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Merging strategic sales and strategic procurement
Klemen SlemenšekJul 3, 20202 min read

[COLUMN] Merging strategic sales and strategic procurement

In July 2019, Skaza decided to merge two departments into one unit - strategic sales and strategic procurement. One year after, we present you the advantages and disadvantages of this strategic move.

Sales are key to a company’s turnover and growth

The strategic sales department is focused on new customers, on nurturing the existing ones and on monitoring the sales plan, defined at the beginning of a fiscal year. For the strategic sales, risks, savings and events in the raw material market are not significant. For them, the most important job is to achieve the goals and company growth. Every salesperson thinks he has the biggest impact on the company’s turnover and growth.

For the company’s growth, savings are an important factor

While the company’s growth and achievement of its goals is important for strategic sales, the main focus for strategic procurement is where and how to get cheaper raw materials that would bring a lower TCO. They are not just money-saving experts, but also good at risk reduction, the introduction of new raw materials and market monitoring. Also, cooperation with suppliers, quality and services that support the development projects are also crucial to them. There is also a constant desire to validate new materials and finding a way to involve customers’ needs. Every strategic procurement specialist thinks he has the biggest impact on the company’s EBIT.

The merging process - how and why?

Let’s move on to a different interpretation, namely, what is the basic goal of each individual unit. Before the merging process, we had questions about how to bring all the interests of these two departments together and how to understand each other, but still, maintain a focus on sales results.
 
The role of the individual is one of the most important here. They are motivated people, eager to prove themselves. Facing more ambitious people might lead to a clash of interests between departments and competition over who is stronger and who is more important. However, this was not the case in our company.

Why is the combination of strategic sales and procurement a formula for success?

In July 2019, we merged two departments that might have been completely pointless to merge before. It turned out the opposite. We got a team of employees where the information is shared faster and where success in sales is immediately reflected in the success of the procurement and vice versa. We got the department of experts where they understand each other better than before. Above all, the level of respect has developed, which is, after all, the most important thing.

Can we also talk about the weaknesses?

In any case, each team must have its own time and space for bad moments that occur sooner or later. It is extremely important to understand and recognize situations that can lead a team to apathy and a lack of motivation. It is necessary to pay extreme attention to this.
 
It is important to keep in mind the desire for the progress of the individual, the team and the company. What is good for each of them, is good for us all.
 
One year after the merging process, I can say we made the right decision back in July 2019. We have accepted certain compromises, forgot about our egos, and a result only indicates the bright future of the company.
 
Plastika Skaza
Klemen Slemenšek
Head of Strategic Sales and Procurement

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Klemen Slemenšek

Head of strategic sales and procurement

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