Essential Procurement Reading List for 2022

At Procurement Foundry, we are always looking to sharpen our skills sets and stay on top of what is new, current, and trending in our ever-evolving industry. We can’t seem to find enough hours in the day to dive into all of the incredible books there are on the market today offering insights and expert procurement advice from all manner of industry insiders. Enter our essential procurement reading list. 

The members of Procurement Foundry (our Slack community founded for procurement practitioners, offering them a forum to connect and share) are also avid readers. One Foundry member, Lawrence Kane, a Visionary Strategic Sourcing & Procurement Leader and Bestselling Author, put together a recommended reading list for the community. We have taken from it—and added to—to create our own “Essential Procurement Reading List for 2022.” 

Gathered below are our top picks for the best and most essential books relating to procurement. 

Trade Wars, Pandemics, and Chaos: How Digital Procurement Enables Business Success in a Disordered World by Dr. Elouise Epstein 

Synopsis of book: This book offers an in-depth look at how to strategize, evaluate, and approach digital procurement—a necessary transformation fundamentally changing the traditional ways of operating and revolutionizing the procurement world in particular. 

What Procurement Foundry Likes: As mentioned above, this book provides a blueprint for approaching the complex issues of procurement and making intelligent technology investments, which will enable us all to thrive when confronted with any disruption in the days and years ahead. 

Recommended for: Today’s procurement practitioners at the forefront of innovation, sustainability, and social responsibility seeking to make a real change by directing where and how enterprises spend their money. 

Between the Spreadsheets: Classifying and Fixing Dirty Data by Susan Walsh 

 Synopsis: Dirty data is a costly problem that plagues most businesses. In a world where we constantly hear talk of data quality issues, more conversations cover fixing them. In her book Between the Spreadsheets: Classifying and Fixing Dirty Data, Susan Walsh draws on her decade of experience in data classification to offer readers a tried method for cleaning and classifying their data.  

 What Procurement Foundry Likes: Susan Walsh is hilarious. From cover to cover, Between the Spreadsheets offers Susan’s signature dry wit that makes discovering more about data analysis as fun and engaging. 

 Recommended for: Those who know there’s a better way to sort procurement data. 

The Supply Chain Revolution: Innovative Sourcing and Logistics for a Fiercely Competitive World by Suman Sarkar  

Synopsis: Taking true success stories from known brands and acclaimed experts in the industry, The Supply Chain Revolution pulls back the curtain and allows business leader readers to step into the inner realm, where secrets to succeeding in a disruptive world are shared. Among the secrets uncovered include: how to make alliances more successful, easy simplification/streamlining of the supply chain—and more 

What Procurement Foundry Likes: With today’s businesses failing due to outdated views toward cutting costs and similar, this book offers a solution so that companies stop making the same mistakes. 

Recommended for: Supply chain fanatics looking to level up and get savvy on how to simplify, streamline, and revolutionize their operations. 

Managing Supply Chain Operations by Rosa Oppenheim Yao Zhao Lei Lei, and Leonardo DeCandia 

Synopsis: Co-authored by a trio of experts and developed in collaboration with the Rutgers center for supply chain management, this book is didactic and bases its teachings on findings taken from multiple, in-depth research projects conducted with more than 100 participating corporations. By combining theory and practice, the title presents vital concepts needed to successfully—and strategically—implement supply chain management techniques in a global environment. 

What Procurement Foundry Likes: This book introduces students to the key drivers of supply chain performance. But it is made even more powerful (and effective) by providing real-life examples and case studies and several specific strategies from a best practices perspective. 

Recommended for: This book is primarily geared toward those taking courses at the MBA core level, MS in supply chain management level, or upper-undergraduate level, or for overall executive education. 

Principles of Supply Chain Management by Joel D. Wisner, Keah-Choon Tan, and G. Keong Leong  

Synopsis: A textbook that guides you step-by-step through the management of all supply chain activity. Among the significant areas covered are: domestic and global supply chains issues, including important processes in operations, purchasing, logistics, and process integration. 

What Procurement Foundry Likes: This book offers a balanced approach that follows the natural flow through the supply chain via well-organized chapters that provide examples and best practices for successful and practical applications of supply chain management in today’s workplace. 

Recommended for: Anyone in the supply chain world looking to sharpen their management skills. 

Procurement Principles and Management by Peter Baily, David Farmer, Barry Crocker, David Jessop, and  David Jones 

Synopsis: A text that offers readers insight into mainstream practice and develops ideas and approaches. 

What Procurement Foundry Likes: Updated to cover the ever-evolving change and development in purchasing, we like how this text carefully balances new philosophies with already proven and more traditional thinking and practices. 

Recommended for: Practitioners and students of purchasing and procurement looking to take their strategies and performance to the next level. 

Supplier Evaluation and Performance Management by Sherry Gordon 

Synopsis: A how-to book that leads you in developing and implementing an evaluation process geared to reducing costs, lowering risk, and improving your company’s and suppliers’ performance. 

What Procurement Foundry Likes: We like how practical this text is, even including examples of best practices that companies are currently using to evaluate suppliers and get beyond collecting data for the sake of data to achieve real results. 

Recommended for: Managers looking for help measuring supplier performance and don’t know where to start, and those looking for ideas and inspiration for improving or revitalizing current operations. 

Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher, William L. Ury, and Bruce Patton 

Synopsis: An excellent book providing a proven, step-by-step strategy for negotiating mutually acceptable agreements in every sort of conflict. 

What Procurement Foundry Likes: We love the straightforward, universally applicable method presented to readers for expertly negotiating any type of dispute—be it personal or professional disputes—without letting emotions get in the way or letting yourself get taken for a ride. 

Recommended for: Those looking to learn a better way to negotiate.