10 Feb 2012 The procurement game plan
Many will know of, if not know personally, Charles Dominick of Next Level Purchasing fame. The Procurement Game Plan is a new book that Charles has co-written together with Soheila Lunney and he kindly sent me a copy this week to review. Now I can count on the fingers of both ears the number of times I’ve reviewed a book on procurement so I was delighted to delve into it and see what I could come out with.
From the title I was expecting something profound, or at least something that had pretensions of profundity. “Winning strategies and techniques for supply management professionals” – the sub title – promises something new and exciting – a set of new ways to deliver bigger and better. So I was kind of disappointed to find that The Procurement Game Plan is only a an authoritative and invaluable guide to best practice in procurement. How can I mock that?
Seriously, I had no intention of mocking but I had feared though that it would be a stream of nonsensical management speak, an “Emperor’s New Clothes” style string of clap-trap designed to impress fools just like all of those management books you see at airport bookshops. But this book isn’t like that by any means.
Written in a style that is accessible and engaging, it contains a comprehensive and importantly, contemporary guide to managing a wide range of procurement scenarios. From procurement’s place in the organization through talent management, corporate social responsibility and green sourcing this is a the 21st century procurement pro’s handbook.
It’s not a book to read from cover to cover but it is a book that I’ll keep within reach to be able to refer to for inspiration and clarification or perhaps just to remind myself what the term “strategic sourcing” actually means.