# A Week in the Life of a Purchasing Professional ## A Week in the Life of a Purchasing Professional By Graham Scott, Chief Procurement Officer at Jabil ###### October 5, 2026 \| By Graham Scott, Chief Procurement Officer When people hear that I am Jabil's Chief Procurement Officer, they may picture a week filled entirely with executive meetings, strategy discussions, and business reviews. And while there is certainly quite a bit of that, the issues we discuss at that level are usually connected to the same practical questions I learned to ask earlier in my career: Do we have the right material? Can the supplier deliver it? What risks are emerging? And what do we need to do next? I began my career in costing, commodity management, and global sourcing, then moved into procurement leadership before becoming Vice President of Global Procurement and, more recently, Chief Procurement Officer. I know firsthand what it means to manage supplier commitments, difficult negotiations, and components that suddenly become unavailable. And every experience I have had throughout my career continues to shape how I think about procurement today. Although the role changes as you move through your career, the fundamentals remain incredibly consistent. A typical week begins with reviewing supplier performance, demand, inventory, orders, lead times, and risks. We are not just examining last week's problems, but anticipating what could affect our customers and operations in the weeks and months ahead. In a global electronics supply chain, priorities can change quickly. A supplier may have a production issue. A shipment may be delayed. Demand may increase unexpectedly. A component that was readily available may suddenly become constrained. The procurement team's job is to not only understand the situation, but to also determine the potential impact and decide how to respond. That usually requires a lot of collaboration. And what a lot of folks don't realize is that procurement does not operate independently. From planning and engineering to manufacturing, finance, and customer teams, constant communication across functions is critical to making the right decisions. If a component is unavailable, for example, the answer is not always simply to find another supplier. We may need to understand whether an alternate part is technically qualified, whether inventory is available elsewhere in the network, whether the supplier can increase capacity, or whether a customer's product design can accommodate a change. Those decisions require commercial knowledge, technical understanding, and strong relationships with suppliers. They also require people who are comfortable asking difficult questions and making decisions with incomplete information. Obsolete and end-of-life components can create significant complexity. When a supplier announces that a part will no longer be produced, we may need to secure inventory through a last-time buy, identify an alternative source, or determine whether a redesign is necessary. The objective is not simply to find material quickly. We also need confidence in its quality, authenticity, and long-term reliability. A low price is not valuable if the source introduces additional risk to the customer or the manufacturing process. Technology is changing how procurement teams manage this work. At Jabil, our teams quote approximately one million part numbers every quarter. That creates an enormous amount of data and a significant amount of work for our commodity professionals. AI-enabled tools are helping us analyze information more efficiently, identify patterns, and reduce the amount of manual work required. In some areas, work that previously took several weeks can now be completed in a day. However, I always emphasize to my team that AI does not eliminate the need for procurement professionals. It makes their expertise more valuable. When technology handles more of the repetitive analysis, our teams can spend more time on supplier strategy, risk management, negotiations, and customer requirements. Of course, that only works when the underlying information is connected and reliable. Procurement teams need a clear view across ERP systems, supplier data, inventory, logistics, and other sources. The better the information, the faster teams can make decisions. As the week progresses, the conversation often shifts from immediate issues to longer-term priorities. We may review a new sourcing strategy, negotiate supplier agreements, or evaluate cost opportunities. But we also need to think beyond the next quarter or the next sourcing event. Supplier relationship management is a key part of that work. We need to understand where our suppliers are making investments, how their technology and capabilities are evolving, and whether they will be able to support the markets and customers we expect to serve in the future. That balance between today and tomorrow is one of the most important parts of procurement leadership. We have to respond to the issue in front of us without losing sight of the broader strategy. My perspective has changed as I have moved through different roles. Earlier in my career, I was closer to the individual supplier, commodity, and sourcing decisions. Today, I have a broader view across the organization and the global supply chain. But the connection between the two is still very clear. The decisions made at the executive level ultimately affect the people managing suppliers, materials, and customer programs every day. That is why staying connected to the practical realities of procurement matters. A week in procurement may involve reports, meetings, negotiations, and strategy discussions, but the purpose is straightforward: making sure the right materials are available at the right time, managing risk before it becomes disruption, and helping keep manufacturing moving. That has been the focus throughout my career, and it remains the focus today. ## Contact Us ###### September 21, 2026 \| By Jabil Procurement \& Supply Chain Team ##### September 21, 2026 \| By Jabil Procurement \& Supply Chain Team