Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from an article I wrote for Procurious regarding the impact of the Internet on the procurement world from both an operational as well as socialization perspective. Use the following link to access the article in its entirety by clicking the “procurious” image below.
I have been writing the Procurement Insights blog since 2007. It currently has more than 21,500 followers. (Note: the European Union Edition of the blog – which was launched in May 2013 – has just over 16,000 followers.)
Around the same time I joined LinkedIn ( 30,000 connections), followed by Facebook (5,000 connections), and finally Twitter (17,000 connections) in 2008.
In 2009 I launched the PI Window radio show on Blog Talk Radio – which will soon air its 900th episode in which featured segments are downloaded between 25,000 and 30,000 times within the 24 to 48 hours immediately following the live broadcast.
Over time I have also expanded my virtual presence through various other platforms including YouTube, Sprout Social, Pinterest and on and on and on.
So one might reasonably conclude that as a procurement professional, I am deeply immersed in the virtual realms of the Internet. While I would not disagree with this last point, if I were reading as opposed to writing this article, the first question I would ask is what does it all really mean? More specifically, what are the tangible benefits that a procurement professional can derive from being “connected” in the virtual world?
My response . . . it depends on how long you have been in the profession.
For those of us who have been around for 15 or more years, the answer is not as clear as it is with the newer generation of procurement professionals. I am talking about the ones 30 years or younger.
For this newer group the thought of utilizing a dog-eared catalog with stick-it notes of varying colors to source products from suppliers via telephone is unfathomable. I would imagine that theirs would be a similar reaction to that of my young nephew, who upon viewing the black and white images projected through the old rabbit-eared television at his grandmother’s house, declared that the “TV was broken”.
In this generational context, the virtual world is a comfortable given for the younger set, while a revolutionary development for the veterans. This factor will to a large extent influence our respective perceptions and considered benefits.
Rather than continue to focus on the obvious disparity in understanding, the purpose of this article is to identify the points of commonality. Specifically, how can the web-based platforms or elements of the virtual world that is the Internet, be best leveraged regardless of age or experience.
Once again, use the following link to access the article in its entirety on Procurious.
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Procurement Insights 
Kate Vitasek
August 4, 2014
Thanks for pushing to profession! The University of Tennessee has also been pushing the envelop in using more innovative approaches for learning in the procurement profession. Our Creating a Vested Agreement online class/platform has had great success. The course is designed so that buyers and suppliers take the course together – and complete “deliverables” using a comprehensive toolkit. Together – the organizations craft their agreement. It’s worked very well for companies like Dell and Genco when they restructured their reverse logistics agreement because most of the Dell Subject Matter Experts were in Austin and the Genco team was in Nashville. It also enabled both parties to be on a level playing field – learning and doing at the exact same pace using the exact same methodology. I’d be delighted to share more with you ore others who are interested as part of Blog Talk Radio if there is interest.
piblogger
August 4, 2014
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Kate. I would be delighted to have you on the show to talk about what you are doing. How does the last week of August look? By the way, looking forward to meeting you in person in November.