Pure Procurement's First Annual Report

The state of this newsletter

Author

Joël Collin-Demers
May 26, 2024 • 📖 9 minutes

Hi readers,

Apologies for the late send tonight… Was out in the woods with 0 tech the last week. While it was magical, it didn’t help with newsletter writing 😅

📰 In this week’s edition:

  • The first Pure Procurement Annual Report

After reading, rate today’s newsletter at the bottom of this email to let me know what you thought. Reading your responses is the highlight of my week.

First time reading? Sign up here.

ICYMI 👀: My best Linkedin post of the week:
India may just be the most fascinating country in the world right now

🌙 Sunday Night Note

The First Pure Procurement Annual Report

Pure Procurement has been in business for 5 years now.

I didn’t know if I would ever be able to say that when I launched this business…

As readers of this newsletter, you’re essentially my shareholders (higher quality content means higher returns for your time investment). So I thought it was high time I start reporting on the state of the business… You deserve to know what’s happening behind the scenes!

So… Here goes. The first Pure Procurement Annual Report.

Back to regular content next week.

How it Started

I had been working at IBM Canada for just shy of 7 years when I finally decided to start a solo digital procurement consulting practice. The idea had always been in the back of my mind, nagging at me… When my first child was born, I decided it was time to silence that little voice… (How would I tell that little one to follow their dreams if I wasn’t willing to do it myself?)

Looking back, it was the best decision I ever could have taken. Being entrepreneurial-minded, this meant I could explore and execute on a myriad of different ideas (at the risk of drowning in them…) while leveraging my deep expertise in procurement system design, implementation and operation.

Two crazy ideas from the last 5 years stand out:

  1. Starting to post digital procurement content on LinkedIn

  2. Starting a digital procurement newsletter

At first, the idea behind Pure Procurement was simply to deliver high quality services to clients. However, 40 hours a week quickly fills up in this line of work… And I had given myself 2 constraints when starting the business:

  1. No service delivery (consulting) employees

  2. No software development

Going down these two rabbit holes would take me away from the reason I started Pure Procurement… I wanted to deliver high quality services myself. It’s what I love to do, what I’m good at and something the market values. Having employees or developing software would take me away from that.

However, what was I to do with all my spare, bottled-up entrepreneurial energy?

I created my own corporate Wordpress website and started writing articles on digital procurement. I read up on SEO. I posted on LinkedIn periodically. The itch just wasn’t “scratchable”. The question “What’s next?” always came back…

About a 12-13 months ago, I decided to “turn the volume up to 11”…

I started posting more frequently on LinkedIn and publishing articles more regularly in newsletter format. I started studying marketing and copy writing in down time while delivering mandates to clients during the day (and still am…).

This was a game changer…

In the last year, Pure Procurement has become a digital procurement consulting AND a media business.

How It’s Going

In the last 12 months, things have gotten much clearer for me… Here’s where the business stands this year:

Pure Procurement’s Mission

Elevate the digital literacy, maturity and, ultimately, impact of procurement functions globally with digital procurement consulting services and educational content.

(added that last bit in the last 12 months)

Pure Procurement’s Flywheel

If I’m doing something (anything), it needs to fit into this flywheel.

Recent Consulting Mandates

  • Pulp & Paper MRO Parts Procurement Optimization Project delivery

  • Pulp & Paper Procurement Function Maturity and Roadmapping exercise

  • Industrial manufacturer Procurement Technology selection advisory

  • Investment Firm Procurement Technology Roadmapping Exercise and RFx advisory

  • Banking Procurement new operational model development

  • Product advisory for a few ProcureTech firms

2023-24 Content At-A-Glance

Where I’m Heading

In 2024-25, the plan is simply to double down on the above, tweaking things to keep making them better for you, the reader:

Consulting

  • All booked up until January 2025 ✅, spare some small additional engagements.

Media

  • Produce a minimum of 250 LinkedIn posts on digital procurement

  • Publish 76 articles

  • OTPR (On-Time Publish Rate): 80% or better!

  • Subscriber stretch goal: 25,000 Subscribers this time next year

    • Increase open rate by 5%

    • Increase click rate by 1-2%

  • Hold 4 Fireside Chat Events (one a quarter)

  • Deliver a stellar 2025 ProcureTech Cup (*including demos* for at least 40% of ProcureTech solutions in the tournament).

    • If you are on the marketing team for a ProcureTech brand and want to participate next year, send me a note! Demos will start in September.

  • Partner with 4 main ProcureTech brands I believe in as the main sponsors of this newsletter (feel free to reach out if you think the fit is right!).

  • Hire a Marketing Manager to help me coordinate and deliver on the above (I am starting to have a hard time keeping up!)

That’s it (and that’s enough with young kids) 😂

I draw the line at sharing revenue numbers but hopefully this gives you visibility into my business model, how you’re part of it and what to expect going forward.

Oh… There is one thing I forgot to mention… Nothing on the media side of the business works without you, the reader. You are the life and blood that keeps my entrepreneurial side humming... I take that very seriously.

Quality, integrity, transparency and honesty are at the center of everything I do because I value the trust, time and energy you place in me when taking the time to read my content.

That being said, there aren’t 1000 ways to monetize a media business… Paid subscriptions/events and advertising partnerships are the main revenue sources. But there’s definitely a good way and a bad way to do it… I strive to do it the “good way”…

My promise? I will never put something in front of you that I haven’t either used myself or properly vetted with demos, questions, client testimonials, etc. This means it takes a longer time to sign on new partners and monetize the business (ask them, they will tell you 😅). But this is absolutely critical to me.

Otherwise, I’m not accomplishing the mission stated above… I’m just pumping advertising for the highest bidder without regard for quality and positive impact on your businesses.

So let me end by saying Thank You! I love pushing my limits to spread the gospel of digital procurement but it isn’t possible without you. I appreciate you more than you know.

I hope you’ll join me for another year on this journey.

Talk soon.

💭 Quote of the Week

❝

Ironically, the people you meet by accident are often the ones who become an important part of your life

Unknown

🌯 That’s a Wrap

When you’re ready, here are 3 ways I can help:

  1. Pure Procurement Premium. Get access to Deep Dive guides and templates that help you get digital procurement right.

  2. Work with me. I’ve been helping global procurement teams digitalize their processes and practices for 12+ years.

  3. Reach 8000+ Pure Procurement readers. You have something to share with digitally-minded procurement professionals? Get in touch.

Till next time,

P.S. I’d love your feedback. Rate today’s newsletter or reply to this email. Reading your responses is the highlight of my week.

How did you like today's newsletter?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Reply

or to participate.