10 Strategies to Manage Pressure from Sales

Salespeople can be like kids in a candy store—excited, insistent, and often oblivious to the sugar crash awaiting the supply chain team trying to fulfill their demands.

In procurement we often find ourselves caught in the crossfire between our sales team and the manufacturing/operations team. 

The pressure to pull in orders and meet aggressive timelines can create a pressure cooker environment, particularly when the company operates on a made-to-order model without maintaining adequate stock of critical items. 

If you’re new to procurement or facing these issues for the first time, it can indeed feel overwhelming (it is!). 

The First Goal: Change the Conversation

When sales is pressuring you to meet customer demands, the right strategies can change the conversation from what you can do about the problem, to what we can do about the opportunity.  

Here are 10 strategies to keep your blood sugar stable.

1. Establish Clear Communication Channels

Effective communication between departments is critical to keeping the emotional volume down. Try to establish channels for sales to communicate their needs and for procurement to provide realistic timelines. 

It’s crucial for the sales team to feel supported. They will turn up the pressure until they get the support they need, so it is best to stay in front of them.

This involves regular meetings and updates between sales, operations, and procurement. Having at least a semi-structured process in place can prevent last-minute surprises and unrealistic demands.

There is a world of difference between communicating with salespeople who feel supported and salespeople who are sure you are not doing enough. 

2. Implement Stock Agreements

Negotiate with your suppliers to keep a buffer stock of essential components for you. This can be done under a non-cancellation agreement if necessary, reducing the risk for suppliers while ensuring you have quick access to necessary parts. 

Buffer stock acts as a safety net, allowing you to meet sudden demands without constantly pressuring your suppliers.

 For standard items expect good suppliers to hold inventory for you without obligation. For custom items it is reasonable to cover their liability.

Most component distributors have programs that allocate inventory to you. Often called bonded inventory or something similar, you can have online access to inventory that is reserved just for you.

3. Develop Consensus Forecasts

Sure, you should work closely with your planning team to develop accurate forecasts based on input from sales. 

But forecasts are always far from perfect, if the forecast was perfect sales wouldn’t be pressuring you!

However, a rolling forecast that has the buy in of sales and operations helps in planning and ensures that all parties are aware of known upcoming demands and potential supply chain constraints.

When this is done properly and everyone buys into the forecast, what was once a ‘you problem’ (find the parts) transforms into an ‘us opportunity’ (let’s find a way to get that order).

Pro Tip: The value of forecasts is not accuracy, it’s transparency. It gets sales on the record for what to expect, operations on the record for what is possible, and management on the record for what to drive to.

4. Engage during the Quoting Stage

If possible, get involved at the quoting stage of new projects. Understanding the scope and requirements early on allows you to anticipate procurement needs and plan accordingly.

In large companies with multiple operations and hundreds of salespeople this is probably not realistic. 

But in operations small enough that you know the salespersons’ names this is often very realistic.

When possible, a proactive approach can significantly reduce the pressure of meeting last-minute requests.

5. Establish Standard Lead Times

Determine and keep updating planning lead times for your planning function. By having a planning lead time, any requests to pull in orders can be treated as special cases and managed more effectively. 

This sets clear expectations for what is feasible and what requires additional negotiation or effort. 

You really don’t need buy-in from anyone to implement this. If your company does not have an established lead time policy, just do it yourself and publish it to stakeholders.

Pro Tip: Use the longest published lead time. Lead times have several uses, here we are talking about the planning lead time that will determine when the planning system creates a buy action. In other words, the longer the planning lead time the sooner you will see the buy action. 

6. Expedite the Order Entry Process

Try to understand the sales team’s order entry process to see if you can ensure that procurement is informed as soon as a customer places an order. 

It’s very common for new customer orders to take days or even a week to reach purchasing. There are lots of reasons for this depending on processes out of your control.

But it might be possible for you to get notice before the system fully processes the order. For example, your forecast might include sales orders in process that have not been fully planned.

Reducing the delay between order receipt and the release of buy actions gives you more time to manage the supply chain.

7. Implement a Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) Process

This is a more formal, long-term solution that would require senior management direction.

The process involves regular reviews of sales forecasts, inventory levels, and operational capabilities to ensure that all departments are aligned and working towards common goals.

An S&OP process can provide greater visibility into incoming orders and align sales lead times with procurement capabilities. A well implemented S&OP process can enable quicker responses to market changes.

On the downside S&OP is complex and costly, usually best suited to larger more complex organizations. The initial expense is high, and resistance to change can be hard to overcome.

8. Advocate for Internal Change

If you find that systemic issues within your company are creating unnecessary pressure, don’t be afraid to advocate for change. 

This might involve suggesting new processes, tools, or organizational changes that can improve efficiency and reduce the burden on procurement. Or even adopting S&OP.

While change can be difficult, demonstrating the long-term benefits of improved processes can help gain buy-in from higher-ups. 

Further, it demonstrates your personal initiative and drive to improve, things all executives value even if your suggestions are not adopted this time.

A great example: Mary Barra is the CEO of General Motors and made $29 million in 2023. She started as a fender panel and hood liner inspector and rose to prominence in part through her advocacy for change.

9. Manage Supplier Relationships Proactively

Building strong relationships with your suppliers can pay off in times of need. 

Regular communication, timely payments, and mutual respect can lead to better cooperation and flexibility from suppliers when you need to expedite orders or handle special requests.

Pro Tip: Don’t cry wolf. You need your suppliers to trust you, and this includes when you ask for extraordinary performance. Don’t let them work 24/7 and through the weekend to deliver on Monday when you don’t really need it for another week or month. They HATE being treated like this!

10. If all else fails…

Finally, if the challenges within your current company are too great and change seems unlikely, it might be worth considering whether this is the right environment for you. 

High turnover in procurement roles can be a sign of systemic issues that are difficult to overcome. Assess your career goals and work environment preferences to make the best decision for your professional growth.

Closing Thoughts

Being a buyer in a manufacturing tech company involves navigating complex and often conflicting demands.

And it is often thankless. No one is going to congratulate you when material arrives on time, but you will surely hear about it if it’s late. 

By implementing these strategies, you can create a more manageable and collaborative process, reducing the pressure from sales and creating a situation where you can rightly be the hero instead of the goat.