Can You Ever Over Communicate in Procurement?

Everyone in procurement knows that, in order to succeed, communication is important. It keeps your stakeholders aligned, well-informed, and helps to ensure that you can work with everyone in the organisation seamlessly. 

On the surface, that’s the basic function of communication. However we also all know that it’s important to go a step further in order to inspire others, that you need to ensure that your communication makes an impact, and whatever you’re doing, you should always be conscious of your communication styles. 

This all sounds like a lot of communication. At the end of the day Procurement is now not just a cost-saving, tactical function, but a strategic one, tasked with driving value and improving efficiencies. With that in mind is it possible to have too much of a good thing? Is it really possible to over communicate?  

Why Over-Communicating Might be a Good Thing

While it may seem counterintuitive, over-communicating can be a key differentiator between a successful procurement function and one that struggles to meet its goals. Many professionals assume that communication should be efficient and minimal – just enough to keep things moving. 

However, in procurement, especially in today’s dynamic supply chain environment, this approach can result in misaligned expectations, missed opportunities, and costly delays. Instead, consistent, frequent, and detailed communication can preempt many of these pitfalls: 

1. Reducing ambiguity and risk

As a procurement professional, you likely manage a complex web of suppliers, internal stakeholders, and regulatory bodies. Each of these parties has different needs, priorities, and expectations. Clear, frequent communication helps to ensure that all parties are on the same page, reducing ambiguity and minimising the risk of costly errors.

Over-communicating ensures that every stakeholder understands the goals, timelines, and potential risks associated with procurement decisions. Whether it’s updating a supplier on delivery schedules or keeping senior management informed of potential risks, clear and constant communication creates a buffer against the unexpected. 

This proactive approach to communication builds trust, enabling procurement professionals to navigate difficult negotiations or unforeseen disruptions more effectively.

2. Improving supplier relationships

Supplier relationships are the backbone of procurement success. Over-communication fosters stronger partnerships by creating a sense of collaboration and mutual understanding. Suppliers appreciate consistent updates on forecasted needs, performance feedback, or changes in demand. When procurement professionals communicate more than what’s required, it can lead to improved supplier performance, better terms, and preferential treatment.

By being transparent and communicative, you can also mitigate supply chain risks. For example, if your company foresees increased demand for a particular product, informing the supplier well in advance allows for better planning, ensuring that the supply chain remains resilient during periods of high demand.

3. Enhancing cross-departmental collaboration

Working in procurement, there’s scarcely a function in the organisation that you don’t talk to. For this reason, collaboration is key, and over-communicating with these teams is crucial to aligning procurement activities with broader business objectives.

For example, in new product development, procurement needs to work closely with R&D and marketing teams to ensure that the necessary materials are sourced in a timely and cost-effective manner. Over-communicating helps to avoid last-minute scrambles, ensuring that procurement is viewed as a proactive and strategic partner rather than a bottleneck in the process.

When procurement professionals over-communicate, they keep other departments aware of any shifts in supplier performance, potential cost-saving opportunities, or risks in the supply chain. This allows the broader business to make informed decisions, leading to improved overall outcomes.

4. Boosting accountability and visibility

As a team, your procurement function is likely responsible for large portions of an organisation’s budget, making accountability a key concern. Frequent communication with stakeholders ensures transparency, keeping everyone updated on procurement activities, budget status, and performance against KPIs.

Also – importantly – over-communicating can help you (and your team) raise your profile in the organisation. Regular updates on achievements, challenges, and contributions to cost savings or value creation help demonstrate the importance of procurement to the company’s bottom line. This can lead to greater recognition from senior management, enhancing the role of procurement as a strategic contributor.

5. Facilitating continuous improvement

Collaboration fosters continuous improvement by encouraging the sharing of insights and feedback across teams. In procurement, this could mean regularly collaborating with suppliers to identify process improvements, sharing market intelligence with stakeholders, or even creating joint innovation initiatives with key partners.

For instance, if you identify that a supplier could improve delivery times by adjusting their production processes, open communication can lead to a joint effort to implement these changes. Such collaborations not only benefit procurement but also improve the overall efficiency of the supply chain.

How Over-Communicating Leads to Greater Recognition for Procurement

As much as we all know this isn’t the case, procurement is often viewed as a behind-the-scenes function, working tirelessly to ensure that everything runs smoothly. However, through strategic over-communication and collaboration, you, as a procurement professional, can elevate your profile within the organisation and gain the recognition you deserve.

By consistently highlighting procurement’s contributions—whether through cost savings, supplier management, or risk mitigation – you and your team can showcase your value to the organisation’s leadership. When you regularly update senior management and other stakeholders on your achievements, you position you and your team as key drivers of the company’s success.

Furthermore, by fostering collaboration across departments, you can embed yourself more deeply within the organisation’s strategic conversations. This visibility can lead to more significant roles in decision-making processes and greater influence over the company’s strategic direction.

Do you over-communicate? Or do you worry that you don’t communicate enough? Let us know in the comments below.