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Tuckmans Ladder: Stakeholder Conflict: Engineering & Procurement Firm

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Anonymous

Hello. I am a project engineer at a staffing agency. The project manager and the procurement manager are storming. They were long before I started, 6 months ago. We are in the execute phase of the project with materials and vendor documents being delivered. 


Waterfall projects
Client - Oil and Gas giant
Agent - the company provides engineering and procurement services to the Client.
Company - the vendors whose products the agent buys to ship to a separate construction company.

There is a procurement manager whose team works on all the projects in one portfolio. The procurement manager does not believe that the department is beholden to the project managers. 

The procurement manager is a functional manager, reporting directly to the Portfolio Manager and the Director of Procurement. The procurement manager has setup and agreed to be tracked by key performance indicators which only include required on site dates. Basically if the vendor documents are late or the material is not delivered by the contract date, it doesn't effect procurement departments KPI reporting to the client. The supply chain shortages mean if they were tracked, they would not meet their KPI's on a regular basis.

The procurement manager is resistant to change but has good leadership skills.

The staff of the procurement department have two reports. The procurement department manager and the functional manager (expeditor reports to global manager of expeditor) (buyer reports to global manager of buyers) . 

The project managers have had continuous problems with the procurement delivering vendor documents and materials on schedule. I have been bumped down from being a project engineer to working directly in the procurement department to analyze the situation and report back my findings, which are:

- continued supply chain shortages which would need client to solve.
- lack of professionalism within the procurement domestic staff.
- lack of experience within the procurement international staff. 
- lack of attention to detail from all staff.
- No KPI tracking for items that directly effect engineering department (who makes the company all the money).
- Attitude: Small project mentality, hesitant to take on larger projects.

The project managers report to a Delivery Manager (who reports to the Portfolio Manager). Therefor any "top down" solution must include both the portfolio manager and the delivery manager. Bottom up training is needed to progress the skill set of the group (experienced and inexperienced).

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My primary concern is repairing the rift between  one of the project managers (Tier II project) and procurement manager. The project manager believes that the procurement department is getting paid by the project and should execute procurement in a way where the project can meet it's KPI. The procurement manager believes the procurement department is only beholden directly to the client, and the portfolio manager. The procurement manager believes that in this global corporation that service could be provided to non local projects through the local department.

I am asking for advice and links to any PMI reading resources that would enable me to solve this dilemma. 
My goal is to work myself out of this new job.

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Kimberly Whitby
PMI Team Member
Online Community Specialist| PMI Newtown Square, Pa, United States
Hello - and thanks for posting your question to our online community. In regard to your inquiry, I encourage you to search our wide variety of topics located within the ‘Communities’ drop-down at the top of our page and select ‘Stakeholder Management’ under ‘All Topics.’ Here is the direct link for your reference - https://www.projectmanagement.com/Topics/stakeholder-management/. Here you may find some helpful answers within the Discussion threads listed under this topic of interest. Also, one particular article that may be of interest is https://www.projectmanagement.com/articles/846434/6-essential-skills-to-communicate-effectively-with-stakeholders-. You can leave a comment at the end of the article for others to see and offer helpful solutions.

I hope this helps, and encourage you to please take a moment to introduce yourself to PMI’s Online Community at https://www.projectmanagement.com/discussion-topic/193917/welcome--introduce-yourself-to-pmi-s-online-community

I hope this helps and look forward to seeing you around the community!
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Markus Kopko AI Enabler for Project & Program Mgmt | Founder PMotion.ai / The PM AI Coach| PMotion.ai Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

Hi,

Dealing with the tension between the project manager and the procurement manager in your organization sure sounds like a tough nut to crack. It's like you're in the middle of a classic stand-off, with each side having its own viewpoint and set of expectations.

So, let's think about how to untangle this. I'd start by getting these two in a room together for a heart-to-heart. It sounds simple, but sometimes just breaking down those communication barriers can work wonders. They need to hear each other out, understand where the other is coming from. It’s like being a mediator in a way, trying to find that common ground.

The whole KPI issue seems to be at the heart of this conflict. The procurement team is marching to the beat of one drum, and the project team to another. It's no wonder things are out of sync. Maybe it's time to revisit these KPIs. They should reflect not just the procurement deadlines but also how their work affects the overall project timelines. It's about seeing the bigger picture, right?

And then, there's the skill gap in the procurement team. It sounds like they could really benefit from some training, not just in professionalism and attention to detail but also in understanding the broader impact of their work. It's like giving them a new lens to see how what they do fits into the larger project puzzle.

I’d also suggest a bit of a two-pronged approach here. You've got to get the higher-ups, like the Portfolio Manager, on board with the need for change. At the same time, start making some ground-level improvements. It’s like playing chess on two boards – strategic moves up top and tactical moves on the ground.

For resources, PMI is a goldmine. They have tons of material on handling these sorts of situations. Maybe dive into their articles or webinars, or even flip through the PMBOK® Guide. There’s bound to be something in there that can give you some more pointers.

Creating a collaborative culture is easier said than done, especially in complex environments like yours. But starting with these small steps can gradually steer things in the right direction.

How does this sound to you? Do you think this approach could help ease the tension and bring some harmony between the project and procurement teams? It’s definitely going to take some patience and strategic thinking, but I believe it's possible to turn things around.


BR,


Markus

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