Are all categories created equal?

Let’s talk about something that quietly chips away at team cohesion in Procurement:

Category comparison.

Ever heard or thought this?

“They’ve got the most important stakeholders.”

“They’ve got the bigger spend”

“They always get leadership attention.”

“Their work actually gets budget.”

And it’s not that anyone’s being malicious. But when you're all in one function, yet working in very different worlds, it’s easy for gaps to open up.

In visibility. In recognition. In value perception.

Before you know it, silos creep in. And so does the quiet question:

“Does my work really matter as much as theirs?”

Different lenses, same purpose

Here’s the thing: Procurement teams might be made up of very different categories, but they’re not on different sides.

You’ve got the teams who are seen to be driving innovation in tech or marketing spend. The ones knee-deep in regulatory risk. The ones juggling a thousand purchase orders like a backstage wizard.

Different rhythms. Different stakeholders. Same mission.

To unlock value. To drive change. To protect and power the organisation.

Whether some teams are seen to be more operational or transactional and others may be responsible for big ticket spend, they are all a valuable piece of the Procurement puzzle.

No one category can do it alone. And when there's a subconscious pecking order when it comes to Procurement categories, we’re not just hurting morale, we’re limiting the strategic impact of the function.

In my role as coach, I'm not here to criticise. But it is my role to raise awareness of these dynamics. 

An invitation to reflect for Procurement leaders:

• Do you visibly celebrate the full spectrum of work across categories?

• Are you building a culture of empathy between teams with very different challenges?

• Are you creating a shared sense of why (not just what)?

Unity doesn’t mean that all Procurement categories do the same thing.

It means they’re heading in the same direction, cheering each other on, and recognising what each person brings to the table.

Imagine if…

…every category felt proud, purposeful, and powerful. …stakeholder complexity didn’t define perceived value. …Procurement operated like a connected, strategic force...because that’s what it actually is.

It's time to ask whether inter-category tensions are holding back Procurement's strategic impact within the organisation.

Over to you...have you ever recognised these tensions within Procurement?

How Coaching For Procurement can help:

We offer a full suite of coaching solutions designed to empower and support Procurement leaders and their teams; from coaching qualifications using the unique P.R.O.C.U.R.E® coaching methodology and frameworks, through to Procurement team coaching and 1:1 coaching.

If these tensions between categories are holding back your strategic impact, ask me about my Procurement team coaching solutions.