Walk into any retail store, and you’ll find a team focused on serving customers and completing tasks.
That means making sure shelves are stocked, registers are running, and the store is clean, safe, and
ready for business. What they don’t have time for is figuring out how to order needed supplies, work
through approvals, or wait for those supplies to arrive.


Yet, too often, that’s exactly what happens. A store manager needs toner replacement, cleaning supplies,
or a part for a broken display, and suddenly, they’re stuck in a frustrating maze of where to order what
they need, getting approvals, and figuring out how much it costs.


Most store managers don’t think about procurement. They just want it to work. They want everyone else
responsible for those solutions to play their role and make it easy for them. If the corporate office wants
good execution in the stores, then keeping activities like supply orders simple is the best approach. The
more time dealing with ordering or going to pick up items, the less time available for helping customers
and growing sales. Here are three key lessons store leaders wish procurement teams understood:

1. Time is the Real Currency
Retail is fast-paced. When something breaks or supplies run out, managers need solutions now, not after three layers of approvals.


● A simple online order should take minutes, not hours.
● Orders within assigned budgets shouldn’t require multiple approvals or extra time for review.
● If it’s something they could buy at Target or Home Depot today, it shouldn’t take three weeks to
arrive from a preferred supplier or cost significantly more.

Well-managed procurement saves money and time. Time is the difference between a smooth operation and a frustrated team in retail.

2. The Best Deals Don’t Always Feel Like the Best Deals
Procurement teams work hard to negotiate discounts, but those deals don’t always make sense from a store manager’s perspective.


● A case of pens that costs 30% less per unit but comes in a giant bulk order isn’t helpful for a store
that only needs a few at any time.
● If a vendor change means getting a cheaper mop that breaks in a month, it’s not really a cost
savings. It’s creating another, more costly problem.
● A manager doing a quick online price check doesn’t understand why their store is paying more for
basic supplies than they could get on Amazon.

Price matters, but so does practicality. It’s not the best deal if the solution creates more waste or
frustration.

3. Friction = Workarounds (and Lost Savings)
When procurement processes become too complicated, stores find their own solutions and lose cost
control.


● If the approved ordering process is slow, managers will simply buy what they need on their
personal card and expense it later.
● If a preferred vendor has long shipping times, store teams will head to the nearest competitor
instead.
● If approval chains take too long, managers skip the process entirely.

The easier procurement makes it possible for stores to get what they need, and when they need it, the more likely they are to stay within the system and keep costs in check. They begin to see the value of the tool and the time it saves versus the headaches it creates.

Bridging the Gap
Retail field leaders and procurement teams don’t have to be at odds. The best procurement teams work with store teams, not just for them. Working in partnership, the store operations team and procurement can find solutions that will benefit the entire organization. Store and field leadership should be vocal about what they need to best complete their jobs. They should be able to rely on systems and processes that enhance their ability to serve customers, not spend extra time solving for issues that distract them. The more a store’s management team can stay in their building, directly supporting the team and customers, the better everyone will be.


Effective procurement and operational partnerships are not just about lowering costs. They are about
business enablement. When the procurement team understands how stores operate and their
challenges, they can build a system that makes it more efficient to get what stores need. This will result
in better outcomes, stronger relationships, and happy managers, all without workarounds or frustration.
At the end of the day, stores don’t care who handles procurement. They just want it to work