Originally written by Carolyn Mathas for Mouser Electronics.
It’s difficult to imagine a time when procurement professionals have encountered so much complexity and information. With constant updates on tariffs, regulation changes, material shortages and fluctuating prices, staying current has become a challenge. Today’s processes must simultaneously achieve cost efficiency, ensure quick time-to-market, mitigate various risks, and maintain the quality and flexibility necessary to stay competitive. Leveraging tools and platforms that provide real-time insights and automated updates on industry trends can help procurement professionals manage this cognitive load more effectively.
For example, authorized distributors like Mouser Electronics offer procurement tools that allow professionals to streamline complex tasks by offering automated inventory tracking, pricing updates and notifications on material availability. Tools like this help reduce cognitive overload, allowing teams to focus on decision-making rather than constantly monitoring for the latest changes. By incorporating solutions like these, procurement staff can stay ahead of industry shifts and focus on optimizing workflows, ensuring both efficiency and adaptability in a dynamic market.
What is cognitive overload?
Cognitive load theory, initially posited by educational psychologist John Sweller in the 1980s, states there’s a limit to how much knowledge or tasks the mind can process in a specific amount of time. Symptoms of cognitive overload include lowered concentration, a drop in productivity, poor decision-making, higher stress, and finally, burnout. For electronic component procurement teams, contributing factors include:
• Rapid component obsolescence and constant part updates
• Exploding volume of technical specifications and compliance requirements
• Need to better manage supplier relationships
• Availability of multiple sourcing options
• Capacity to navigate complex global supply chains while keeping an eye on cybersecurity challenges
As cognitive overload sets in, further symptoms can include memory challenges, negativity, anxiety, depression, agitation, irritability and the feeling of being alone.
Cognitive overload and procurement
According to Gartner, 83 per cent of the workforce feels overwhelmed by today’s increased complexity in the supply chain and overall business environment. On the procurement front, cognitive overload can cause performance issues with decision-making, accuracy and efficiency in sourcing and selecting electronic components. It also negatively impacts job satisfaction and mental health. Ultimately, organizations pay for the resulting increased errors, supply chain disruptions and cost overruns.
Should the overload not be addressed, the organization also faces the likelihood of employee burnout and a predictable reduction in the effectiveness of their procurement staff.
Addressing cognitive overload
Organizations and professionals have myriad ways to address cognitive overload. Options include tracking and monitoring staff experiences, simplifying procurement operations (including workflows and decision rules), integrating process maps/templates for more straightforward implementation and separating strategic tasks from tactical tasks.
Another important action is prioritizing tasks. For example, an Eisenhower Matrix decision-making tool can distinguish between tasks’ importance and urgency, allowing prioritization, delegation and removal. Another tool is the Pomodoro Technique, which breaks work into timed intervals separated by short breaks.
Additionally, incorporating automation tools and streamlining processes to reduce manual tasks saves time and work hours, freeing professionals to concentrate on more rewarding tasks. Companies can optimize data management through tools that search and compare the newest products for designs.
By setting well-defined data management practices and using collaborative tools, organizations can improve team communication and reduce the chance of cognitive overload.
