Rich Sains

The Procurement Conversation Podcast Host | Elevating Procurement | Procurement Leader | 10x Procurement |

My focus is on transforming IT and procurement functions for top enterprises, leveraging over a decade of consulting experience to deliver real, impactful change. The Procurement Conversation podcast, which I host, furthers this mission by sharing insights with a global audience, fostering a community where expertise and trends in procurement are at the forefront.

Our team's approach priorities strategic activities and benchmarks success, ensuring our impact resonates across the businesses we serve. Through Acada's software and advisory services, including transformation and process re-engineering, we are elevating the procurement function to new heights, creating value for stakeholders and suppliers alike.

Founder

We help procurement leaders to solve many of the challenges they face in today's complex environment and manage their teams more effectively and objectively.

I simplify Procurement | 5900+ newsletter subscribers get insights making them 1% smarter at Procurement each week | Link below 👇

There are plenty of expensive ways to get better at Procurement.
Expensive courses and Qualifications. 

But after 25+ years in both direct and indirect procurement roles, I figured out the real differentiator for procurement success - and it doesn’t cost the earth.

It’s how you interact with others.
Your ability to influence, communicate, and collaborate.
In short, your soft skills.

I’m Tom Mills, Procurement Protagonist®, and through years of hard-won experience (and a few battle scars), I built the frameworks that helped me and my teams thrive. 

Those frameworks became my flagship course, Procurement Soft Skills Mastery, now helping procurement professionals elevate their careers around the world.

I also simplify procurement through cheat sheets, frameworks, and my weekly newsletter, Procure Bites -- - read by over 20,000 procurement pros who want real, relatable insights (not jargon).

Here’s how I can help you:

1. Subscribe to Procure Bites - the number one independent procurement newsletter.

2. Join the waitlist for Procurement Soft Skills Mastery (limited enrolment windows).

3. Partner with me through the Quarterly Growth Package if you’re a business looking to reach 115,000+ LinkedIn followers and 20,000+ newsletter subscribers.

All links are in my bio and featured section.

📧 Sponsorship enquiries: tommills@procurebites.com

(no sales emails, please)

Tom Mills

A Procurement Manager is NOT a Purchasing Manager

This infographic compares a Procurement Manager vs Purchasing Manager:

Focus
↳ Purchasing manager: executes buys, places orders, and ensures timely supply
↳ Procurement manager: develops strategy, manages supplier value, and aligns spend with business goals

Scope
↳ Purchasing manager: purchase orders, pricing checks, supplier onboarding, transactional buying
↳ Procurement manager: category strategy, supplier selection, negotiation, contract management, SRM

Cross Functional Interaction
↳ Purchasing manager: works with operations, finance, suppliers, and internal requestors
↳ Procurement manager: works with executives, finance, legal, operations, technology teams, and key stakeholders

Role in Supplier Engagement
↳ Purchasing manager: manages day to day supplier communication and order issues
↳ Procurement manager: evaluates suppliers, drives performance, manages risk, and leads business reviews

Decision Making
↳ Purchasing manager: focused on price, speed, and accuracy
↳ Procurement manager: balances cost, value, risk, innovation, and long term strategy

Key Challenges
↳ Purchasing manager: late orders, price variances, invoice issues, supplier responsiveness
↳ Procurement manager: stakeholder alignment, demand complexity, commercial risk, supplier performance

Financial Impact
↳ Purchasing manager: unit price, order accuracy, and transactional efficiency
↳ Procurement manager: total cost of ownership, value creation, compliance, continuity, and risk mitigation

Metrics
↳ Purchasing manager: order cycle time, PO accuracy, invoice match rate, on time delivery
↳ Procurement manager: savings delivered, contract coverage, supplier risk, value pipeline, category performance

Deliverables
↳ Purchasing manager: purchase orders, order reports, supplier correspondence
↳ Procurement manager: category plans, negotiation strategies, contracts, business cases, supplier reviews

Any others to add?

—

Btw, I spent the first half on my career in purchasing roles 

And the next half in procurement 

Ready to get 1% smarter at both?

Get free weekly insights and all my cheat sheets to download here:  https://procurebites.com/

Get 1% smarter at Procurement every week | Join 23,000+ newsletter subscribers | Link in featured section (it’s free)👇

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Nothing kills procurement’s credibility faster than dodgy savings maths.

Here’s how the elite teams get it right👇


✅ What counts as a cost saving:

1️⃣ Hard, bottom-line savings (visible in the P&L or budget):

• Price reductions: Paying less for the same scope, quality, and volume (e.g. renegotiated supplier rates).

• Baseline vs. new cost: Documented against a credible baseline (last price paid, should-cost model, or competitive benchmark).

• Volume-driven savings: Discounts or rebates earned through committed volumes, where the organisation actually achieves the usage.

• Demand management: Valid reduction in usage or specification (e.g., moving from premium packaging to standard).

• Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) reductions: Verified lower lifecycle costs (maintenance, energy, logistics, disposal).

2️⃣ Avoided costs (only if measurable and agreed with Finance):

• Inflation mitigation: If market rates increased 8% but procurement secured a 3% rise, the 5% avoided can be tracked.
• Scope creep avoided: When procurement prevents extra spend that was planned, budgeted, and approved.


❌ What doesn’t count as a saving:

1️⃣ Notional savings with no financial impact:

• Negotiating a “discount” off an inflated list price that nobody ever pays.
• “Budget avoidance” where there was never an approved budget or genuine intention to spend.
• Hypothetical savings (“If we had stayed with the old supplier, costs might have been higher”).

2️⃣ Supplier marketing spin:

• “Free” goods or services bundled in, unless they replace something the business would have bought anyway.
• Early payment discounts when payment terms are not aligned to cash-flow strategy.

3️⃣ Future potential that’s not realised:

• Promised savings from technology or process improvements that haven’t yet delivered measurable impact.
• Savings recorded at contract signature but never validated in actual spend.


👉 Did I miss anything? 

Do you agree?


Want weekly procurement advice and to download hi-res pdfs of all my best cheat sheets and guides for free? 

Join 23,000 procurement professionals here👇

https://procurebites.com/

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The Battle

Rich Sains

Tom Mills

Followers

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Performance ScoreTom Mills's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Rich Sains

Tom Mills

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Tom Mills's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreTom Mills's LinkedIn Performance