Michael Shields is a self-described “procurement enthusiast”. He is passionate about improving both the perception of procurement and the value offered by procurement. He has seen the strategic value that can come from a close relationship with finance. He also is actively working to improve the working relationship between sales and procurement to include more transparency, a better understanding of each other’s goals, and stronger communication.
Currently the Head of Procurement & Strategy at the Spend Management and Supplier Intelligence company Tropic, we took the opportunity of a quick chat and captured the benefits of Michael’s substantial procurement and business leadership experience.
Michael, what do you love about Procurement?
Procurement is one of the most undervalued functions in business today—and that’s exactly why I love it. The opportunity is massive. While companies rush to scale sales, marketing, or engineering, procurement is often left under-resourced, despite the fact that it can directly influence profitability, efficiency, and even innovation. Done right, procurement isn’t just a support function; it’s a strategic powerhouse that can become a true competitive advantage. Right now, we’re witnessing a pivotal moment in the field. The demand for skilled procurement professionals is surging, and the potential to drive real impact has never been greater. It’s an incredibly exciting time to be at the intersection of procurement and business transformation.
Procurement wants the proverbial seat at the table. What does it need to do to earn that seat? What can procurement achieve with this seat?
This is a big deal to me. And it might be hard to hear but overall the perception of procurement isn’t always very good. Too often, we’re seen as a back-office function, under-appreciated, and misunderstood. You see it all the time on LinkedIn—people talking about procurement as a cost center, not a strategic partner. Part of that is on us. We need to communicate better, educate our stakeholders, and—most importantly—show exactly what we can bring to the table.
Yes, savings can be important, but procurement needs to evolve. The best in the field aren’t just chasing savings or tightening approval processes to mitigate risk. They’re deeply aligned with the business, understanding its goals, speaking the same language as their stakeholders, and proving their value in tangible, business-critical ways. When procurement shows it can unlock value that goes beyond cost-cutting—like accelerating growth, improving agility, and fostering innovation—suddenly, the seat at the table isn’t just earned. It’s required.
The best procurement professionals are master collaborators. They build relationships, not barriers. They leverage data to make decisions that not only protect the company but propel it forward. As you can tell, I’m pretty passionate about this subject. I’m determined to not only help businesses see the value procurement can bring but also elevate the value proposition of procurement professionals. And I believe we’re at the perfect moment to make that shift happen.
When I first joined Qualtrics, I met with a stakeholder who was quite vocal about not wanting to work with me. To use his words, “I hate procurement.” 6 months later, I hired a new employee and when that employee met with that same stakeholder said, “hey welcome to the team, we love procurement!” In 6 months, he had completely done a 180 and welcomed us with a seat at his table. So what changed?
I took the time to learn his business and understand his pain points. I then gathered some data and did some research about some upcoming renewals. I used that information to present to him my findings and how I could potentially partner with him. When he saw that I was prepared and focused on his goals, he became a little more receptive. When I followed through with strong communication and execution, he was hooked. One project led to another and soon we were close partners. Even though my desk was two floors away, I would stop by his area frequently and even occasionally set up my laptop near his team to build camaraderie.
The ecosystem of service, solution, and tool providers is rapidly growing. The need to automate, processes, ascertain risk, drive sustainability, and work collaboratively with both internal stakeholders and suppliers are just a few of the areas that the ecosystem can assist. For procurement too truly take the next step and move beyond the seat at the table it needs to embrace this community of providers.
What are the benefits of this growing ecosystem? What are the shortcomings?
Growing rapidly is an understatement. Just a few short years ago, tools were few and far between. Now there is a plethora of incredibly powerful tools that continue to expand. It’s absolutely amazing. I’ve talked to several procurement leaders who ask me how they can get the buy-in to scale the team. While I certainly think that scaling efficiently is important, I always encourage them to first see how they can expand their impact; often by leveraging technology. For example, procurement can directly impact all spend by building an automated process so that all requests go through an intake and flow the right approvals. But once that’s done, it can actually remove itself from a few of these workflows where they won’t add much value. The outcome is only working on requests where additional value can be added; thereby decreasing volume but maximizing impact.
However, sometimes procurement can take a tool and over-engineer it to the point where it becomes a drag on the business. I’ve seen intakes set up that require a PhD to try and figure out how to create a request. I’ve seen workflow processes that require a dozen or more approval steps for one-time purchases of less than $1000. In both of these scenarios, not enough emphasis was put on the user experience. If left unchecked, the perception of procurement will be negatively impacted (more than it already is) and compliance will be a constant issue.
The vendors play a role in this. Strategic implementation and ongoing consultation should definitely be factored in when choosing the right provider. Putting a bad process into a new tool is still going to result in a bad process. Perhaps it actually exacerbates the issue. Vendors should have solution consultants and advisors who can recommend best practices and better ways of doing things that will improve the experience. while still protecting the business.