🚴 Procurement lessons from a brutal MTB race

I recently cycled 55km through mud, cramps, and heat during a mountain bike race—and oddly, it reminded me of half the strategic vendor meetings I’ve been in.

At first glance, cycling a brutal trail and managing procurement operations seem like night and day. But both demand:

• Iron discipline

• Resilience under pressure

• Situational awareness

• Fast recovery after mistakes

Here’s what I took away—beyond sore quads.

🔧 1. Preparation is Everything

MTB: You don’t show up without a training plan, a tuned bike, and your nutrition strategy. You’ll suffer early if you do.

Procurement: Same rules. Strategic sourcing isn’t just RFPs. It’s upstream work:
✅ Market intel
✅ Stakeholder alignment
✅ Supplier due diligence

Skipping prep leads to late renewals, bad contract terms, or solution mismatches.

⚖️ 2. Pacing Wins Races—and Deals

MTB: Burn all your energy in the first 20km and you’re toast by mid-course. Good riders know how to pace based on terrain.

Procurement: If you chase all vendors with equal urgency, you’ll burn your team out. Prioritize based on:

• Spend criticality

• Vendor leverage

• Strategic alignment

Use your energy where it counts.

🧠 3. Situational Awareness = Survival

MTB: Trails shift constantly. One wrong turn on gravel and you're down.

Procurement: Markets change. Geo-risk, supply shocks, AI, M&A… If you’re not scanning the terrain weekly, your 3-year strategy is toast. The smartest pros build flex into their playbooks.

🔄 4. Recovery Time Matters

MTB: A cramp doesn’t mean quitting. You adjust cadence, breathe, and get back into rhythm.

Procurement: A failed negotiation? A misfit vendor? Your recovery speed defines your value. Learn fast, course-correct faster.

📬 Tool of the Week: 7 Blind Spots That Sabotage Procurement

Includes visuals, use cases, and red-flag indicators for each blind spot.
Ideal for workshops, onboarding, or a strategic reset.
📥 🔍 Download: 7 Blind Spots That Sabotage Procurement

🧩 Final Thought:

Procurement’s not a sprint.
It’s a strategic, high-stakes, often-underappreciated endurance event.

You can train for it.

Let’s build your playbook, one ride—and one deal—at a time.

– Zvi