I remember having a conversation with a supplier’s lawyer
who said “we’ve never agreed to doing that” in response to something their MD
had very much agreed to. The lawyer even went so far as to say “We’d be mad to
agree to doing that.”
When I tell the story about the supplier and buyer taking
equal ownership and responsibility for a new additional cost for delivering the
service – a cost they could both impact in the future – the solution we
developed is often described as fair, or acting with integrity.
When I look up the organisational values of the supplier I
find integrity, and doing the right thing - is in fact one of their stated
values.
That’s what organisational values are supposed to do –
provide some criteria for the behaviours we demonstrate, and decisions we make
every day. Not just aspirations, or when things are going well, or for the soft
stuff. Values that inform every decision, every day of the year, year in and
year out. (It’s certainly
how our own personal values work.)
In the case of this supplier the “we’ve never done that
before” behaviour was certainly demonstrating doing the right thing.
Do you understand how procurement actions align with your
organisation’s values? Are procurement’s actions encompassed in the values
statements?
One company that has included procurement in their values
statements is Whole Foods.
On first looking it feels little aspirational and out there,
with their higher purpose statement being:
“With great courage, integrity and love – we embrace our
responsibility to co-create a world where each of us, our communities and our
planet can flourish. All the while, celebrating the sheer love and joy of
food.”
Dig a little deeper, and they have identified a business
value that addresses procurement behaviours;
Whole Foods say “Our supplier partners are our allies in
serving the interests of our other stakeholders in bringing to market the
safest highest quality products available. We treat them with respect, fairness
and integrity at all times and expect the same in return.”
I could ask what happens to suppliers who are not partners, but
that feels petty when they then go on to identify four behaviours Whole Foods Procurement can be expected to demonstrate:
- Honesty and communication
- Transparency - farm to fork
- Education (of the supply chain)
- Innovation and differentiation
How do your actions align with the stated values of your
organisation?
If we take common values seen in many organisations, would
you agree, and perhaps more importantly, would your suppliers agree that your
actions are:
- Open
- Honest
- Respectful
- Fair
- Integrous
If you used these five criteria each day to determine what you
do and how you do it, and also what you choose not to do, would it change how you
act?
Last year I was delivering a workshop to a room
full of suppliers who said procurement were still like
MrWolf. I’d like to think that that’s
just the minority of procurement professionals. What do you think? Have we
moved with the times, or are we still stuck with behaviours that feel a little
like the dark ages, and misaligned from the rest of our organisations? It certainly might explain some of the
stakeholder resistance many of us talk about when expressing frustration at the lack of support for our strategies and work.
Alison Smith
The Purchasing Coach
Unlocking procurement potential using unconventional tools
Values and
Behaviours are two of the postcards included in the
Purchasing Coach Soft Skills Toolkit that brings together a series of postcards from your soft skills - it's entitled
Dear Procurement, with love from your soft skills. More
here.
