“Procurement isn’t just a cost center; it’s a true value driver. So when they’re recruiting, CPOs and heads of procurement are looking for someone who's current and who is bringing ideas to the table. They’re not just hiring buyers anymore” – Derek Lutz, Founder and CEO, Lean Six Search
Bob Dylan said it best: times, they are a-changin.
While it’s hard to think of a time when this isn’t true, for procurement, it seems like the rate of change has been accelerating at break-neck speed over the last few years. Global economic uncertainty, geopolitical realignments, supply chains shifting under the pressure, and rapid digital innovation are quickly redefining the skills that, even just five years ago, defined procurement excellence.
To get a better sense of the procurement skills that will remain valuable amid all of this change, as well as which ones are becoming obsolete, I recently spoke with Derek Lutz, Founder and CEO at Lean Six Search. Over the last decade, Derek has successfully placed procurement and global supply chain talent in over 50 countries. In this conversation, he shares his perspective on the skills that make top procurement talent stand out today, as well as new ways procurement leaders are approaching talent recruitment and retention.
Here, in Derek’s own words, are some highlights from our conversation:
The War for Talent Isn't About Volume
"Speed is going to kill. It's either going to make you win really quickly or it's going to kill things. One of the biggest things I've been talking about with a lot of my clients over the last bit is you have to move quickly on good talent. You don't need more candidates. You need the right candidates. The war for talent isn't about volume."
Hire for Tomorrow, Not Just Today
"A CPO is going to look at the future versus just looking at what someone's doing right now. You don't want to just recruit for today. You want to recruit for, say, two years from now because the speed of change is so fast. With AI, with sustainability, skills get outdated very, very fast. So you want someone who has the core capabilities and the core soft skills to adjust, to learn, to grow, to evolve."
The Death of the Excel Wizard
"The outdated skill sets across procurement are going to be the Excel wizards with no data strategy. We don't need someone who knows pivot tables. We need someone who can interpret that data, not just format it. Cost cutting is important, but it's no longer the core skill set. It's about value creation and supplier innovation."
Think Like a Sports Team, Not a Family
"We operate as a professional sports team; you've got to earn your position every year. If everyone is the same, you're never going to be a winning team. You need to have different role players. You need to have that trust, collaboration, camaraderie, all those things."
The Legacy Mindset Kills Agility
"If you hear this, you've lost already: 'Well, that's the way we've always done it.' This legacy mindset is the fastest way to kill any agility."
Look Beyond Procurement Experience
"Not everybody has to necessarily come from procurement. If they're incredibly relationship-driven, if they're very data-driven and they can forge those relationships, CPOs might want to look wider across the supply chain or even into sales or finance as well for very, very strong people."
Storytelling is the New Competitive Advantage
"Procurement doesn't own most of its decisions, but it certainly influences them. So that takes emotional intelligence, persuasion, tons of stakeholder engagement, and alignment. This is where the influence piece and storytelling piece are really exciting."
Global Experience Changes Your Perspective
"The more places that I visit and cultures I learn and food that I try, the more I realize human beings are very, very similar regardless of where we are. Travel is a better education than anything I've learned in a book. Just meeting different people from different cultures, learning different things and really just putting yourself out there to be open to new experiences." The Business Partner Mindset
"Commercial curiosity and people who are thinking like business partners, not just administrators, they're not just looking to cost cut. They're looking to bring value."
