Base Builder Labs
@basebuilderlabs.bsky.social
Building strong foundations for growing companies.
Currently building: ClearStack, The Procurement Department
basebuilderlab.com
Currently building: ClearStack, The Procurement Department
basebuilderlab.com
Ready to stop wasting resources? Get our free Procurement Advantage Guide and discover frameworks that work for small businesses. Visit Base Builder Labs to start building stronger foundations: basebuilderlabs.com/
Base Builder Labs
Base Builder Labs
basebuilderlabs.com
January 22, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Ready to stop wasting resources? Get our free Procurement Advantage Guide and discover frameworks that work for small businesses. Visit Base Builder Labs to start building stronger foundations: basebuilderlabs.com/
The path forward:
🔹 Document current processes
🔹 Evaluate existing relationships
🔹 Make deliberate resource decisions
🔹 Document current processes
🔹 Evaluate existing relationships
🔹 Make deliberate resource decisions
January 22, 2025 at 5:45 PM
The path forward:
🔹 Document current processes
🔹 Evaluate existing relationships
🔹 Make deliberate resource decisions
🔹 Document current processes
🔹 Evaluate existing relationships
🔹 Make deliberate resource decisions
6/8 Systems scale success. Your first step isn't adding - it's evaluating and eliminating what doesn't serve your core mission. Prevention beats perfection every time.
January 22, 2025 at 5:45 PM
6/8 Systems scale success. Your first step isn't adding - it's evaluating and eliminating what doesn't serve your core mission. Prevention beats perfection every time.
5/8 Let's make this visible: Written agreements aren't just paperwork. They're your business foundations. What most miss: NDAs aren't enough. You need comprehensive agreements with clear deliverables.
January 22, 2025 at 5:45 PM
5/8 Let's make this visible: Written agreements aren't just paperwork. They're your business foundations. What most miss: NDAs aren't enough. You need comprehensive agreements with clear deliverables.
4/8 This resistance you're feeling to change your buying approach? It's not a roadblock - it's your business asking for a better foundation. Quality requires friction, but the right kind.
January 22, 2025 at 5:45 PM
4/8 This resistance you're feeling to change your buying approach? It's not a roadblock - it's your business asking for a better foundation. Quality requires friction, but the right kind.
3/8 Here's the breakthrough framework:
🔹Services: Beyond price-focused thinking
🔹Software: Cap tech spend at a percentage of operating costs
🔹People: Build partnerships, not just positions
🔹Services: Beyond price-focused thinking
🔹Software: Cap tech spend at a percentage of operating costs
🔹People: Build partnerships, not just positions
January 22, 2025 at 5:45 PM
3/8 Here's the breakthrough framework:
🔹Services: Beyond price-focused thinking
🔹Software: Cap tech spend at a percentage of operating costs
🔹People: Build partnerships, not just positions
🔹Services: Beyond price-focused thinking
🔹Software: Cap tech spend at a percentage of operating costs
🔹People: Build partnerships, not just positions
2/8 For sure, for sure... procurement sounds like just buying stuff. Let's show you what actually works: it's about maximizing value from every business relationship and resource you have.
January 22, 2025 at 5:45 PM
2/8 For sure, for sure... procurement sounds like just buying stuff. Let's show you what actually works: it's about maximizing value from every business relationship and resource you have.
Until companies start valuing indirect procurement properly:
• Top talent will keep leaving
• Costs will keep rising
• Opportunities will keep vanishing
The solution isn't a new hire. It's a new mindset.
Time to build it right.
• Top talent will keep leaving
• Costs will keep rising
• Opportunities will keep vanishing
The solution isn't a new hire. It's a new mindset.
Time to build it right.
January 7, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Until companies start valuing indirect procurement properly:
• Top talent will keep leaving
• Costs will keep rising
• Opportunities will keep vanishing
The solution isn't a new hire. It's a new mindset.
Time to build it right.
• Top talent will keep leaving
• Costs will keep rising
• Opportunities will keep vanishing
The solution isn't a new hire. It's a new mindset.
Time to build it right.
You can't treat strategic partners like tactical processors.
Indirect procurement isn't about processing POs.
It's about:
• Building supplier ecosystems
• Preventing costly mistakes
• Creating competitive advantages
• Enabling growth
Indirect procurement isn't about processing POs.
It's about:
• Building supplier ecosystems
• Preventing costly mistakes
• Creating competitive advantages
• Enabling growth
January 7, 2025 at 5:00 PM
You can't treat strategic partners like tactical processors.
Indirect procurement isn't about processing POs.
It's about:
• Building supplier ecosystems
• Preventing costly mistakes
• Creating competitive advantages
• Enabling growth
Indirect procurement isn't about processing POs.
It's about:
• Building supplier ecosystems
• Preventing costly mistakes
• Creating competitive advantages
• Enabling growth
The painful truth is companies would rather:
• Hire replacements
• Restart relationships
• Rebuild knowledge
• Repeat mistakes
Than fix the actual problem:
• Hire replacements
• Restart relationships
• Rebuild knowledge
• Repeat mistakes
Than fix the actual problem:
January 7, 2025 at 5:00 PM
The painful truth is companies would rather:
• Hire replacements
• Restart relationships
• Rebuild knowledge
• Repeat mistakes
Than fix the actual problem:
• Hire replacements
• Restart relationships
• Rebuild knowledge
• Repeat mistakes
Than fix the actual problem:
Every time a good indirect procurement person leaves:
• Supplier relationships reset
• Category knowledge vanishes
• Process improvements die
• Hidden costs multiply
The real price? 3-5x their salary.
• Supplier relationships reset
• Category knowledge vanishes
• Process improvements die
• Hidden costs multiply
The real price? 3-5x their salary.
January 7, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Every time a good indirect procurement person leaves:
• Supplier relationships reset
• Category knowledge vanishes
• Process improvements die
• Hidden costs multiply
The real price? 3-5x their salary.
• Supplier relationships reset
• Category knowledge vanishes
• Process improvements die
• Hidden costs multiply
The real price? 3-5x their salary.
The real reason indirect procurement burns people out:
• Treated as order-takers
• Expected to beg for savings
• Last to know, first to blame
• Skills undervalued & underpaid
But here's what companies miss...
• Treated as order-takers
• Expected to beg for savings
• Last to know, first to blame
• Skills undervalued & underpaid
But here's what companies miss...
January 7, 2025 at 5:00 PM
The real reason indirect procurement burns people out:
• Treated as order-takers
• Expected to beg for savings
• Last to know, first to blame
• Skills undervalued & underpaid
But here's what companies miss...
• Treated as order-takers
• Expected to beg for savings
• Last to know, first to blame
• Skills undervalued & underpaid
But here's what companies miss...
Just saw another post: "3 years in indirect procurement, looking for ANY way out."
This isn't an isolated case. It's a canary in the coal mine. And it's exposing an expensive truth about how we've built procurement wrong.
This isn't an isolated case. It's a canary in the coal mine. And it's exposing an expensive truth about how we've built procurement wrong.
January 7, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Just saw another post: "3 years in indirect procurement, looking for ANY way out."
This isn't an isolated case. It's a canary in the coal mine. And it's exposing an expensive truth about how we've built procurement wrong.
This isn't an isolated case. It's a canary in the coal mine. And it's exposing an expensive truth about how we've built procurement wrong.
Stop trying to fix procurement with the thinking that broke it.
Start building it right with fresh eyes and clear purpose.
Your company's future depends on thinking differently about its foundations.
Time to think better.
Start building it right with fresh eyes and clear purpose.
Your company's future depends on thinking differently about its foundations.
Time to think better.
January 2, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Stop trying to fix procurement with the thinking that broke it.
Start building it right with fresh eyes and clear purpose.
Your company's future depends on thinking differently about its foundations.
Time to think better.
Start building it right with fresh eyes and clear purpose.
Your company's future depends on thinking differently about its foundations.
Time to think better.
Want to build procurement right? Start by questioning everything:
• Why do we do it this way?
• Who benefits from this process?
• What if we started fresh?
Different questions lead to different answers.
• Why do we do it this way?
• Who benefits from this process?
• What if we started fresh?
Different questions lead to different answers.
January 2, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Want to build procurement right? Start by questioning everything:
• Why do we do it this way?
• Who benefits from this process?
• What if we started fresh?
Different questions lead to different answers.
• Why do we do it this way?
• Who benefits from this process?
• What if we started fresh?
Different questions lead to different answers.
The real transformation happens when you realize:
Traditional procurement experience often means mastering a broken system.
Fresh eyes aren't a weakness. They're your superpower.
Traditional procurement experience often means mastering a broken system.
Fresh eyes aren't a weakness. They're your superpower.
January 2, 2025 at 10:00 PM
The real transformation happens when you realize:
Traditional procurement experience often means mastering a broken system.
Fresh eyes aren't a weakness. They're your superpower.
Traditional procurement experience often means mastering a broken system.
Fresh eyes aren't a weakness. They're your superpower.
The old thinking: "We need more control" "We need better policies" "We need stricter processes"
The new thinking: "We need smarter systems" "We need clearer paths" "We need stronger foundations"
The new thinking: "We need smarter systems" "We need clearer paths" "We need stronger foundations"
January 2, 2025 at 10:00 PM
The old thinking: "We need more control" "We need better policies" "We need stricter processes"
The new thinking: "We need smarter systems" "We need clearer paths" "We need stronger foundations"
The new thinking: "We need smarter systems" "We need clearer paths" "We need stronger foundations"
Here's what Einstein knew that procurement teams need to hear:
You can't fix a broken system by using the same logic that broke it.
You can't build the future by copying the past.
You can't transform by following.
You can't fix a broken system by using the same logic that broke it.
You can't build the future by copying the past.
You can't transform by following.
January 2, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Here's what Einstein knew that procurement teams need to hear:
You can't fix a broken system by using the same logic that broke it.
You can't build the future by copying the past.
You can't transform by following.
You can't fix a broken system by using the same logic that broke it.
You can't build the future by copying the past.
You can't transform by following.
Every day I watch companies try to "fix" procurement by:
• Copying broken processes
• Installing complicated software
• Following "best practices"
And wondering why nothing changes.
The problem isn't the solutions. It's the thinking behind them.
• Copying broken processes
• Installing complicated software
• Following "best practices"
And wondering why nothing changes.
The problem isn't the solutions. It's the thinking behind them.
January 2, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Every day I watch companies try to "fix" procurement by:
• Copying broken processes
• Installing complicated software
• Following "best practices"
And wondering why nothing changes.
The problem isn't the solutions. It's the thinking behind them.
• Copying broken processes
• Installing complicated software
• Following "best practices"
And wondering why nothing changes.
The problem isn't the solutions. It's the thinking behind them.
The fix isn't another training. It's admitting we've been building procurement wrong.
Stop pretending everyone understands. Start building it right.
Your company's future depends on it.
Stop pretending everyone understands. Start building it right.
Your company's future depends on it.
January 2, 2025 at 5:00 PM
The fix isn't another training. It's admitting we've been building procurement wrong.
Stop pretending everyone understands. Start building it right.
Your company's future depends on it.
Stop pretending everyone understands. Start building it right.
Your company's future depends on it.
Want to know if this is your company?
Ask 5 people what procurement does. Get 5 different answers. Watch 3 people struggle to explain it. See 2 people just shrug.
That's not normal. It's just normalized.
Ask 5 people what procurement does. Get 5 different answers. Watch 3 people struggle to explain it. See 2 people just shrug.
That's not normal. It's just normalized.
January 2, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Want to know if this is your company?
Ask 5 people what procurement does. Get 5 different answers. Watch 3 people struggle to explain it. See 2 people just shrug.
That's not normal. It's just normalized.
Ask 5 people what procurement does. Get 5 different answers. Watch 3 people struggle to explain it. See 2 people just shrug.
That's not normal. It's just normalized.
This is why most procurement "processes" are:
• Overcomplicated (to hide uncertainty)
• Inconsistent (no real foundation)
• Frustrating (for everyone involved)
• Expensive (in hidden costs)
• Overcomplicated (to hide uncertainty)
• Inconsistent (no real foundation)
• Frustrating (for everyone involved)
• Expensive (in hidden costs)
January 2, 2025 at 5:00 PM
This is why most procurement "processes" are:
• Overcomplicated (to hide uncertainty)
• Inconsistent (no real foundation)
• Frustrating (for everyone involved)
• Expensive (in hidden costs)
• Overcomplicated (to hide uncertainty)
• Inconsistent (no real foundation)
• Frustrating (for everyone involved)
• Expensive (in hidden costs)