Let us suppose, you have a product. You approached a vendor. He asks you a rate lower than you had been expecting. You move to another vendor, who actively offers a higher rate than the previous. Needless to say, you might look for a long time bond with this store. This is one of the various problems, why buyers like Heather McSparron feel betrayed at times.

Heather McSparron, who is a buyer at the Baghdad for Aircraft and Non-Aircraft parts for US Army; has been serving for DynCorp from Middle East Asia bases. Her first few years at DynCorp were primarily based at their Florida office, where she was supposed to understand the requirements and send the suppliers the list of the items. As it was linked with Army, the requirements were supposed to be filled up on an urgent basis. To quicken her process, she started maintaining logs, which she passed onto her junior Buyers, thus reducing the efforts for other teams as well. She maintained a good follow up with her suppliers and the sub ordinate buyers.

This was during this time, that she learnt a trick. Every part of the aircraft had an expiry rate of one year. Thus, it was necessary that the gap between the purchase and installation is kept lower. She convinced the Suppliers and gained enough faith that the purchased items would be used up sooner; following to quicker successive orders. The words worked out for her, as well as the entire organization. Quicker purchase followed by more frequent purchase, which opened the gate for rate negotiations with the Suppliers.

Heather McSparron, later moved to Afghanistan, again as a Senior Buyer. Her previous experience was limited to people staying in US. This time, the environment was hostile; adding to which was the huge gender gap. Heather, however managed to gain trust of the local Suppliers and vendors for the required items, and was leading a big network of dealers. Her efficiency and quick negotiation skills helped DynCorp to a good margin.

She later moved on to Baghdad as the Buyer. Much as before, she had to understand the need of the company, then attend the Supplier and lower down the rates as much as possible. This amount if task can’t be attended all alone, it needs the spirit to work together and with the right rhythm. We are glad Heather McSparron came up with the right skills despite the adversities.