25 August 2006 | Rebecca Ellinor

Procurement is overly concerned about how it is regarded by others in its organisation, according to an online poll conducted by supplymanagement.com

Of the 167 people who responded to the survey, the majority (70 per cent), agreed that procurement is too worried about how it is viewed by those outside the function.

The survey was carried out in response to a star letter published in the 3 August issue of SM.

In the letter, Peter Sammons, director of Buy Research, said: "I have noticed over the years that in supply chain, procurement or whatever we prefer to call ourselves, we seem overly concerned, almost paranoid, about what other organisations functions think about us.

"Do engineers keep asking whether they are needed? Lawyers and accountants certainly do not. I have never yet heard a marketing professional expressing self-doubt. So why do we?

"Frankly I do not care what other functions think of us. If senior managers cannot see the value of professional value-chain management then they should not hold senior positions."

SMaug2006