Skill Development

What works

Simply delivering skills training without a supporting environment is often a wasted effort. ADR takes a comprehensive approach to professional development that identifies specific needs of the organization and each individual and tailors a program of training that matches the two.

The development approach provides long-term mentoring, coaching and measurement of progress. Detailed expectations and deliverables are understood in development programs. While development programs have a high cost, they also have a high return and deliver enhanced organizational capability.

The Development Process

This figure illustrates the flow of a robust team and individual competency development program. This process begins with an assessment of the current individual and team competencies relating to business needs. Once business needs are defined, each respective department head then assesses his or her own department’s individual and team competencies to support the needs of the business. Important elements of the above process flow are measurability and ongoing reassessment.

Purchasing Competencies

Personal development plans in this process should cover each of eight areas of competency.

• Strategic Purchasing - Directing the development of key supplier strategies, establish and maintain strategic relationships with suppliers, and ensure successful implementation and support for their sourcing strategies. Will be developing purchasing category best practice. This calls for high level purchasing thinking.
• Marketplace Management – Acting as a company resource when evaluating the impact of purchasing category and supplier management strategies, weighing options and making decisions. These need to be underpinned by thorough market knowledge and data analysis. Needs to be well versed in tools and techniques of both competitive and collaborative purchasing.
• Negotiation and Communication – Taking responsibility for the negotiation of important categories of expenditure. Providing expertise in the negotiation of complex purchasing contracts. This calls for expertise in both tactical and strategic negotiation.
• Contract Formation and Management -- Acting as a functional expert for the development of important business unit and major purchasing contracts. Also has the potential for more sophisticated contracting, e.g. partnering, strategic alliances, technology transfers, etc. Provides contracting expertise as needed across the business.
• Cost and Cash Management – Achieving cost control, cost reduction and cost containment targets for designated categories of expenditure. This needs to be achieved from a strong total cost orientation. Also managing suppliers for cash release.
• Supplier Relationship Management -- Taking responsibility for influencing business practice with regard to the development and application of effective, proactive supplier management. This involves working closely with internal customers and influencers on sourcing decisions to ensure that supplier contribution and performance requirements are fully met.
• Cross-Functional Team Skills -- Communicating and influencing category purchasing with colleagues within a company. Interacting with internal customers, particularly at technical, middle and senior management levels.
• Purchasing Processes -- Developing, implementing and coordinating purchasing process improvement across categories of expenditure, cost and supplier reduction and supplier management. Needs to be a self-starter, able to drive process improvement to planned timetables without the need for regular upward reference to higher management.

Professional Development Options

Each teaching situation is different, and what works in a small group may not be effective for a large group of buyers. For that reason, ADR uses a blended learning approach including interactive workshops, e-learning modules, web casts and clinics.

Where appropriate ADR will provide one-to-one or small-group coaching and mentoring to procurement teams on real-life category projects to assist them in applying their new skills in their day-to-day procurement activity.