A long time ago, I prayed to Allah to give me a job where I could help people while earning a living of my own.
At that time, I really wanted to become an engineer. I have an engineering background in both Polymer Engineering and Petroleum Engineering. I studied hard to become one, and an unforgettable mindset was always instilled in me: be a problem solver.
To me, that has always been part of the soul of engineering. When there is a problem, we try to find a solution. But somehow, my career took me somewhere I never expected. I found my path in procurement.
After spending a few years in this field, I started to understand that procurement is much more than buying things, comparing quotations, negotiating prices, or finding service providers.
The beauty of procurement is how versatile it is. After all, what business does not depend on a supply chain?
A mamak restaurant needs a steady supply of flour to serve its roti canai every day.
A car workshop needs a reliable supply of tyres to replace those worn out by its customers.
Even our homes depend on a continuous supply of electricity to keep the lights on.
Supply is everywhere. But behind every quotation, there is also a person.
Throughout my career, I have met suppliers from many different backgrounds. I have met a single mother trying to support her family, a son carrying the responsibility of being his family’s breadwinner, someone trying to make enough sales to pay for his parents’ medical treatment, and people simply trying their best to survive.
We often look at a quotation and see numbers. But behind those numbers are businesses, employees, and families. That changed the way I look at procurement.
Of course, as procurement professionals, our responsibility is still to protect the interests of the company. We need competitive prices, good quality, reliable suppliers, acceptable lead times, and manageable risks.
But procurement sits in an interesting position. On one side, there is a company that needs something. While on the other side, there is another company trying to sell something.
Procurement connects the dots.
And procurement itself is part of something much bigger: supply chain management.
When we look at the bigger picture, supply chains are not only important to companies. They can affect entire countries and the everyday lives of ordinary people.
The Strait of Hormuz is a good example. It may look like just a narrow stretch of water between Iran and Oman, but a significant share of the world’s oil and LNG passes through it. When this route is disrupted, the impact does not stay in the Middle East.
Oil and gas supplies can become tighter. Shipping and energy costs can rise. Businesses may need to find alternative sources. Eventually, some of those additional costs can travel through the supply chain and reach industries and consumers thousands of kilometres away.
A disruption at one point can create consequences across the world. That is the power and vulnerability of a supply chain. And perhaps that is why I have no regrets about ending up in this profession.
I may not have followed the engineering career that I once imagined. But I realized that the mindset I learned from engineering never disappeared.
Identify the problem. Understand the situation. Find the best possible solution.
I am still solving problems. Just in a different way.
— Fahmie Ikhwan Milus (FIM)
29 September 2026
Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, MY.
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