Procurement Versus Legal: How to Have 2 Winners

Working better than ever ❤️

I’ve seen Procurement and Legal work in beautiful harmony. I’m one of the fortunate ones to have seen this happen in multiple workplaces.

I’ve sat in both teams - a non-legal contract management and procurement expert. I love existing in the space that is often chaotic. I have seen this work horrendously and I wanted to share why.

Here’s some insights and acti

onable steps to improve the relationship between Procurement and Legal based on experience.

What is the role of Procurement:

I like what Elouise writes on the role of Procurement: “In the simplest terms, the real reason procurement exists is to enable a business to turn supply-market capabilities into value for end customers.”

Cyril states the role of Procurement at BT Sourced is “buying the right stuff at the right price”. I don’t disagree with that either but I feel like Legal will resonate with the first definition.

Many in the legal profession would agree that this can form part of their role, but the legal role is far broader. And arguably, tougher, in that they are regulated professionals and should carry out their work in a prescribed manner. Legal offers a sight of a future that Procurement should aspire to if it wants to be taken seriously as a profession.

What is the Role of Legal:

The SRA states in the UK, each Solicitor shall:

“Act:

1. in a way that upholds the constitutional principle of the rule of law, and the proper administration of justice.

2. in a way that upholds public trust and confidence in the solicitors' profession and in legal services provided by authorised persons.

3. with independence.

4. with honesty.

5. with integrity.

6. in a way that encourages equality, diversity and inclusion.

7. in the best interests of each client”.

When you look at this as a Procurement professional, you must see that we are closely aligned with our legal partners.

So here’s where we get to the issues.

Less Ego

A common issue between legal and procurement teams is the desire for control.

I spoke on this subject a couple of years ago with

Tom Mills

.

The Heart of Procurement with Tom Mills