The last Big Debate on whether or not procurement professionals should be awarded commission for successful cost savings and negotiations sparked a huge amount of debate. It seems that there is a fair amount of support for both sides of the argument. Here, Scott Forest, director of procurement at Kuehne & Nagel, puts his own arguments across.

My first response when reading this was one of caution - if procurement wanted commission, they should have gone the way of sales.

One of sales’ greatest attractions is compensation via commission. Historically, this has not been the same with most professions, such as accounting, engineering, library science, nursing and so on. My thoughts of caution are supported by other respondents indicating improprieties that could dilute the integrity of procurement and stifle its upward trend.

It might not be that procurement professionals seek ‘commission’ as their primary compensation, but rather their desire for acknowledgement and accolades in addition to supplemental remuneration.

How can the procurement professional ‘legitimately’ draw more pay? How do those in sales qualify their pay? Percent commission, dollars against savings or maybe a bonus? It all boils down to the fundamental philosophy: how much value does your firm see in the procurement position? The amount of dollars and methodology of how it is received are completely separate issues.

Bottom line - if a procurement leader can bring in big business by leveraging an account or generating tremendous savings vis-à-vis their own hand, it’s up to the individual on how they want to be compensated. Think about it. Why did this person choose procurement? If their interest was in contract management, they could have been a lawyer. If their interest was in spend analysis, they could easily become an accountant or programmer.

Senior sales (business development) positions have a place around the board room table and now procurement has an opportunity. Each company denotes value and defines worth in its own way. So, similar to sales, the sky’s the limit for the procurement professional!