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Barbara Reutov

BA235

Course Project

06/03/2019

Millennials Help Advance Procurement into the Future

Introduction

In recent years iconic brick and mortar stores have closed their doors forever, while
online stores success has skyrocketed. Online shopping has given the consumers the option to
purchase right off their smartphones or even in the comfort of their home. For the companies
who do not conform to change, their businesses could soon cease to exist. Technology is the way
of the future, but it is often met with resistance to change. Pre-Millennial generations are slow to
jump on the digital bandwagon and this has hurt some professions, procurement being one of
them. Added pressures to procurement is the vast number of vacant positions created by a large
surge of retiring employees. This trend cannot continue, and this is where recruiting agents need
to step up their game and sell this career to the young and upcoming graduates. While this “silver
tsunami” creates a problem, it also could be the solution needed to advance procurement into the
future. Millennials will use their love of technology, workstyles and mentoring and help advance
the procurement profession.

Millennials are born between 1980 – 2000, showcased in Fig. 1, make up the largest
generation yet. Kaitlyn McAvoy wrote in her article, “How to keep Millennials in Procurement”
that by 2020 Millennials will make up half of the global workforce.

Future of Procurement

The challenge is to convince these young workers that procurement is an exciting career
to pursue, and then retain them. Procurement is an antiquated profession that has been stuck to its
old ways that didn’t foresee the need to change. Times are changing quickly, but their outdated
practices means that they failed to allow change to happen which has made them less efficient. In
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order to get these young job hunters excited to join the team, they will need to make the job fun
and exciting.

Millennials taking procurement into the future is an exciting one. As Fig.2 shows those
currently in procurement that 87% agree that this profession develops personal
growth/development. Diversity allows Millennials to be innovative which will take the
procurement profession to another level. They are tech-savvy and are ready to network, which
will help get the word out to attract talent. Working with new technology can make for
collaboration between buyer and suppliers a smooth one. Technology fulfills Millennials needs
for a work-life balance by giving them the opportunity to work from home and connect via
facetime for live conferences. This increases production time and limits the time that they do not
have to sit in traffic going to and from work. Millennials are constantly connected, and this
would be a breeze for them, as a bonus they can check work emails all day long.

Results

Fig.1

Source: Attracting and Retaining Millennials to the Procurement Profession

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Fig. 2

Source:Millenials in Supply Chain

Recommendations

First step to meet the trending challenge would be to bring procurement up to speed in
technology. Millennials will demand only the best because they do not have the patience for
lagging systems. Costs may be more significant in the beginning but that usually is offset when
the company starts saving taxpayers money when they implement the new procedures. Per
NASPO research brief, Recommendations from the Future Workforce, “Since Millennials are the
first generation to grow up with computers, they are well accustomed to advances in technology
making life easier, and will be looking for this at work.” So many jobs have been automated and
in order to be able to compete, procurement needs to be pushing for high tech technology and
someone that can run it quickly. To train the senior workers would take a long time and time
equals money, money that could be spent elsewhere. By improving the technology would allow
the new tech savvy employees to make changes that citizens face every day when they do not
have the online self-service available in their state. “According to the 2014 NASPO Survey of
State Procurement Practices, of the 47 responding states, 32 states use and eProcurement system,
although few approach the functionality in Virginia’s eVA system” (NASPO, p.281). States that
have eProcurement systems in place have saved money. For example, Virginia reports that
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administrative costs have gone from $175 down to between $10 and $15 and other significant
savings in cost of goods and services since implementing their version of eProcurement system.
(Naspo, p.279-280)

With pension plans almost a thing of the past, means that these are no longer incentives
enticing employees to commit for the long term. The next suggestion would then be to change
the work style to suit the current influx of new workers entering the field. Because they value
work-life balance above else they want flexible schedules. Allowing flexibility would interest
them into applying for the positions that procurement has to offer. It would benefit both parties
as well because it would make them happier and that in turn makes them more productive.
Millennials love to communicate and work well in groups. Social media has played an important
role in wanting to do work together and looking for solutions. This experience eliminates the
waiting game until they get into the office in the morning and would allow for projects to flow
smoother. Millennials are not afraid of taking risks or ask questions and Richard Pennington
states in his book Seeing Excellence, “Continuous improvements starts with opportunities, and
questions are the primary tool for uncovering those opportunities” (13).

The last recommendation would be to get on board with reverse mentoring. Bonding
together with senior co-workers makes for a productive project. Millennials can teach them about
computers and the senior workers can teach them about policies that are in place. This would
also eliminate the need to send them out for training and thus saves them money to use
elsewhere. John Simpson suggests in his article. 5 Ways That Millennials Will Shape
Tomorrow’s Supply Chains, “As the complexity of supply chain operations grow, so too do the
requirements for ongoing education, skill training, and cross-training. More so than preceding
generations, Millennials welcome the opportunity for such on-job learning opportunities and
actively seek out professional mentors.” When the new workers get along with the old it makes
for a cohesive and diverse group. Embracing the opportunity to work with the younger
generations will motivate the senior employees to have more of a can-do attitude that they bring
to the office culture.
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Conclusion

Who can walk into a career fair and not walk out with bagful of information on exciting
new careers to chase? How many get excited when they hear procurement? Although the name
does not scream excitement, procurement has a lot to offer the new graduate. Millennials are not
loyal, not like the days of their parents/grandparents that worked at the same job until they
retired. With the recent vacant seats that need to be filled recruiters need to step up and find ways
to sell this profession. Procurement has the platform to make changes and Millennials have the
drive to make the changes. The need to implement technology fully into the procurement
profession will be an easy task for the already tech savvy Millennials. Offering Millennials
flexibility will ensure that they will stay invested in procurement. Working together with senior
employees, Millennials will make procurement an exciting new career, one that is more efficient
and more profitable.
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Works Cited

“Attracting and Retaining Millennials to the Procurement Professions.” Georgia Procurement

Conference. p.7 image,
http://doas.ga.gov/assets/State%20Purchasing/Presentations%20for%20the%20Sessions/
Attracting%20and%20Retaining%20Millennials%20to%20the%20Procurement%20Prof
ession_MRoux1.pdf. Accessed 30 May 2019.

McAvay, Kaitlyn. “How to Keep Millennials in Procurement.” Spend Matters, Azul Partners, 02
June 2016, http://spendmatters.com/2016/06/02/how-to-keep-millennials-in-procurement/
. Accessed 30 May 2019.

“Millennials in Supply Chain.” Apics. P.17 image, http://www.apics.org/docs/default-

source/default-document-library/millennial-survey_-web-final.pdf?sfvrsn=2 . Accessed
03 June 2019.

Pennington, Richard. Seeing Excellence. “Ch.2 Finding Opportunities: Practice the Art of the
Question.” Hugo House Publishers,LTD. 2013, p.13.

“Recommendations from the Future Workforce.” NASPO, p.14,

https://www.naspe.net/assets/docs/naspo_2016millennialwhitepaper_final.pdf. Accessed

30 May 2019.

Simpson, John. “5 Ways That Millennials Will Shape Tomorrow’s Supply Chains.” Source
Today, Informa USA, 17 Nov. 2017, https://www.sourcetoday.com/supply-chain/5-ways-
millennials-will-shape-tomorrows-supply-chains. Accessed 30 May 2019.

“State & Local Government Porcurement. 2nd ed. “Ch.19 eProcurement,” The National
Association of State Procurement Officials, 2015, pp. 279-281.