What is procurement? Procurement is the business function concerned with acquiring (procuring) the goods and services that are vital to an organization. So, procurement is essentially the umbrella term under which you’ll find purchasing, sourcing, requisitions and purchase orders. What Is Purchasing? Purchasing is the part of the procurement process that focuses on buying products and services from vendors. Purchasing manages the transactional element of the procurement process, including the approval and payment process. It also involves contract negotiation. And this is where things get murky... Both purchasing and sourcing are subsets of the procurement process. But, they’re not necessarily subsets of procurement. Instead, it depends on the size of the organization and how they manage procurement. In large businesses, you can have a sourcing department, a purchasing department, and a procurement department. All are part of the procurement process, but they’re not the same process. I...