#ExpertiseMatters: My 40 year career in procurement
We are very proud of the range of product and service expertise we have at NOE CPC. Our team is made up of procurement professionals with a lengthy career in healthcare, as well as graduates and apprentices who are just starting out.
As part of our #ExpertiseMatters theme, we sat down with Category Procurement Specialist Kevin Goldfinch, to find out about his career in procurement over the last 40 years and his advice for the next generation of procurement professionals.
Where and when did your career in procurement begin?
My career in the NHS started in May 1982 at South Tyneside Hospitals with a temporary contract in their finance department. Part of my role there included delivering weekly pay in cash to all South Tyneside Hospitals and approving supplier invoices for payment. Shortly after that I moved into procurement again on a temporary contract, and I have stayed in procurement ever since. I have worked across a lot of different NHS organisations including NHS Logistics Authority, Northern Regional Health Authority before finally arriving at NOE CPC as part of the category management service provision team.
Why did you choose textiles as a procurement career path?
As a lot of times in Procurement you move sideways. In my career I have covered everything non-medical within the NHS throughout my career, food, catering equipment, stationery, furniture, textiles, and cleaning. But I also worked in Finance and Marketing. In the early days I was hospital ordering clerk for stock items – I learnt a lot of valuable lessons throughout my career, including two things you never run out of, incontinence pads and toilet rolls.
What have been the biggest changes you have seen in the procurement landscape throughout your career?
There have been many changes in the NHS procurement landscape in time. When I started everything was done manually. There were no computers, tenders were all done on paper, stock picking was done on handwritten cards, and we stocked items like typewriters. Computers didn’t come into use until the mid to late 1990’s. There were small changes that have trickled in over the years, such as switching to self-seal envelopes and moving from paper to plastic sacks for use in fire retardant sack holders.
Working through the pandemic is an experience I don’t think anyone in procurement will ever forget. Every skill and each piece of knowledge I have gained throughout my career was tested in that period, but equally I think those of us working in procurement also learned a lot through that time that we can apply going forward.
If you could offer any expertise or advice to those starting out in their procurement career, what would it be?
Learn from colleagues and always strive to go the extra mile, I gained promotion through this approach. This advice applies to life not just career – treat people as you would expect to be treated, the working environment can only be improved by being kind and respectful to one another.
What is the most important lesson you have learnt in your career?
I think it’s hugely important to visit your suppliers and learn as much as you can, especially when in textiles there is a particularly important aspect of Fire Retardancy. We can learn a lot from our suppliers and sharing that knowledge can bring benefits for both informing our own internal processes and delivering a better service for our customers. Working as a team is so important, this cannot be stressed enough and always think about the impact to your customer making effective communications, whether the outcome is bad or good.