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A company that fails to manage its supply chain at a strategic level is unlikely to meet its business objectives effectively. (Chris Freeman-CEO of Logic).
I must first of all give glory to God almighty that make me a procurement and supply chain management professional. Why is professionalization of procurement and supply chain management so important that make me put up this piece of write up? Meanwhile, the above statement by Chris Freeman has substantiated the importance of professionalization from what has already been said in various workshops, seminars and academic circles. The only way that procurement and supply chain management personnel will gain recognition for outstanding contributions to their nations or organizations is by becoming just a professional as people in other vocations. They must recognized as people of a specialized profession, just as lawyers, accountants, architects, engineers, pharmacists and doctors are. To do this, they must have comparable standards of accomplishment. Part of this is the need to establish state Bureau of Public Procurement Act and saddle its responsibility to the procurement and supply chain management professionals.
The issues involved in this specialized field of endeavor are important and it is by paying adequate attention to them that operational/national productivity can be improved. Procurement and supply chain management may not be the oldest profession in the world. Meanwhile, however, another probably better known and more widely practiced is usually given that distinction. That purchasing/ procurement is a very ancient one, however, cannot be doubted. The very first book (Bible and Quran), even tells extensively the story of Joseph/ Yusuf being the procurement manager of the Egyptian Pharaoh.
He (Joseph/Yusuf) bought all the surplus grain during the seven full years so that food would be available for the following seven years of famine. The World Bank study popularly refers to as Country Procurement Assessment Report (CPAR 2000), even confirmed the above claimed by saying that the most important ingredients of success in business management whether public or private during the decade ahead is in procurement and supply chain management. It is also worthy of note that in all forward planning being done by any business, today the procurement planning or forecast serves as the foundation of all planning and execution.
At this point, we can therefore, say with confidence that the business man who does not have some knowledge of the rudiments of modern supply chain management cannot hope to rise far in the business world of tomorrow.
You may now ask, why professionalization is so important in any field of endeavor? The foregoing or introduction probably gives very good answer. One of the big problems of modern world is the lacking consistency in the agreed use and meaning of words or concepts. Just think how words such as democracy meant and mean different things to different people- Athens at the time of Plato, 18th century England, modern America and Russia. So many people use word differently, that untold confusion can arise therefore, the same happen in procurement. The fact that until comparatively recent years, when the world bank came up with their recommendation during the tenure of president Olusegun Obasanjo`s (GCFR), even the largest government ministries, departments, parastatals, and most progressive firms downgraded the purchasing or procurement function and put the least qualified people to handle the functions certainly shows how important it is to improve the status of procurement and supply chain management. The stigma of both past and present, happenings cum generations of purchasing management that linger in the public mind on ten percentage (10%) slogan also indicates the need for a much more professional type to be brought to carry out this job. It is interesting to know that procurement controls a large percentage (75-80% in many cases), of the expenditures of many firms or budgets of many governments. This one itself is a valid reason for having highly trained and truly procurement personnel.
May 2017 is a greater day for me that I will always remember in my procurement professional career and to Alh Aliyu M.J. the former president and now Registrar/CEO who is always out for the good of young once.
On that faithful Thursday 11th of May, 2017 my usual visit to the office of our amiable, resourceful, creative, inspirational, meritorious, admirable, estimable and number one procurement and supply chain management professional in Nigeria, Aliyu, the Registrar/CEO of the Charted Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria (CIPSMN) not in a good looking. His face was pale, not looking good and appearance shows that something was happening, and I quickly asked, sir what is the problem? He then revealed to me that my State is planning to embrace the modern and legal way of procurement and contract management process. There and then I quickly put a call to the necessary powers and shakers in Ilorin who assured me that the Institute (CIPSMN) will be carried along for a sound law that will benefit the state.
Though, it is interesting to note that, we are not surprising that this crucial bill (Bureau of Public Procurement Bill) is coming up under the leadership of His Rt. Hon. Dr. Ali Ahmad. Dr. Ali has been known to be a vibrant and progressive political actor, and community parliamentarian loved by masses who always yearning for community and sound state development. From the records, Rt. Ali while he was a National Parliamentarian proposed, presented and supported several bills and served as an active member in several important committees and Ad-Hoc committees like National Centre for Agricultural Mechanization bill (NCAM), Petroleum Industry Bill, Terrorism Amendment, Pension Commission, State of emergency among others.
However, his emergence as the speaker, Kwara State House of Assembly is not unconnected to his previous achievements. Thus, the pool of procurement stakeholders have a great confidence in his leadership that Procurement Bill will not only be successfully passed, it will also be implemented and counted as part of his achievement during his tenure, because it is a sunshine bill and indeed an anti-corruption strategic one.
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