Procurement – The Only Accidental Profession Left in the 21st Century
Article by Omid G
Over the last 27 years, I’ve asked well over 30,000 people in our profession — including at conference keynotes — the same exact question:
“How many of you planned on being in this profession right out of high school, pursued an education in procurement, and then landed a job in procurement as originally planned?”
Out of 30,000+ procurement professionals in 29 countries over nearly three decades, how many do you think raised their hand and said:
“Yes, I planned to be in this profession from the very beginning”?
Answer: Four.
Yes, you read that right — only four people.
Why Procurement Is Different
Think about other business professions:
People plan to be in accounting, marketing, real estate, insurance, finance, operations, IT, and so on. These fields are filled with professionals who mapped out a clear path to get there — it’s the norm.
When was the last time you heard of someone:
Studying HR in college, then ending up in manufacturing?
Majoring in accounting, then moving into marketing?
It’s rare. But in procurement, it’s the standard story.
The Reality of Procurement Careers
Do most procurement professionals start with a procurement degree and a master plan?
Absolutely not.
If we’re lucky, people enter the field with degrees in business, economics, or engineering — useful for certain procurement roles.
More often, they arrive with backgrounds in history, political science, sociology, physical education, or something entirely unrelated. I’ve seen it all.
Even those who claim they planned to be in procurement usually didn’t — procurement found them, not the other way around.
The Consequences of an “Accidental” Workforce
Since nearly everyone arrives in procurement by accident, most of us are trained by people who also arrived in procurement by accident. Many believe they have “20 years of experience,” but in reality, they have 1 year of experience repeated 20 times.
Look up your management chain — odds are you eventually report to someone who doesn’t truly understand procurement.
Why the C-Suite Often Misunderstands Procurement
Here’s what happens:
A CEO, CFO, or COO gets a report that procurement saved $526.8 million in the last fiscal year.
Their reaction?
“That’s great, but where’s the money? Show me. I could use it. It’s certainly not sitting in my budget.”
From that moment, procurement becomes a point of skepticism. To the C-Suite, it’s “monopoly money” — like a child’s imaginary friend.
Result? Procurement gets tucked under various unrelated departments:
Legal
Finance
Accounting
Operations
Manufacturing
Site Services
One company even had procurement report to HR because, as they explained:
“Well, HR buys people, so they should buy everything else too.”
The Path Forward
We need to change this narrative. That starts with creating a procurement talent pipeline beginning in high school — raising awareness that:
Up to 80% of a company’s revenue flows back through procurement.
A procurement dollar saved has a far greater impact on EBIT than a sales dollar earned.
Procurement must stop being seen as a back-office overhead function and instead be recognized as a Value-Added Center of Profit.
If you’re in a leadership role, take action to make this shift happen.
Now go off and do something wonderful.
Be your best!
Omid G.
“The Godfather of Negotiation Planning” ~ Intel Corp