Vocabulary
Procurement meaning: buying for an organization
Sign in to saveA cafe needs coffee beans, cups, a card reader, and cleaning supplies. Someone has to decide what to buy, compare suppliers, agree terms, and place the orders. In a business, that work is called procurement.
Use procurement for an organization's planned process of obtaining goods or services from suppliers.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
procurement /prəˈkjʊəmənt/
The short answer
Procurement means the organized process of obtaining goods or services, usually for a company, public body, or other organization.
The procurement team compared three suppliers before renewing the software contract.
Why it works: The team did more than make a purchase. It evaluated suppliers and managed a contract for the organization.
3 more examples
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The hospital changed its procurement process for medical supplies.
The phrase refers to the organized way the hospital obtains supplies.
Not this:The hospital changed its
shopping processfor medical supplies. What changes: Shopping is too informal for a formal system that selects suppliers, places orders, and records decisions. -
Procurement asked suppliers to explain their delivery times and warranty terms.
Here procurement names the department or function responsible for obtaining goods and services.
Not this:
The buyersasked suppliers to explain their delivery times and warranty terms. What changes: Buyers are people. Procurement can name the wider department, role, or process. -
The school began the procurement of new computers after the budget was approved.
The phrase includes the organized work of selecting and obtaining the computers.
Not this:The school began
the purchase of new computersafter the budget was approved. What changes: Purchase can mean the transaction itself. Procurement points to the wider process before and around the transaction.
Read the full guide
Use procurement when the wider buying process matters. It is more formal and broader than buying a single item. A company may have a procurement policy, a procurement officer, or a procurement process.
Think beyond one purchase
A purchase is one act of buying. Procurement is the work that happens before, during, and after an organization buys what it needs. That work can include finding suppliers, comparing prices, choosing terms, and checking deliveries.
The procurement manager reviewed the quotes before the company ordered new office chairs.
Use it for goods and services
Organizations procure physical goods such as laptops, uniforms, and raw materials. They also procure services such as maintenance, training, consulting, or software support. The word does not require a physical object.
The council opened a procurement process for a company to maintain its public parks.
Use common workplace patterns
Common phrases include procurement of equipment, procurement process, procurement policy, procurement team, and work in procurement. These phrases usually refer to a system or area of responsibility, rather than one person paying for an item.
Her role in procurement includes checking whether suppliers meet the company's requirements.
Choose procurement or purchasing
Purchasing is a broad word for buying goods or services. Procurement often includes purchasing, but it may also include supplier selection, contracts, records, and delivery checks. In a job title, both words may appear, but procurement usually suggests a broader and more formal responsibility.
Purchasing a printer is one buying activity. Procurement may cover the budget, supplier choice, order, contract, and delivery for all office printers.
Keep the grammar simple
Procurement is usually uncountable. Say procurement is delayed or the procurement of new equipment. Do not normally say a procurement when you mean the general process. If you need to count separate buying events, use purchases, orders, or projects instead.
Procurement is delayed because the supplier has not sent the final contract.
Choose the word in context
You bought a sandwich for lunch. Is procurement the natural word for that action?
No. Buy or purchase is natural for a personal lunch. Procurement fits an organized process for obtaining goods or services for an organization.
Before you go
Remember this
Use procurement for the planned organizational process of obtaining goods or services. It can include choosing suppliers, agreeing terms, ordering, and checking delivery. For one transaction, purchase is often the more precise word.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
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Try the written questionsQuestions about "Procurement meaning: buying for an organization"
What does procurement mean?
Procurement means the organized process an organization uses to obtain goods or services. It can include finding suppliers, comparing offers, agreeing terms, ordering, and checking delivery.
The hospital changed its procurement process for medical supplies.
What is the difference between procurement and purchasing?
Purchasing is buying goods or services. Procurement is usually broader because it can include supplier selection, contracts, ordering, and delivery checks as well as the purchase itself.
The hospital changed its shopping process for medical supplies.
Can procurement include services?
Yes. Procurement can cover services such as maintenance, software support, training, or consulting, as well as physical goods such as equipment and supplies.
Procurement asked suppliers to explain their delivery times and warranty terms.
Is procurement countable?
Procurement is usually an uncountable noun when it refers to the general process or area of work. Say procurement is delayed or work in procurement, rather than a procurement.
The buyers asked suppliers to explain their delivery times and warranty terms.
How do you pronounce procurement?
Say pruh-CURE-ment. The stress falls on the second syllable, which has the same main vowel sound as cure in many British pronunciations.
The school began the procurement of new computers after the budget was approved.