Procurement

Implementing Best Practices: The Procurement Maturity Model Stephen R. Guth, Vice President, Vendor and Legal Services National Rural Electric Cooperative Association 703/907-5902; stephen.guth@nreca.coop 95th ISM Annual International Supply Management Conference, April 2010 Abstract. The Procurement Maturity Model (PMM) was developed to assist procurement professionals in implementing procurement best practices as a means to improve organizational performance. The PMM enables users to easily select, in a spreadsheet format, example current practices in order to compare themselves against over 60 best practices. The intent of the model is to provide procurement professionals with practical and actionable practices to improve procurement performance. Procurement as a Profession. While procurement has been a recognized career field since the days of the World War II materials shortages, there has been a rapid acceleration in recent years pushing procurement toward a full-fledged ―profession.‖ Universities are now offering bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees in procurement, contracting, or supply chain. The Institute for Supply Management has recently invigorated their premier certification in the form of the Certified Professional in Supply Management, which reflects the expanded knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to be a successful supply management professional. There are also standard terminologies and professional codes of ethics posited by the various procurement-related trade associations. Most telling, employers are increasingly requiring of prospective employees a degree, professional certification, and involvement in the profession, such as speaking or writing. In culmination, procurement organizations are coming under increasing scrutiny to raise their standard of performance. Factors Affecting Organizational Performance. In the procurement profession, there is a broad set of external factors which directly affect organizational performance:...