The Power Of Procurement

Procurement is a business function that is often misunderstood, but this is set to change with the recent appointment of Cameron Teague, Huon’s inaugural Procurement Manager. Cameron’s first, and perhaps the biggest task that he faces is to turn Huon’s procurement practices into a force for good.

“In my humble opinion, when organisations get their procurement right, it is such a powerful tool to actually spend more on the things that matter and less on thing that don’t,” said Cameron. In its simplest terms, procurement is purchasing goods and services. But great procurement levels the playing field by ensuring that suppliers comply with relevant company policies and procedures, and gives transparency to the process around how suppliers are chosen through an openmarket process.

–The first step towards great procurement is to truly understand what Huon is buying, from whom, when we need to, and most importantly why. –

“There are often many complexities and dependencies on a single issue but when we can truly understand, that’s when the magic happens. But, we need to be strategic and not be reactive to unlock those benefits.”

Cameron’s path into procurement is a little unconventional; he has a passion for food and is a qualified Chef. It was through this career path that he realised his talent for negotiation and purchasing. “I had always enjoyed working with and negotiating with suppliers in my chef days, but it was in purchasing and procurement that I found I had a bit of a knack when it came to the people element of dealing with suppliers and looking after the ordering requirements of the business.” “From the very first interview, I could tell Huon was a place where it feels like there was a culture of ‘family’ and working together to achieve a common goal, and that really appealed to me.” Cameron also enjoys the opportunity to work in a food related-industry. “There’s not a lot of opportunity to be able to use my skills and experience in both procurement and the food industry in Tasmania and ever since I left the kitchens, it had always been a career goal of mine to be able to do that and so it really was a convergence of almost 17 years of hard work and experience that led me here!”

–Over the next 12 months, Cameron will be working closely with different areas of the business around their current spending, needs and adopting best-practice procurement methods. –

“My goal for the business is to spend less with fewer suppliers but have no negative impact to business operations whatsoever.” This will be achieved through close consultation with business units to achieve mutually-beneficial results while being respectful of existing long-standing procurement relationships. “We will make Huon more efficient with what is being bought and from whom. This will free people up so that they can do the jobs they’re meant to do, more effectively.”

–Cameron during his chef days –

–Cameron Teague –