Why Procurement Needs to Get Involved Earlier in Strategic Decisions

All too often, procurement is brought into strategic projects late in the day, once budgets are set, services are scoped, suppliers selected, and decisions are already in motion.

At that point, the scope for adding value is limited and the ability for meaningful negotiation is significantly reduced. Procurement becomes the function that asks difficult questions, flags risks, or tries to renegotiate pricing after the fact. It’s no wonder the role is sometimes misunderstood or undervalued.

But the earlier procurement is involved, the better the outcomes, commercially, operationally, and strategically.

The cost of late involvement

When procurement is sidelined, organisations face a range of hidden risks:

• • Overspecification or supplier-led scoping, leading to inflated costs or rigid solutions
  • Missed opportunities for supplier innovation or collaboration
  • Non-compliant routes to market, particularly in the public sector
  • Poor contract terms with limited leverage
  • Disconnected internal priorities and stakeholder frustration

It’s not about blame, it’s about process. Procurement needs a seat at the table before decisions are made.

What early engagement really means

Early engagement doesn’t mean procurement takes over. It means the team is:

• Briefed at the planning stage, not just execution
• Involved in market sounding or supplier engagement
• Able to influence scope, budget alignment, routes to market and timescales
• Procurement are positioned as an enabler, not a gatekeeper

It’s about ensuring the commercial perspective is baked in from the beginning, not bolted on at the end retrospectively.

Building influence across the organisation

To shift the culture, procurement leaders must proactively build internal relationships and prove their value early.

That means:

• Communicating in outcomes, not just process language
• Being commercially curious and bringing new market insight to the table
• Acting as an enabler, not a blocker
• Making it easy for other departments to engage with procurement, through toolkits, templates, or streamlined approvals

The aim? To change perceptions and establish procurement as a strategic ally, not a hurdle.

We’ve seen it done well and we help make it happen

At eXceeding, we’ve helped countless organisations shift their procurement function from reactive to proactive. That might mean:

• Facilitating internal workshops to define procurement’s role
• Designing stakeholder engagement frameworks
• Running supplier pre-market engagement exercises
• Supporting strategic sourcing that aligns with organisation’s priorities

Is procurement involved early enough in your organisation?

If you’re always brought in too late or struggling to shift the perception of procurement, now’s the time to act. Small changes to process and positioning can unlock huge gains.

We’d be happy to help you build the case.