire drill did not start when procurement arrived. Procurement just got invited after the smoke was visible.
WHAT IT TELLS YOU
Good procurement should create speed by reducing rework, surprises, and avoidable decisions later in the process.
The earlier procurement is involved in the right decisions, the more options the business has. There is time to challenge the requirement, compare alternatives, create competition, understand risk, and structure an agreement that actually supports the business need.
Late involvement does the opposite. Choices have already become commitments. Procurement is left trying to negotiate inside boundaries someone else created, usually while being asked to move faster.
The answer is not to put procurement into everything. The answer is to use judgment about where procurement creates value and where the business simply needs a fast, sensible path to buy.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
If procurement feels slow, look upstream before adding another approval step:
• How often does procurement first hear about a project after a supplier has already been chosen?
• Are routine purchases and strategic decisions forced through the same process?
• Do recurring contract, legal, or supplier issues keep appearing late in the cycle?
• Are stakeholders bypassing procurement because they do not understand how or when to engage?
• Are we measuring time to a good business decision, or only how quickly procurement completes its own tasks?
A slow procurement process is a problem. So is a fast process that repeatedly produces poor decisions. Speed without judgment is just a quicker way to get somewhere you may not want to be.
WHAT TO DO NEXT
Segment the work. Make routine buying easy and reserve deeper procurement involvement for decisions where cost, risk, complexity, or strategic importance justify it.
Create clear engagement triggers and a simple intake path. Use preferred suppliers, templates, thresholds, and delegated authority for routine work. For larger decisions, get procurement involved before the answer has already been chosen.
Earlier involvement is not about adding bureaucracy. It avoids the late-stage scramble where legal, procurement, Finance, and the business all discover different problems at once.
And measure the right thing. The goal is not the fastest purchase order. The goal is the fastest path to a sound business decision with the right commercial protections.
Procurement should not become the toll booth everyone hates approaching. Done well, it becomes part of the road design, helping the business move faster because fewer things have to be undone later.
THE STRATTON VIEW
The goal is not to put procurement in the way.
It is to put procurement early enough in the right decisions that the business has more options, less rework, and fewer surprises.
Discipline. Partnership. Enduring Value.
STRATTON & Co. | Procurement leadership for growing companies
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