How can you take on more responsibility to get promoted in Supplier Sourcing?

Rather than ask for responsibility, let them feel that they may be under utilising on value creation from your service. A good way to make a mark and do that reappraisal for you is to spend some time with the functional business teams where you first' understand the business, how it works, identify gaps, gain first hand experience and then come to sourcing and view sourcing as not what it is, but what it can be, in terms of offering solutions to the gaps you have already experienced being on the business side.

As a procurement specialist in the steel industry aiming for promotion in Supplier Sourcing, set clear career objectives aligned with the company's strategic direction. Focus on expanding your industry knowledge, enhancing negotiation skills, fostering stronger supplier relationships, and demonstrating leadership capabilities. This targeted approach will showcase your value and readiness for higher responsibilities, increasing your chances of advancement within the field of Supplier Sourcing.

That's correct and what we should also know is out of all professions this is the only profession that has been assembled by accident. And the leaders are those who met with this accident a decade before you. That means they taught themselves sourcing on the job. And thus many will not have 30 years experience but 1 year experience 30 times. In this scenario it becomes essential for you to have a different mindset and understand that you do not fall in the trap of fire fighting but remain in the game of not letting the fire lit up in the first place and to do that you cannot just have 1-2 leaders giving you feedback you have to go to a community of like-minded professionals.

Actively solicit input from supervisors, colleagues, and industry experts to understand areas for improvement and to gain valuable insights into successful supplier sourcing strategies. Incorporate this feedback into your professional development plan, demonstrating your commitment to growth and improvement, which can position you for more responsibilities and career advancement within Supplier Sourcing in the steel industry.

Like, I said earlier community is the key. If you want to transform the sourcing profession from being viewed as a cost centre to being and being perceived as a centre for profitability and value creation.

To summarise, remember learning from executives at your firm is not enough nor is it helpful to just hire one or two experts. What you need especially in the sourcing department (that has been assembled by accident) is a collective wisdom and thus a community of sourcing people is vital to success and not a good to have network.