A friend of mine has been in procurement for eight years. He is good at the job. His supplier network is solid, his negotiation numbers hold up, and nobody doubts his technical skill. Still, he keeps running into the same wall: leadership won’t give him a bigger slice of the business. When I asked what bugs him most, he didn’t point at pricing or contracts. He said, “I can’t get the internal people to cooperate.” Requesters toss in vague demands. Finance drags its feet on payments. The warehouse says there’s no room for the stock. Every task turns into a favor he has to beg for. That is almost never…