Want to Be a Procurement Leader? See the Bigger Picture

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Before becoming director of procurement at Volkswagen Credit, Luis Gonzalez spent his decades-long career as a sourcing and supply chain professional in the chemical, pharmaceutical, food, and telecommunications industries. But the leader admits that he learned some of the most valuable leadership lessons outside of his field when he served as a general manager for a call center he helped to start.

“Unfortunately, it wasn’t that successful,” he says, “but that break in procurement gave me a new perspective on the mindset someone has to have to lead a team. As a leader, you have to look at the bigger picture.

“Many times in the procurement world,” Gonzalez continues, “people are particularly immersed in purchasing, having that mindset that everything is reduced to a cost and that your goal is to always get something cheaper. But when you can see the bigger picture, you learn that the cheapest isn’t always the lowest cost. You have to look from different angles to see which is the most effective solution that delivers the lowest total cost of ownership.”

That’s the perspective he brings to his current role at Volkswagen Credit, where he’s responsible for all procurement activities. Under his leadership, his team serves as allies and advisors to their internal customers. They pride themselves on being a means to help achieve the company’s goals, not an end.

“We’re just a stepping stone,” Gonzalez says. “When you have that mindset and look at the ultimate goal rather than immediate results, you’ll see success.”

Those lessons have been an accumulation of the experiences he garnered over his career. He started his career at Warner Lambert in Mexico, where he went on to lead a team of professionals in sourcing, transportation, and global trades areas. The years that ensued saw him take on a wide variety of leadership roles including as a category manager, a purchasing manager, a senior SCM and contract manager, and a maintenance and services parts materials manager. In 2015, Gonzalez came to Volkswagen Credit.

There are a few highlights during his time at the company. One of them was selecting and negotiating a new contract management system, which is the backbone of the operations. Another one is building a multicultural team, he says.

“We have people from all over the world, including Latin American countries, European countries, and from Iraq, India,” he says. “The beauty of it is that a team with different origins, points of view, and educations will always have a winning mindset.”

His approach to leadership has helped he and his team come up with innovative ways to serve the business. One example has been the project management approach they’ve taken to procurement. Instead of having siloed groups of buyers and risk management professionals, Gonzalez created a central coordination team to make the procurement process more efficient, effective and frictionless.

“The procurement process from beginning to end is complex and has a lot of touch points,” he explains. “With our project management approach, our procurement managers are able to better coordinate with the business, legal, risk, IT, and buyers to make sure all loose ends are tied.”

For Gonzalez, at the heart of that approach are three pillars: speed, cost, and risk—areas that can be difficult to balance. For professionals aiming to find the right balance, the key is to “see the bigger picture,” he says.

“Surround yourself with experts in your field and let them grow to think that they’re building a cathedral, not a wall or just placing a brick,” Gonzalez advises. “Also, team effort is critical. We’re all looking and searching to improve the way we do things and we’re not alone. Teams with that mindset will see the results they desire.”

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