Well knowing technical side of procurement is always very much respected; when I see my boss talking technical terms with vendors, I am like all impressed; also our HOD often asks us to concentrate more on technical side of the story.
Even though I am not very sure how much this will help you go through your work, one thing is for sure if you don’t do well here, you will get struck in a dead end clerical job with hardly any satisfaction.
So go on check some of the technical aspects as: ASME Codes, Mettalurgy, Non Destructive Testing, Piping and Welding.