A Checklist for Procurement Managers When Commencing a New PositionJanuary 5, 2015 by Jeremy Kirsten MCIPS A Checklist when commencing a new Procurement Manager Position based on some pointers shared with a LinkedIn colleague.As a procurement professional, there are a few fundamentals that I endeavour to stick to;Get to know your stakeholders - having their buy in is critical because without that, trying to get projects or initiatives to a meaningful resolution can become very frustrating. While many stakeholders may be aware of your appointment into your new position, some may have some trepidation because of fear that you may be encroaching on their territory or simply because they have not been told in any great amount of detail just what it is that you are responsible for. After a bit of hard sell and they begin to see that you can help them in attaining their objectives, the more open they will become.Politics - it is my experience from everywhere that I have worked, that there is always politics in a business be they state owned or otherwise. I try and be as neutral as possible on this score because there is a potential risk by taking sides and alienating yourself from a stakeholder. Procurement is a change centric profession and as such impacts all areas of a business. So when I say politics I am not referring to networking or engaging with stakeholders. These activities must always take place in order that we are totally in sync with what our stakeholders and by extension the business on specific needs and wants.Develop a category plan and be sure to harmonise this with business stakeholders - in my opinion, major sourcing events should not take place when it clashes with shuts or major maintenance for example if anything because some of those stakeholders will need to be involved in a sourcing event and it is prudent in my opinion to reduce the level of interference in any customer time sensitive projects.Say what you mean and mean what you say - experience has shown me that when we do not deliver on projects and we have said that we will, we run the risk of alienating ourselves from our stakeholders and this is not something we want.Insist on crystal clear key performance indicators and performance deliverables from your manager - if anything because you are both on the same page and there is that old saying that if you do not aim at anything you will not hit anything. The added benefit is that when it comes to showing or demonstrating your value to the business that it is clear and unambiguous. E.g. % of EBITDA needs to be clear and the criterion for its reporting there are a few ways but cost avoidance (e.g. putting off a purchase till a time closer to its use),and cost out (E.g. previously paying $400 but now you are getting the same for $390).Get your team on the same page as you right from the outset - develop a robust and clear mission vision statement for your department and get their buy in. When one has very clear indicators to deliver on, that these are clear to the team and that they each understand the part they play individually in attaining this.Dont be afraid to sell yourself - and always let it be seen that you and your teams value proposition is being brought to the attention of the business generally; as I mentioned previously, the broader organisation may not always be aware of what value you bring (this could be to the direct reports of some of your stakeholders or some in executive management that you may not have a great deal of interaction with there a few ways of doing this; formal inter team and departmental meetings, performance dashboards, newsletters and business wide mail circulation. The risk with the latter of course is that it may get viewed as spam and ignored.Have a sense of humour and show it on your first day; yes this could apply to a number of professions great as an ice breaker. There is of course a risk that this could be inferred as irresponsible or blas so show off your humour with sensitivity.