How to effectively build and structure a procurement team

A procurement team serves as the strategic engine behind company spending, managing everything from vendor selection to contract negotiation. These professionals don't just process purchase orders — they build relationships with suppliers, negotiate favorable terms, and ensure the company gets the best value for every dollar spent. At its core, procurement balances quality, cost, and efficiency while maintaining proper controls over company spending.

Modern procurement teams do much more than just buy things. They analyze market trends to identify cost-saving opportunities, manage supplier relationships to ensure reliable delivery, and work closely with departments to understand their needs. Strategic procurement helps companies reduce costs, mitigate supply chain risks, and drive innovation through strong vendor partnerships. Whether it's securing office supplies, negotiating software contracts, or managing complex manufacturing agreements, procurement teams help organizations spend smarter while supporting business growth.

While many use the terms interchangeably, procurement and purchasing teams serve distinctly different roles in managing company spend. Purchasing teams focus on the tactical execution of buying goods and services — processing orders, managing deliveries, and handling vendor payments. They excel at ensuring daily operations run smoothly, making sure departments get what they need when they need it.

Procurement teams, on the other hand, take a more strategic approach to company spending. Rather than simply executing transactions, they analyze market conditions, build long-term vendor relationships, and identify opportunities to create value. These teams negotiate contracts, manage supplier performance, and work closely with departments to understand their long-term needs. Think of procurement as the architects of company spending strategy, while purchasing handles the day-to-day construction.

The impact of these differences becomes clear in practice. When a company needs new office supplies, the purchasing team ensures orders are placed and delivered on time. But when that same company plans to open three new locations, the procurement team steps in to negotiate bulk contracts, evaluate vendor capabilities, and create a sustainable supply strategy. Both teams play important roles, but procurement's strategic focus helps companies turn spending into a competitive advantage rather than just an operational necessity.

Modern procurement teams drive strategic value across the organization through thoughtful spending decisions and strong vendor relationships. Let's explore their key responsibilities.

Strategic planning

Procurement teams develop comprehensive spending strategies that align with business goals. They analyze market trends, develop cost reduction strategies, and create long-term plans for major purchases. This strategic view helps companies make smarter decisions about when and how to spend money.

Vendor management

Building and maintaining strong supplier relationships is the key to procurement success. Teams evaluate and select vendors, negotiate contracts, and monitor performance as part of a playbook for vendor management best practices. They work to secure favorable terms while ensuring reliable delivery and quality service.

Risk management

Procurement plays a vital role in protecting company interests. They assess supplier risks, ensure regulatory compliance, and maintain proper documentation. From verifying vendor credentials to managing contract terms, these teams help prevent costly disruptions.

Cost optimization

Beyond simple price negotiation, procurement teams find creative ways to reduce costs. They consolidate purchases for better volume pricing, identify alternative suppliers, and work with vendors to improve efficiency. Their efforts help companies maximize the value of every dollar spent.

Process improvement

Modern procurement teams continuously refine their operations. They implement digital tools, streamline approval workflows, and automate routine tasks. These improvements help companies process purchases faster while maintaining proper controls.

Stakeholder collaboration

Successful procurement requires strong partnerships across the organization. Teams work closely with finance, legal, and department leaders to understand needs and align spending with business priorities. They serve as trusted advisors on major purchasing decisions.

Whether handling day-to-day purchases or negotiating contracts with vendors, procurement teams play a vital role in company success. Their ability to balance strategic planning with operational excellence helps organizations spend smarter while supporting sustainable growth.

While many growing companies handle purchases informally through department managers, establishing a dedicated procurement team can transform how your organization manages spending. Professional procurement brings structure to purchasing decisions, helping companies negotiate better deals and build stronger vendor relationships. From cost savings to risk management, the benefits of strategic procurement extend far beyond simple buying.

A well-run procurement team helps companies spend smarter while maintaining proper controls. They analyze market conditions to effectively time major purchases, negotiate favorable contract terms that protect company interests, and build relationships with key suppliers to ensure reliable delivery. These activities not only reduce costs but also help prevent supply chain disruptions that could impact business operations. When procurement teams manage vendor relationships strategically, they often uncover innovations and improvements that create additional value.

Perhaps most importantly, procurement teams free other departments to focus on their core responsibilities. Instead of sales leaders spending time negotiating software contracts or marketing managers handling agency relationships, they can rely on procurement expertise to secure the best terms and manage vendor performance. This specialization helps companies make better spending decisions while maintaining consistent processes across the organization. The result is more efficient operations, better vendor relationships, and strategic advantages that contribute directly to business success.

Building an effective procurement team requires careful planning and the right mix of talent. From strategic leadership to day-to-day operations, each role plays an important part in managing company spend effectively. Here's how to structure your procurement team for success.

Bring on a strong leader

While this often won’t be your first procurement hire, a strong Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) can set strategic direction and champion procurement's value to the organization. Your CPO needs both financial acumen and leadership skills to guide specialized teams and work effectively with the C-suite.

Build out category management

Organize your team around key spending categories, with dedicated category managers overseeing areas like IT, marketing, and professional services. These specialists develop deep market expertise and maintain important vendor relationships. Each category team should include procurement specialists who handle daily purchasing activities and support their category manager.

Carve out more strategic functions

Your strategic sourcing managers focus on complex negotiations and competitive bid processes. They work alongside contract managers who oversee agreement lifecycles and ensure compliance. Together, these roles drive value through better vendor relationships and favorable contract terms.

Invest in experienced operations and support

A strong procurement operations manager oversees daily activities, supported by procurement specialists who process requests and handle vendor inquiries. This team keeps purchases moving through effective purchase order management while maintaining proper controls.

Round out the team with specialized roles

As your organization grows, add specialized roles like:

• Vendor management lead to oversee supplier relationships and performance
• Procurement analytics manager to provide data-driven insights
• Systems administrator to manage procurement technology
• Compliance officer to ensure procurement policy adherence

Build for success — at your own pace

Start with essential roles and add specialized positions as needs emerge. Focus on finding people who combine technical expertise with business acumen. The right structure helps your procurement team deliver value beyond just cost savings through stronger vendor relationships, effective tail spend management, and more strategic purchasing decisions.

Remember that successful procurement teams evolve with your business. Regularly assess your structure to ensure it continues supporting your organization's growth and changing needs.

Building a procurement team in a startup requires careful balance. While you need proper spending controls, you also need to maintain the agility that helps startups grow. Let's explore how to build a procurement function that scales with your business.

Start with the essentials

Most startups begin with a procurement specialist or manager who handles all purchasing activities. This person works closely with finance to establish basic controls and processes. They manage vendor relationships, negotiate contracts, and ensure departments get what they need to operate effectively.

Add strategic skills

As spending increases, bring in a strategic sourcing manager who can negotiate better deals and establish preferred vendor relationships. This role focuses on reducing costs while maintaining the quality and speed your startup needs.

Bring on specialized talent as you scale

Once your procurement needs grow more complex, consider adding:

• A category manager to handle your largest spending areas
• A vendor management specialist to maintain supplier relationships
• A procurement analyst to track spending patterns and identify savings

Leverage modern technology and tools

Invest in procurement software early. The right tools help small teams manage larger workloads efficiently while maintaining proper controls. Look for solutions that automate routine tasks and provide spending visibility.

Grow with purpose

Your procurement structure should support growth without creating bureaucracy. Focus on roles that add clear value, and keep processes simple but scalable. Consider your company's specific needs — a tech startup might prioritize IT procurement, while a consumer goods company might focus on supply chain expertise.

The goal is to build a procurement function that enables growth rather than restricts it. Start small, stay flexible, and add complexity only when it clearly benefits your business.

The size of your procurement team depends on several key factors. Spend volume, industry complexity, and organizational structure all play roles in determining the right team size for your business.

Understanding team size drivers

A general benchmark suggests one procurement professional for every $10-$15 million in annual spending, but this varies significantly by industry and company type. Technology companies might manage higher spend volumes with smaller teams due to automation, while manufacturing companies often need larger teams to handle complex supply chains.

Starting small and scale up

Begin with essential roles that match your current needs:

• Under $50M in spend: 2-3 procurement professionals
• $50M-$200M: 4-7 team members
• $200M-$500M: 8-15 specialists
• $500M+: 15+ with specialized roles

Factors to consider

When sizing your team, evaluate:

• Transaction volume and complexity
• Number of suppliers to manage
• Geographic spread of operations
• Industry-specific requirements
• Available technology and automation
• Regulatory compliance needs

Finding the right balance

Focus on building a team that can manage the current workload while maintaining flexibility for growth. Too small a team risks missing savings opportunities and proper controls, while too large a team can create unnecessary bureaucracy and costs.

Measuring team effectiveness

When evaluating your procurement team's performance, look beyond traditional metrics like headcount and cost savings. Consider how well your team manages spend, their speed in processing purchases, and the quality of their supplier relationships. Track internal customer satisfaction to ensure the team meets business needs effectively. Regular feedback from stakeholders helps identify areas for improvement and justifies additional resources when needed. Most importantly, measure how your team's work impacts broader business objectives — from risk management to innovation support.

The key is building a team that delivers value while maintaining efficient operations. Regular assessment of workload and performance helps ensure your team size remains appropriate as your business evolves.

With the automation of manual workflows the top challenge for 86% of finance and procurement leaders, it’s no surprise that more companies are leaning on technology to automate their procurement processes.

Brex helps transform procurement operations by unifying corporate cards, bill payments, and spend tracking in one platform, giving teams the visibility, control, and automation they need to make strategic spending decisions.

Manual processes and disconnected systems waste valuable time and create unnecessary risks. Brex eliminates these headaches by automating routine tasks and centralizing all spending in one place. Custom approval workflows ensure proper oversight, while vendor payment automation and automated GL coding save hours of work. The platform even helps capture early payment discounts through automated scheduling, turning accounts payable into a source of savings.

What sets Brex apart is how it grows alongside procurement teams. Whether managing payments for a growing startup or handling complex spending across multiple entities, the platform adapts to changing needs. Real-time spending dashboards help teams track budgets and identify cost-saving opportunities, while vendor management tools strengthen supplier relationships. By freeing procurement teams from manual tasks, Brex helps them focus on strategic work that drives business value.

Managing procurement spending is part of a comprehensive approach to business spend management, and building an effective procurement team requires careful planning and the right mix of talent. From choosing the right structure to determining team size, every decision impacts how well your organization manages spending. The key is starting with essential roles and adding specialized positions as your needs grow while maintaining the flexibility to adapt to changing business requirements.

Today's procurement teams need more than solid procurement process flow — they need the right tools to work efficiently. Brex's unified platform combines corporate cards (including purchase cards), bill pay, and spend management in one place, giving procurement teams complete visibility and control. With Brex’s global payments, automated invoice processing, and vendor management capabilities, teams can focus on strategic work instead of manual tasks.

Sean Soper, Head of Accounting and Financial Operations at Alchemy, says Brex “is our version of procure-to-pay 2.0. Having a unified approach to all of our spend has helped bring everything together, and it's really streamlined the process. By consolidating expenses, we can optimize our spending, make more informed decisions on the fly, and improve our bottom line.”

Josh Pickles, Head of Global Strategic Sourcing and Procurement at DoorDash, lauds Brex’s ability to proactively manage procurement spending: “With Brex, weʼre clear about how money is being spent from the get-go. In this economic climate, flexibility and adaptability are more important than ever. Having Brex enables us to make smart, strategic choices.”

Ready to transform how your procurement team works? Join forward-thinking companies that have already discovered the benefits of Brex. Whether you're building your first procurement function or looking to scale your existing team, Brex provides the tools you need to succeed. Sign up for Brex today to see how our platform can help your team work more efficiently while maintaining proper spending controls.