The Procurement Leaders Getting Promoted Aren’t Talking About Savings Anymore
Industry veterans say the shift from cost metrics to business outcomes is what separates a procurement function from a procurement leader. But most professionals haven’t learned to tell that story yet
The procurement professionals getting promoted right now have stopped leading with savings numbers. The ones still opening conversations with “I saved $X million” are wondering why they keep getting passed over.
That’s the uncomfortable truth emerging from a debate among procurement executives about what actually drives career advancement in the profession today.
“Early in my career, I led with savings. I had the numbers. I had the validation from Finance. And I got passed over,” wrote Mavelyn Cuches, an IT procurement leader focused on technology vendor governance. “It wasn’t until an interview for a Director role that my thinking finally shifted.”
The turning point came from a CFO’s question: “What would you do if you had no budget constraints?”
Cuches stumbled through an answer about hiring and technology. The CFO paused. Then said: “That’s not what I’m asking. I’m asking what business problem you’d solve first.”
“I didn’t have an answer,” Cuches recalled. “Because I was thinking like a procurement function. Not like a business leader.”
The Language That Gets You in the Room
The shift Cuches describes isn’t just about different metrics. It’s about a fundamentally different way of framing procurement’s contribution.
Instead of leading with savings, she started leading with outcomes:
Speed: “We cut vendor onboarding from 30 days to 5. R&D launched their pilot 3 weeks earlier than planned.”
Risk avoided: “We caught a security gap during renewal that would have cost $500K+ in breach response, before it became a problem.”
Visibility: “We built the first reliable renewal forecast. Forecast accuracy went from 45% to 90%. Finance stopped getting surprised by Q4 spend.”
Capacity created: “We freed 100+ hours per month from manual exception handling. The team could actually do strategic work instead of firefighting.”
“None of these start with a dollar sign,” Cuches observed. “All of them answer: ‘What would have broken if procurement wasn’t in the room?’”
Hamilton Lindley, VP of Procurement, Compliance and Risk, identified what separates functions from leaders. “Procurement leaders who make the biggest impact are giving operations the visibility they never had, cutting the friction out of the purchasing process so the field could focus on the job, catching spend that was walking out the door not because anyone was dishonest but because nobody was looking closely enough.”
He added a critical point: “Most procurement professionals have not learned to tell that story yet.”
Beyond Procurement-Centric Outcomes
Zoheb Shah, author of “The Procurement Detective,” pushed the argument further. The outcomes Cuches described, while stronger than savings, are still largely procurement-centric.
“The real shift happens when procurement connects those outcomes to the core business and the customers the organisation serves,” Shah wrote.
He provided examples of what that next level looks like. “Faster vendor onboarding isn’t just about process speed. It’s about accelerating product launches or service delivery. Risk mitigation isn’t just a contract issue. It’s about protecting customers, revenue, and brand trust. Better visibility isn’t just better forecasting. It enables better strategic decisions for the business.”
His reframe: “The most powerful question isn’t just ‘what did procurement improve?’ but ‘what changed for the business or the end customer because procurement shaped the supply market?’”
Cuches acknowledged Shah had pushed the thinking further than she did. “What I outlined is the intermediate step. It gets you out of savings language and into outcomes language. But you’re describing the final step: connecting those outcomes to what the business actually exists to do. That framing doesn’t just get you a seat at the table. It makes you indistinguishable from a business leader.”
The Perception Problem
Amit Rathore, a certified strategic procurement professional in pharmaceutical manufacturing, raised an obstacle many practitioners face. “People in organisation also have wrong perception about procurement. They think we are only calling vendor, loading material in trucks and delivering.”
Cuches acknowledged the perception problem but placed responsibility partly on procurement itself. “When procurement leads with tactical outputs, POs processed, vendors called, materials delivered, that’s the identity we create. The shift in how leadership sees us has to start with how we position our own work.”
Sanchita Sur, a Gen AI founder, captured the distinction. “Savings are easy to report but hard to differentiate. Outcomes are harder to define, but that’s what executives actually care about. The shift isn’t just in metrics. It’s in thinking like a business owner rather than a function.”
Changing the Scorecard
Rune Alleslev, Head of Procurement, shared how he restructured his entire measurement approach:
From Savings to Value Creation. From Risk and Compliance to License to Operate. From Optimization/Digitalization to Make it Easier to Buy.
“To stay relevant, procurement leaders should change the narrative,” Alleslev wrote.
Cuches praised the approach. “’License to Operate’ is a phrase that will land in any boardroom. Most people understand the concept. Very few have figured out how to make it measurable.”
Kevin G., an award-winning sourcing and procurement leader, noted these concepts aren’t new. “I have been speaking about this very topic for several years at industry conferences. Savings generated is number 5 or 6 on the list of things procurement should be focused on.”
When asked how to educate leadership on this broader value proposition, he outlined the approach: “Start with the C-suite, presenting the value an organization benefits from by having a dedicated procurement function. Mitigation of supply disruption. The ability to nimbly find alternative suppliers. Cultivating collaborative partnerships with key suppliers for enhanced service delivery.”
He emphasized the framing matters. “Each of these provide greater long-term value than short term price reductions. Emphasize these items first. It’s about selling the value internally. Don’t lead with or emphasize cost savings as the most important metric.”
The Capacity Problem
Marijn Overvest, author of a book on AI in procurement, identified the structural barrier that keeps many teams stuck. “Many teams are stuck in operational work. They do NOT lack ambition, but the workload leaves little room to show that broader impact.”
Cuches agreed this is the missing piece most people skip over. “It’s not a mindset problem. It’s a capacity problem. You can’t tell a strategic story if you’re buried in exceptions. That’s why the operational load has to be tackled first, not just for efficiency, but to create the space where strategic impact even becomes possible.”
Kishore Kunal, a global procurement leader managing a $250 million-plus CAPEX portfolio, noted when the connection happens. “Procurement impact often shows up through speed, risk control, and better visibility. When outcomes connect to business priorities, the value becomes much clearer to leadership.”
Cuches added: “That clarity is what changes the conversation from reporting to influencing. When leadership sees procurement in terms of their own priorities, not procurement’s metrics, that’s when the seat at the table actually means something.”
The Uncomfortable Truth
Malik Tazi raised a cynical but common concern. “Business outcomes existing because you were there only make your manager shine. Not you. Period. Unless the outcomes are bad. That’s where YOU step in.”
Zaina Kadah, with 15 years of global supply chain expertise, offered a simpler truth. “Executives listen when procurement speaks the language of business value.”
Cuches defined what that actually means. “The language isn’t procurement’s language dressed up. It’s actually learning what the business is trying to accomplish and connecting your work to that directly. That’s the skill that accelerates careers.”
The question that gets you to Director isn’t “How much did you save?”
It’s “What business outcome exists because you were there?”
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