Procurement 101

Anyone can spend money. Procurement's job is to spend it well.

Twenty-five-plus years ago, nobody told me procurement could be a career, let alone a genuinely fun one. I fell into it the way most of us do: a job opened up, I raised my hand, and I figured I'd learn the rest on the job.

This is the book I wish someone had handed me on day one. It is not a textbook. It's the real stuff, drawn from supplier meetings, budget reviews, and building processes from scratch across manufacturing, healthcare, aviation, and distribution.

Whether you're brand new to a procurement role, a hiring manager trying to build a stronger team, or you've been doing this for years and just want to see your own experience reflected back at you, this book is for you.

Inside, you'll learn how to:

• Find the spend no one is watching, and bring it down
• Challenge "sole source" and build real supplier competition
• Negotiate firmly without losing the relationship
• Read the fine print
• Build category strategies, manage supplier risk, and measure what matters
• Use AI as a tool, not a strategy
• Build a procurement career that lasts

Every chapter ends with a Toolbox of things you can do this week. Not someday. This week. The appendix gives you ready-to-use templates, from a spend analysis starter to a negotiation prep brief and a contract review checklist.

Procurement rewards action, not theory.

Welcome to Procurement 101. Let's get into it!