Procurement & Sales together on the training? Why not?!

Author: Szymon Tochowicz

Joint Procurement & Sales traning

The solution for sustainable results

Industry: manufacturing

Objectives: train teams in the latest negotiation techniques and tactics, improve collaboration, focus on increased value generation to the final customer

Participants: Managers, Directors and VPs

Functions: Procurement, Sales, Technology, Quality

Length of the program: 2 years

Program in numbers

no. of training days

no. of participants

no. of countries

Importance of the cross functional approach

In manufacturing industries, the traditional supply chain consists of three elements: Customers / Our Company / Suppliers. Working separately, Sales and Procurement can achieve good results. But there is a difference between being GOOD and GREAT :). Working in the silo mode has an impact on overall performance of the business because each teams have their blind spots. That is why for one of our Clients we proposed an integrated approach - joint training for Sales and Procurement. Training improved collaboration between the teams and helped to focus on the Value Generation. Integrated approach helped to identify new opportunities for procurement and to generate ideas for sales to strengthen their position in front of their global customers.

But that's not everything! 🙂

Thanks to Technology and Quality representatives who joined us we had creative discussion led by Sales about transitioning the company from Build-to-Print [B-t-P] to Build-to-Spec [B-t-S].

B-t-P - products are manufactured to exact specification provided by a client
B-t-S - a client has a general idea of what they need, e.g.: dimensions, function, visual aspects, operating environment but it's supplier's responsibility to design and manufacture product according to his know-how

And maybe the next step could be Build-to-Roadmap?

Content of the training

Stakeholders, strategies, VA/VE, negotiation

During the training we have covered both soft and hard skills that sales and procurement need in their work. Proposed tools and technics improved internal and external collaboration. We looked at our Customer with their customers' and suppliers' eyes. Sales had a chance to work on procurement's strategies and procurement on sales'. Key blocks of the training included:

Stakeholder management
Managing Conflict
Procurement strategy
Dealing with global corporate buyers
Defending from the backdoor selling techniques
Joint value creation and VA/VE
Negotiation skills & Eveneum Negotiation Compass®

Key for the success

Sales & Sourcing in the training together is a really good idea.

Especially if your teams have already participated in separate trainings and you are looking to boost their performance. Close collaboration between the teams and instant feedback are especially important during the crisis. Working together is eliminating the blind spots.

Even better if...

We could have had in the training more people from Quality, R&D or Production. They were represented by SVP of Technology and Supplier Quality Development Manager.

The best results can be achieved through close collaboration between:

Customer's Voice + Supplier's Voice + Internal Voice of the business

Sales know what the customer wants, Procurement understand the supply base and Non-Commercial Teams can make this real considering internal constraints and separating DEMANDS from NEEDS.

Based on our team's real business experience gained in Automotive, Aerospace, Marine and Medical industries we believe it is the best approach to deliver VALUE, optimise profitability and improve collaboration between the functions.

If you are planning to train your team I encourage you to think about the cross-functional approach.

Summary

The Sales & Sourcing program promoted the working together philosophy & the holistic approach as a guarantee of the best results for the business. We had full support of the Customer's leadership. They were involved in shaping the program and were always openly providing us with feedback. During the training we have maintained a high level of engagement of participants and were able to stimulate creative discussions.

We are proud of the received feedback - "the overall impression exceeded our initial expectation"!

Szymon Tochowicz
Head of procurement, aerospace engineer with 18 years in strategic sourcing. Managed teams of strategic buyers and category managers at the regional and global levels. Responsible for the project “Why Purchasing?” promoting procurement as a function. In Eveneum he is involved in consulting projects and customized trainings. He is specialized in automotive, aerospace, defense and energy industries. Trainer at the European Institute of Purchasing Management and lecturer at the Jagiellonian University.