Better Procurement with Human Skills – 8 Tips for Stronger Collaboration

Achieving procurement goals and engaging stakeholders go hand in hand. These skills are referred to by different names: workplace skills, human skills, soft skills—but they all focus on how procurement professionals build relationships, influence, and create value within their organizations. Without these skills, procurement’s impact remains limited.

Why Is Stakeholder Collaboration Important?

Successful procurement is not just the responsibility of the procurement team—it is the result of cross-functional collaboration. When procurement professionals work closely with stakeholders, they are more likely to achieve cost savings and other strategic goals.

On the other hand, a lack of communication and engagement with stakeholders can slow down the procurement process and hinder success. Effective communication and relationship management with stakeholders are essential for procurement to succeed. At the same time, this remains one of the biggest challenges—building genuine, productive collaboration takes time and the right mindset.

Hands-On Training Deepens Learning

This theme was also highlighted in the Procurement Manager Training Program 2025, where procurement effectiveness was explored from multiple perspectives. Participants practiced human skills and stakeholder collaboration through group exercises in the Stakeholder Collaboration and Procurement Design module (image). They were completely focused, enthusiastic, and immediately understood the significance of these skills. The 8 Tips for Stronger Collaboration exercises were not just tasks—they were moments of insight that deepened participants’ understanding of procurement’s impact and the power of collaboration.

8 Tips for Stronger Collaboration – How to Improve Stakeholder Engagement

1. Build Relationships First—Savings Will Follow

Trust is the foundation of everything. It develops by understanding stakeholders’ needs, identifying key roles, and finding opportunities for collaboration.

2. Be an Enabler, Not a Policeman

Procurement’s role is not just about enforcing rules but about supporting and driving business success.

3. Understand the Business

Procurement cannot create value unless it understands the organization’s operations and objectives.

4. Add Value to the Dialogue

In every conversation, ask: How could this be done better?

5. Embrace Differences

People communicate and learn in different ways. Recognizing and addressing the needs of both introverts and extroverts improves collaboration.

6. Use Empathy—See Things from Others’ Perspectives

Understanding stakeholders’ challenges and objectives helps uncover better ways to work together.

7. Align Procurement Goals with Stakeholder Objectives

The better procurement’s goals align with those of stakeholders, the smoother collaboration becomes.

8. Listen First, Speak Later

Strong stakeholder collaboration starts with active listening, openness, and asking the right questions.

How to Develop Human Skills and Stakeholder Collaboration in Practice?

Developing stakeholder collaboration requires a structured, step-by-step approach. Here are some practical steps:

1. Assess the current level of stakeholder engagement

2. Choose appropriate methods to improve collaboration

3. Apply new approaches in practice and measure the impact

4. Repeat the process—collaboration improvement is ongoing

Join Us to Develop Your Procurement Human Skills!

Successful and value-driven procurement is built on strong human skills. To deepen these skills, check out the new training program (in Finnish, ask for English language event) :

👉 “Human Skills in Procurement Leadership – A Strategic Approach to Impactful Collaboration”

This training provides procurement professionals with insights on how to increase their influence and collaboration skills to better support business success.

📅 Learn more and register here: LOGY Event Page