Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“Everyone has an opinion about facility services in your buildings, so you're always trying to accommodate multiple stakeholders and juggle multiple departments.” - Alex Carlson, VP of Facilities Management Services at Fine Tune In the world of indirect spend management, there are few categories as complex - and high stakes - as facilities management. Delivery locations and sometimes provider networks are distributed and fragmented, making selection, implementation, and ongoing oversight especially difficult. It is no wonder, then, that so many companies are tempted over to “the dark side” of convenience-based solutions in this category. Unfortunately, allowing third parties to manage the delivery of services may also give them more control over cost than procurement realizes. In this episode, Kelly Barner is joined by Alex Carlson, former Vice President of Category Management within Wells Fargo’s Corporate Properties division and new VP of Facilities Management Services at Fine Tune.  His experience and advice can help your organization avoid “the dark side” and instead walk towards the many opportunities for value creation associated with this category of spend. Listen in to learn: The benefits of managing costs as well as services through a cost plus model How to navigate the transition from service provider to client Unique facilities management challenges in C-store, big box retail, and office environments In depth category perspectives and stories of managed services survival Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Alex Carlson on LinkedIn Watch Again: Why is facilities management so complex?

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“At the end of the day, we're trying to create this organization from which we have the ability to help the profession move forward with more than ever before. We think in terms of what each trend or change is going to mean to each team and what they can make of the related opportunities and challenges.” - Philip Ideson, Founder & Managing Director, Art of Procurement In this episode of the Art of Procurement podcast, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner take a break from their usual roles interviewing procurement thought leaders and experts to reflect on the year so far in procurement, including emerging trends, economic pressures, election coverage, AI, and the always-evolving needs of the procurement community. Philip and Kelly also discuss the recent results of an AOP survey that reveals procurement’s increasing demand for quality, targeted content, and they share what they’ve been hearing from other procurement leaders about the impact of AI now that the “newness” has worn off and teams are getting serious about implementation, use cases, and business outcomes. In this episode, they reflect on: How economic shifts and policy changes are reshaping procurement strategies and operations AI’s practical applications in procurement and why experimentation and continuous re-evaluation are so important Upcoming events and projects from the Art of Procurement, including a new AOP website in the works, the official launch of AOP’s YouTube channel, and a special series planned for October that will provide a comprehensive analysis of potential policy impacts to procurement and the supply chain from the U.S. presidential election Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Philip Ideson on LinkedIn Kelly Barner on LinkedIn

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“One thing is very clear from our research: the skill sets for procurement are changing. Whatever the skill sets are today, they are not going to be the skill sets that are needed tomorrow.” -Baber Farooq, Senior Vice President, Market Strategy, Procurement Solutions at SAP SAP recently released the 2024 results of their annual Economist Impact survey. It contains insights into the overall health of procurement and provides a look at C-suite perspectives on procurement’s role and reputation in the business and the most pressing challenges and opportunities facing them today. This year, they surveyed over 2,300 C-suite executives across procurement and other functional areas and C-suite positions. To unpack the survey results, Philip Ideson is joined in conversation by Baber Farooq, Senior Vice President, Market Strategy, Procurement Solutions at SAP.   In addition to discussing key findings and insights, they talk about: How this year’s responses differ from previous years and what these new trends say about the future of procurement Major factors impacting the procurement operating model, including new reporting structures, compliance demands, and sustainability expectations How digitization is putting pressure on (and opening new opportunities for) traditional procurement organizations Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Read the 2024 Sap Economist Impact Report Baber Farooq on LinkedIn

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

Category management has been around for decades - so why hasn’t it become ubiquitous?  Many of the objectives procurement needs to satisfy - both qualitative and quantitative - can be addressed by a category management program. Taking a more comprehensive approach to spend and supplier management can deliver improved cost flexibility, more leverage in tightly held markets, and a closer alignment with the priorities of the business. Despite all of these benefits, category management struggles to secure broad adoption.   In this solo episode, Philip Ideson speaks about his personal experience with category management and the challenges and opportunities he sees. Listen in to discover: The roadblocks that prevent category management from living up to expectations Advancements in procurement technology that will enable everyone in the company to play a larger role at the category level Why he still believes category management IS the future of procurement Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Philip Ideson on LinkedIn Category Management: How Far We’ve Come, How Far We Can Go featuring Mark Webb What is Category Management? (According to the Experts) Build Your Category Management Framework with Five Evergreen Principles Learn from the 4-step Category Management Process Refined by Novartis

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“What ultimately drove all of us – leadership team, colleagues, and people in procurement – was the excitement about the future. The ability to contribute very differently to the success of the company, ultimately impacting the patient journey, is a great purpose that we have – curing and helping patients.” - Patrick Foelck, Head of Strategy & Transformation and Head of Insights & Enablement Procurement at Roche How procurement prepares for the future, one that includes accelerating digital innovation, may determine whether they have a future at all.  In this episode, Philip Ideson discusses the importance, if not existential necessity, of procurement transformation with Patrick Foelck, Head of Strategy & Transformation and Head of Insights & Enablement Procurement at Roche. As Patrick said, “There must be more than running this singular, one-dimensional process and chasing the savings as a one-dimensional outcome. I think that is also our future. If we don’t get out of it, or if we don’t build on it, procurement will be dead to an extent, or replaced by technology or by an external party.” In this episode, Patrick and Philip tackle the ‘big’ questions around the future of the procurement operating model and the role of procurement transformation in securing that future, while also discussing:  How to build the procurement operating model of the future, pulling together insights and enablement, delivery, business partnering, capabilities, and digitization Roche’s own transformation journey and what success looks like post-transformation Defining, measuring, and achieving transformation success with KPIs beyond savings Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Patrick Foelck on LinkedIn

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“What’s interesting in financial services is that third-party risk management is very different than supplier risk management. When a financial institution looks at risk, they look at risk at the relationship level, not just at the supplier level.” - Arnaud Malardé, Director of Product Marketing, Ivalua In the highly-regulated financial services industry, effective third-party risk management is non-negotiable. It can make or break operational success, not to mention client trust. Even though avoiding risk altogether is not realistic, it doesn’t have to feel like an uphill battle.  In this episode, Kelly Barner speaks with Arnaud Malardé, Director of Product Marketing at Ivalua, and Vivek Jayaraj, Managing Director at Deloitte Consulting LLP, about how procurement can turn third-party risk management into a strategic advantage for the business.  As they explain, streamlining business practices and supporting them with well-integrated digital platforms can create the best environment for managing third-party risk and achieving successful outcomes for the business.  They also share their ideas about: What a ‘single source of truth’ for third party risk looks like in practice How to align risk management with supplier management  Best practices for leveraging AI in third-party risk management platforms Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Arnaud Malardé on LinkedIn Vivek Jayaraj on LinkedIn Watch Again: Establishing a Single Source of Truth for Third Party Risk in Financial Services

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“You always really need to look at people, process, and technology. If you don’t look at all three and understand where you are and where you need to be in those areas, you are just going to be chasing.” - Sherry Ulsh, Director, Indirect Procurement, The Hershey Company At the CoreTrust Conference in April 2024, Philip Ideson had the opportunity to sit down with Sherry Ulsh, Director of Indirect Procurement at The Hershey Company, about a wide range of topics, including her own journey from finance to procurement, the evolving role of GPOs, and the changing skill sets required in modern procurement roles.  Sherry shared her views on the importance of supplier relationship management and stakeholder management, both of which are reflected in her belief that procurement’s value and influence in the business are best realized when they achieve a balance of people, process, and technology. In this episode, Sherry also shares her views on:  How to define procurement’s value proposition across different industries and organizational models The evolving role of GPOs, and how utilization of the GPO model today differs from in the past Shaping internal and external perceptions of procurement’s value, and how, for example, CFOs and other C-suite leaders can influence procurement’s perceived value beyond cost savings Links: Sherry Ulsh on LinkedIn Subscribe to This Week in Procurement

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“Sustainability is at the top of the agenda for businesses, because now they have to demonstrate exactly what their carbon footprint is and demonstrate with complete credibility and transparency exactly what they’re doing.” - Melanie Blackmore, Founder & CEO Blackmores (UK) Ltd and Carbonology Ltd When Melanie Blackmore, Founder & CEO Blackmores (UK) Ltd and Carbonology Ltd, says that she is deeply passionate and “in love with” standards, she readily admits not everyone will be able to relate to her enthusiasm. But, applying ISO (International Organization for Standardization) can give organizations, and specifically procurement teams, the direction they need to ensure quality, safety, efficiency, and even compliance across industries and for both goods and services.  The stakes can be high, but the benefits of implementing ISO standards are often even higher.  In this episode, Philip Ideson explores the ins and outs of an ISO framework and how it can help a business improve their processes by following a set of internationally recognized best practices.  They discuss: An overview of current ISO standards and how they have evolved How organizations can apply ISO standards to achieve their sustainability goals The differences between standards and certifications and how this impacts implementation  Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Melanie Blackmore on LinkedIn  Visit IsologyHub to learn more about how to achieve ISO compliance Melanie’s Book on Amazon: Net Zero Planner: Design a Net Carbon Zero plan for your business in 90 days Blackmores (UK) Ltd Carbonology Ltd  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“I think category management is great fun because you have the freedom to do things. It’s not following a rote process. It’s using structure to be creative. I think that’s the great benefit of it.” - Mark Webb, Managing Director at Future Purchasing For many in procurement, category management is “old hat.” Some even assume that widespread adoption and integration of category management structures and processes within the business are non-issues in 2024. They see category management as a mountain that has been scaled, and now procurement just needs to sit back and enjoy the view. When we look more closely, however, there is still significant room for improvement in category management strategy and for expanded scope of implementation throughout the business.  In this episode, Philip Ideson welcomes back Mark Webb, Managing Director at Future Purchasing, for a deep dive into the current state of category management, including where we’ve been and how far we have left to go. Mark also shares the results of the 2024 Global Category Management Report, a large, comprehensive study Future Purchasing conducts in partnership with Henley Business School.  They discuss the importance of stakeholder involvement, the need for more consistency and effective communication, the distinctions between category management and strategic sourcing, and the delicate balance between internal expertise versus external resources in implementation. Philip and Mark also explore: Why 80 percent of stakeholders don’t fully understand their role in category management, and what procurement can do to fix that Practical advice to streamline category planning and improve stakeholder engagement The ideal model for category management when considering big versus small teams Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Read the 2024 Global Category Management Report here Mark Webb on LinkedIn The Differentiators of Category Management Leaders & Followers, w/ Mark Webb

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“It’s incumbent upon all of us to be change ready, to be curious, to always be learning because this overestimated technology today will truly be delivering huge results tomorrow.” - Alan Veeck, CEO & Founder at Summit Procurement There are very few voices in procurement right now – or businesses in general, for that matter – who are raising the flag that all of the fear, enthusiasm, and hand-wringing over AI’s growing influence might be one big, collective overreaction.  Alan Veeck, CEO & Founder at Summit Procurement, is one such voice. In this episode, he shares with Philip Ideson why his contrarian attitude toward AI has little to do with his belief that AI will indeed revolutionize the space. Alan explains how decades of seeing other technology hype cycles come and go have given him a more measured outlook for innovative or emerging digital breakthroughs (including generative AI) and why he thinks other procurement leaders should dial down the frenzy around AI that likely isn’t doing their teams, or the business, any favors.  In this conversation, Alan also talks about: Why he thinks AI is not going to disrupt the procurement job market nearly as much or as quickly as many people think How to separate the overblown capabilities from real-world use cases where AI can genuinely move the needle for procurement today How CPOs can embrace AI and maximize its impact without leading their teams, and the business, down a rabbit hole of new solutions and platforms that cause more problems than they solve Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Alan Veeck on LinkedIn Alan Veeck on Twitter

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

The speed of business is accelerating dramatically. Procurement can change how they address challenges and support stakeholders, or they can remain slow to adapt and miss out on key opportunities.  In this week’s podcast, Eric Dulin, Director of Procurement, Digital & Technology at Yum! Brands, shares how he has shifted his mindset throughout his career to focus more on building relationships and approaching procurement with a service-first attitude. He and Philip also discuss Eric’s book, Win-Win-Win: Collaborative Approach to Procurement in the Era of Digital Metamorphosis, pulling out a few quotes that can help procurement professionals reshape the way they work within their roles. Throughout the episode, Eric uses first-hand lessons to offer transformative truths, including: The difference between transactional and strategic procurement—and which is better How ditching the adversarial “sales versus procurement” mindset results in stronger relationships and better wins The importance of focusing on how procurement helps the buyer and supplier using key fundamentals Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Eric Dulin on LinkedIn Win-Win-Win: Collaborative Approach to Procurement in the Era of Digital Metamorphosis on Amazon Win-Win-Win: Collaborative Approach to Procurement in the Era of Digital Metamorphosis on BookBaby

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“Longer term, I think people haven’t fully understood the power of generative AI beyond their own personal use cases. But now, the central theme is really testing out where it can go.” - Nick Heinzmann, Head of Research at Zip AI has been in the mainstream long enough now that it’s time for procurement to get specific and systematic about where, when, and how to apply it to the tech stack in order to generate the most value for the business. In this episode, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner speak with Lance Younger, CEO of ProcureTech, and Nick Heinzmann, Head of Research at Zip, about current best practices for positioning AI in the tech stack and how procurement can navigate the inherent risks that may accompany digital transformation. They also discuss the value and benefits AI can bring to procurement, like optimizing the S2P workflow, data management, compliance, and process efficiency. Listen in to discover:  The best ways to apply and integrate AI across procurement’s entire stakeholder network The most important areas of risk procurement should be aware of when adopting AI The ideal role AI plays in the procurement tech stack, including outsourcing Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Lance Younger on LinkedIn Nick Heinzmann on LinkedIn Watch on Demand: Unleashing the Power of Generative AI in Procurement

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

Procurement teams within private equity firms manage hundreds of portfolio teams worldwide. They must prove the value they create with each program at any given moment. With precise, robust data not always available, these teams are left to determine supplemental ways to demonstrate cost savings, capex reductions, and cost avoidance to C-suite stakeholders. In this episode, Philip sits down with Paul Dhaliwal, Director of the U.S. Capstone Team at KKR, at the 2024 CoreConference in Tampa to discuss how GPOs play a key role in driving value and change across private equity portfolios. They also dive into how Paul and his team use GPO relationships to tell a clearer story with the data they have. Paul shares his insight on leveraging GPOs within private equity, including: The specific metrics and methods his team uses to measure procurement value across KKR’s portfolio How identifying critical areas of engagement with the right GPO partner empowers teams to leverage those relationships and drive results at scale Why private equity procurement teams need to track the right data points and build credibility so they can sell a specific story with greater ease. Links: Paul Dhaliwal on LinkedIn Subscribe to This Week in Procurement

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“A contract lifecycle management platform drives processes for you. That drives your price down, your risk down, and you get the best of all worlds like procurement wants." - Paul Bagley, Director of Commercial Contracting at Acosta Historically, procurement viewed contracts as a legal formality, something only to be referred to when things go wrong with a supplier.  This outdated approach leaves a goldmine of untapped value and insight on the table, and it’s time for procurement to have a mindset shift when it comes to the way they use, store, value, and leverage digital contracts. In this episode, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner talk with Paul Bagley, Director of Commercial Contracting at Acosta, and Toby Laforest, Director of Product Marketing at Ironclad, about how procurement can leverage the full potential of digital contracts and the technology required to make it happen. They’ll explain:  Why digital contacts are strategic assets that can provide bottom-line value to the business Why most procurement teams are currently not taking advantage of AI and contract lifecycle management platforms to extract value from their contracts (and what that mistake is costing them) The myriad benefits procurement - and the business - will see when they normalize contract discussions and regularly refer to contract-based insights with suppliers and stakeholders Links: Paul Bagley on LinkedIn Toby Laforest on LinkedIn Watch on Demand: Connecting the Dots with Digital Contracts Subscribe to This Week in Procurement

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“You have to make investments in your supplier network if you want to be successful. The old days of ‘I have to win, and you have to lose’ are gone. We are so transparent. We are using technology. Relationships are key.” - Frank McKay, Chief Supply Chain & Procurement Officer, Jabil In 2023, Jabil conducted a 2023 Supply Chain Survey in collaboration with SIS International Research. In this episode, Philip Ideson sits down with Frank McKay, Chief Supply Chain & Procurement Officer at Jabil to discuss the results, which pinpointed things like cost reduction, customer satisfaction, communication, and visibility as some of procurement’s top-of-mind challenges.  In addition to sharing his own experiences as a practitioner for over 25 years, Frank also discusses his perspective on the evolving role of procurement and how they can better reduce supply chain operational costs, as well as how Chief Supply Chain Officers should be adjusting their strategies in response to rapidly shifting global supply chain dynamics and volatility.  In the episode, they also explore: How procurement should be integrating AI and machine learning technologies into their processes to elevate their function and drive greater impact The complex nature of managing global supply chains and how to meet these challenges How procurement can help build more resilient supply chains that can adapt to geopolitical tensions, market volatility, and rapid technological advancements  Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“At the end of the day, we exist to try and help the procurement profession be more impactful. That’s the lens through which we look at everything.” - Philip Ideson, Founder and Managing Director of Art of Procurement In this milestone 700th episode, Art of Procurement Founder and Managing Director Philip Ideson has the tables turned on him as he’s interviewed by longtime friend and colleague Mark Holyoake, Owner and Managing Director of Holyoake Search.  In this special conversation, recorded face-to-face, Philip gets personal about his journey from an early career in automotive procurement to the motivations behind his decision to launch the Art of Procurement and how AOP’s evolution into a successful media and advisory company has challenged and strengthened Philip’s own leadership skills along the way.  Philip shares his insights with Mark on what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur and how resilience, continuous learning, and embracing change are essential to that success.  Highlights from the episode include:  How a rocky entry into the procurement profession was buoyed by his passion for travel and learning about new cultures Recounting the evolution of Art of Procurement from its early days of content creation to the most successful, longest-running podcast in the industry, along with a growing advisory and consulting arm that connects practitioners with subject matter experts The essential skills that have helped Art of Procurement achieve success, including forward-thinking, relationship building, understanding ROI versus just cost, and resilience in the face of challenges.  Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Mark Holyoake on LinkedIn Philip Ideson on LinkedIn AOP Episode 001: Welcome to the Art of Procurement, with Philip Ideson The Journey to 1 Million Downloads of the Art of Procurement Podcast w/ Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“In some weird sense, as we see the power of technology, the more apprehensive we get about how much information it should have.” - Baber Farooq, Senior Vice President, Market Strategy, Procurement Solutions at SAP Procurement leaders face a number of challenges in optimizing their source-to-pay processes, and they are increasingly relying on AI tools to address those challenges.  In this episode, Philip speaks talks with Baber Farooq, Senior Vice President, Market Strategy, Procurement Solutions at SAP, about the positive and negative trends he is seeing across source-to-pay, including in spend analytics, data management and governance, category management, risk management, scenario planning, and AI integration.   Baber shares his insights on evolving trends in source-to-pay, including: How spend analytics has emerged as the number one technology imperative where AI can enable cost savings and risk management insights Why scenario planning is gaining importance in category management for better risk management amid increased volatility The skills and talent procurement will need to keep up with a shrinking labor force and growing digital demands Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Baber Farooq on LinkedIn [Pod] Bridging the Confidence Gap to Achieve the Best Business Outcomes w/ Baber Farooq [Pod] Helping Procurement Push the Envelope w/ Baber Farooq

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“There is one thing you can do that really creates a positive ROI for an RFP respondent even if they lose. One thing that will increase the chances that you receive the best RFP responses possible… That one thing is feedback.” - Philip Ideson, Founder and Managing Director at Art of Procurement In this special solo episode, Art of Procurement Founder and Managing Director Philip Ideson explains why it’s so important for procurement to give meaningful feedback to unsuccessful bidders.  This feedback is an often-ignored part of the RFP process, but taking the time to give substantive, detailed feedback can lead to better RFP responses in the future, increased goodwill with suppliers, and stronger long-term relationships that benefit everyone.  In this episode, Philip shares practical tips on how procurement can efficiently incorporate better feedback and responses to losing bidders as well as the benefits this can lead to. He will discuss: Why procurement should view giving feedback as creating value, not just another obligatory task How to give insightful, meaningful feedback beyond the usual “you were too expensive” or “your application fell short” How to leverage RFP feedback to help suppliers improve and build stronger long-term relationships that also benefit the business Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“Only when we stop accepting the fact that procurement is being made to make decisions that are not the best for the future but the best for business today will we really start to take action.” - Alex Jennings, Former CPO DS Smith, Independent Consultant at APSL Consulting Ltd Alex Jennings is a procurement powerhouse with decades of leadership experience working for well-known brands like GE and Toyota and occupying multiple senior roles before his retirement from corporate life in 2023. But, Alex is still leading procurement into the future, even after retiring as CPO of DS Smith. Most recently, he has launched The Alchemie Network, a new platform for collaborative learning around ESG and sustainability for procurement. In this episode, Alex talks with host Philip Ideson about how The Alchemie Network can help procurement make better strides towards a more sustainable supply chain and how they can turn their organization’s vision for sustainability into tangible outcomes for the business.  They’ll discuss:   How procurement can take an active role in impacting sustainability goals Ways procurement can balance short-term cost-savings needs with long-term thinking around sustainability Why education is the key to procurement’s success and how they can feel more empowered to lead the business toward a more sustainable future Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Alex Jennings on LinkedIn

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“If you think of it simplistically, orchestration is a whole art form. You have to learn what it all means. But in so many words, it is nothing else than acting as if it is your own company. How cool is that?” - Elisabeth Schlag-Lawrence, SVP, Head of Procurement Governance and Enabling, Bayer When procurement is decentralized, it is difficult to achieve the visibility they need to proactively manage risk and compliance, identify savings, and create value and opportunity for the business.  In this episode, Philip Ideson welcomes a heavy-hitting panel of Fortune 500 procurement leaders to discuss how procurement orchestration can help create optimal digital experiences across the organization and level-up procurement’s tech stack.  He is joined by Elisabeth Schlag-Lawrence, SVP, Head of Procurement Governance and Enabling at Bayer; Chris Vessey, Executive Director, Global Product Strategy & Transformation at Goldman Sachs; Shachi Rai Gupta, Global Head of Strategy, Intelligence and Digital Transformation at Bristol Myers Squibb; and Lance Younger, CEO of ProcureTech.  They discuss: How global procurement leaders define modern-day procurement orchestration in a highly decentralized and digitized landscape and the difference it can make to an organization Snapshots of what a journey towards successful procurement orchestration looks like for a Fortune 500 company, and the challenges they may need to overcome along the way How procurement leaders can secure buy-in for an orchestration “revolution” in the business and the steps they should take to launch it once they have that support Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Elisabeth Schlag-Lawrence on LinkedIn Chris Vessey on LinkedIn Shachi Rai Gupta on LinkedIn Lance Younger on LinkedIn  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“I think we are headed for human-centered AI where we have the human at the core, and you are going to augment your capabilities with technology to make your work better. That is where it is going.” - Darshan Deshmukh, President at ProcureAbility Procurement is acutely aware that emerging technologies like AI are already having an impact on the profession and will change the role and function of procurement even more in the years to come. While some in procurement are embracing, or, at the very least, accepting the new AI-powered future of procurement, others are somewhat more resistant or even fearful of the changes ahead.  To explore how procurement can and should be thinking about and integrating AI into their delivery model of the future, Philip Ideson recently spoke with Darshan Deshmukh, President at ProcureAbility, while they were at ProcureCon Indirect West in Las Vegas, NV.  As a part of their wider discussion on how AI is impacting procurement, they talk about: Best practices for integrating AI into procurement workflows for increased value creation How procurement’s traditional operating models will change because of AI  Skills development and talent priorities in the age of AI  How procurement’s impact has shifted from cost savings to value delivery  Links: Darshan Deshmukh on LinkedIn Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Visit ProcureAbility’s Website  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“What we have to do from day one is engage the business, sell the value of procurement, communicate the value of procurement, and make quick wins with the suppliers.” - Salvador Serra de Paz Procurement transformation can sometimes feel like a daunting undertaking, especially when there are voices within the business that are hesitant (or downright resistant) to change and view any improvements to processes, workflows, ownership, or technology as threats to their own function.  In this podcast episode, Philip Ideson welcomes Salvador Serra de Paz, who has extensive experience leading successful global transformation projects in a variety of different industries and settings. Salvador reveals the most common challenges he’s faced with each transformation project, the tactics he used to overcome them, and what years of experience in procurement transformation have taught him about the important role that communication, marketing, and perceptions play in getting it right.  Specifically, Salvador discusses: How to design and implement successful procurement transformation projects Turning procurement from a cost center to a profit center How to overcome hesitancy and resistance to any transformation project Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Salvador Serra de Paz on LinkedIn

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“2023 was the year of the ‘dabbler.’ We all heard about AI, and we were all playing around with ChatGPT. We were dabbling around, but we were not integrating. I think 2024 is the year that we actually integrate AI and start to create workflows around it.” - Heather Murray, AI Trainer and Advisor at Beesting Digital and Founder of AI for Non-Techies Since the release of ChatGPT in 2023 brought generative AI technology to the masses and ushered in a wave of new AI-powered solutions, companies have been scrambling to figure out how to harness AI to their advantage and wade through all the new solutions on the market. At Digital Outcomes, Art of Procurement’s annual technology-focused virtual event, Heather Murray, AI Trainer and Advisor at Beesting Digital and Founder of AI for Non-Techies, joined the opening session for a discussion on the potential for AI in procurement and how procurement leaders, and businesses in general, should be approaching creating and sustaining their AI strategies in a world where the technology is evolving at break-neck speed.  In this podcast episode, we revisit Heather’s session, “Straight Talk About the Potential of AI,” where she and Kelly Barner discuss: How procurement should think about the different types of AI tools available and keep pace with rapidly changing technology What most people get wrong about AI, and the inherent risk that everyone in procurement should know about Using a specific framework to decide whether AI is a suitable solution to a business problem Links: Heather Murray on LinkedIn Watch Again: Digital Outcomes 2024 Subscribe to This Week in Procurement

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“The procurement job market is back. That’s great! But, as it regains momentum, both job seekers and companies are going to have to adapt, and I think the road ahead promises growth and transformation and opportunity for anyone who is willing to embrace this change.” -Mark Holyoake, Managing Director, Procurement Recruitment at Holyoake Search  After nearly 5 years of what seemed like a rollercoaster of ups and downs in labor trends – from salary inflation to hiring to economic downturn and then back again to recovery (whew!) – the procurement job market seems to be showing signs of stability and steady, reassuring growth that should benefit candidates and employers alike.  To better understand where the procurement job market has been, where it stands now, and where it is headed, Philip Ideson welcomes Mark Holyoake, Managing Director, Procurement Recruitment at Holyoake Search, back to the podcast. Mark explains why he feels more optimistic about the job market than he has in years, but he also cautions employers against allowing favorable hiring conditions to lull them back into old bad habits.  In this episode, Mark gives his take on: The biggest job market trends in procurement today and how employers and job seekers can take advantage of the good news he has to share The biggest mistake that most procurement hiring teams are making right now and how it is impacting the business What procurement job seekers should do now to distinguish themselves from a sea of candidates and stand out in a highly competitive job market Links: Mark Holyoake on LinkedIn Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Riding the Rollercoaster of Procurement Recruiting

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“At larger traditional companies, there is a common theme in procurement that ‘I need a seat at the table, and I need to justify to you why I am in this room with you.’ But a startup is actually a breath of fresh air. There are not that many tables, so you are at the table, regardless of whether you like it or not.”- Liem Hua, Head of Procurement at Rippling Building and scaling a procurement team in a high-growth startup can look very different from traditional corporate environments. Procurement has to adjust their approach to almost everything, from stakeholder management to strategy building and hiring to the very role they play in the business.  In this Art of Procurement episode, Philip Ideson speaks with Liem Hua, Head of Procurement at Rippling, about the differences between procurement’s role and scope at a startup or high growth company versus a large, traditional enterprise. Liem has held a number of different roles at startups and high-growth companies, but he has also worked for large corporations like Delta Airlines, and he understands the kind of code-switching procurement has to engage in depending on their environment.  In this episode, Philip and Liem discuss: How startups make it easier for procurement to play a larger, more impactful role in the business, and ways procurement can take advantage of this How procurement should adjust their approach in an environment where growth, scalability, and speed are top priority Best practices for procurement in hiring, processes, goal-setting, and negotiating in a high-growth company Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Improving Internal Perception of Procurement from Intake to Procure w/ Liem Hua, Michael Denari, and Rujul Zaparde

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“It’s really nice to have a bigger purpose and actually see the communities that you are changing, the lives that you are altering and impacting through the work that you do.” - Andrew Savage, Global Lead: Procurement Excellence at MTN No one would expect leading an award-winning procurement center of excellence across Africa and the Middle East to be easy, but when you’re bringing goods or services to hard-to-access geographies or communities, it gives an even deeper meaning to the value you are bringing to the business and entire populations of people. In this AOP podcast episode, Philip Ideson welcomes Andrew Savage, Global Lead: Procurement Excellence at MTN, to talk about his experiences building and leading a large procurement center of excellence across some of the most challenging geographic regions in the world and how that experience has informed his sense of procurement’s value creation.  In the episode, they discuss: How geographical and geopolitical considerations add both complexity and opportunity to procurement’s role The key ingredients for building a procurement center of excellence even in challenging global environments How the principles of entrepreneurship, flexibility, and agility help transform procurement into a profit center for the business Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Andrew Savage on LinkedIn    

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“If our experts succeed, if the processes we build succeed, it will train the client's team in what best in class approaches look like.” - Philip Ideson, Founder & Managing Director at Art of Procurement  Art of Procurement is excited to announce the official launch of SpendPros, a new on-demand consultancy that connects businesses with the expertise and market intelligence they need to improve the management of high impact spend categories without the cost and complexity of traditional consultancies.  In this special episode, Art of Procurement Founder Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner, Head of Content and Operations, introduce the new SpendPros model, explain the inspiration behind its creation, and break down how it can help procurement make an even greater impact on the business. They’ll discuss: A vision for the future of the procurement operating model and how SpendPros fits into that ecosystem as a key supportive partner The importance of having access to subject matter expertise and real-time market intelligence to elevate the impact of the procurement community How SpendPros differs from traditional consultancies by offering on-demand, time-bound category management support, transformation guidance, and training to level up your internal team’s expertise Links: Visit the SpendPros website Philip Ideson on LinkedIn Kelly Barner on LinkedIn Subscribe to This Week in Procurement

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“There is always room for negotiation around IT spend. The worst they can do is say ‘no,’ but at least you are making a solid case to improve this contract and your spend as much as possible.” - Logan Furbee, Senior SaaS Consultant at Vendr Most companies are facing rising IT costs and an increasingly crowded supplier marketplace. This means procurement has multiple hurdles to overcome on their path to eliminating SaaS spend waste - driving optimal performance, efficiency, and transparency with technology suppliers.  To explore tactics for overcoming the most common challenges with sourcing and managing IT spend, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner spoke with Logan Furbee, a Senior SaaS Consultant at Vendr. Logan has negotiated hundreds of SaaS contracts in her own right, and is a strong advocate for transparency as the key antidote to problematic IT spend.  In this episode, they discuss:  How to solve two of procurement’s most important sources of IT spend waste: unused licenses and redundant solutions Top pricing trends and cost drivers for 2024 in IT spend, and how to negotiate the best pricing for the business   Navigating complex stakeholder relationships without sacrificing transparency or undermining the goals of the business  Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Logan Furbee on LinkedIn Watch Again: Driving the Best Business Outcomes From IT Providers

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“Nemawashi is generally something we do on a yearly basis. Is it tedious? Yes. Is it easy? No. Does it take a lot of time? Yes. Is it worth it? Hell yes!” - Réda Guiri, Head of Group Outsourcing & Procurement, Toyota Insurance Services Europe Everyone knows that getting stakeholder buy-in is critical for procurement, but it is not always straightforward – especially in large stakeholder networks paralyzed by red tape, over-thinking, and ‘decision-by-committee.’ Even when procurement does get stakeholder sign-off at some level, expectations and goals can still remain unmet when the final product or service is delivered.  In this episode, Philip Ideson speaks with Réda Guiri, Head of Group Outsourcing and Procurement at Toyota Insurance Services Europe, about the nemawashi method of consensus building. He shares his view about how this approach is often better than the methods procurement has traditionally employed to gain buy-in.    Philip and Réda discuss: What the nemawashi method is, how to implement it, and the benefits it can bring to the procurement process and to the business in general How nemawashi can help procurement navigate the difference between ‘agreement’ and ‘alignment’ in a large, complex stakeholder network Why nemawashi is hard work for procurement, but completely worth the effort in the end Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Réda Guiri on LinkedIn  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“Given all the things procurement is doing, it does seem that a lot of their work tends to go unnoticed or be undervalued or is boiled down to that one bottom-line savings number. The truth is that procurement is involved with a lot.” - Vishal Patel, VP Product Marketing, Ivalua Even though big events like the pandemic, inflation, global supply chain disruptions, and geopolitical conflict have reminded everyone how relevant procurement is to the organization, the full value procurement offers is still often misunderstood and underestimated.  Why is procurement so frequently undervalued when their impact can be felt across the business, not just to cost or risk management but also sustainability, product innovation, supply continuity, and business strategy?  To understand how shifting mindsets around procurement’s value contribution are redefining their role in the business, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner spoke with Chris Sawchuk, Principal and Global Procurement Advisory Practice Leader at The Hackett Group, and Vishal Patel, Vice President of Product Marketing at Ivalua.  In the episode, Chris and Vishal discuss:  New opportunities and approaches to performance measurement for procurement’s value contribution beyond cost The deepening value of risk management and the need for nuanced approaches to risk beyond traditional metrics The evolving role of generative AI and emerging technologies as procurement’s “co-pilots” in delivering value   Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Chris Sawchuk on LinkedIn Vishal Patel on LinkedIn Watch Again: Redefining Procurement’s Value and Shifting Mindsets Read: Generative AI and the Future of Procurement Value Creation

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“We have to incentivize the supplier to collaborate with us in a way that creates a different way of doing something – it might take us all out of our comfort zones, but it’s going to deliver a better outcome.” - Gordon Donovan, Vice President Research - Procurement & External Research at SAP Services procurement makes up a large percentage of most organizations’ spend and it is a key driver of enterprise growth and performance. At the same time, a recent global study conducted by Art of Procurement and SAP revealed that this category presents serious challenges for procurement leaders and is primed for improvement. To better understand these challenges and opportunities, Philip Ideson speaks with Gordon Donovan, Vice President Research - Procurement & External Research at SAP, about the research findings.  In this episode, they discuss key findings from the study and one-on-one follow-up interviews: Why ‘services procurement’ is a slippery term for some, and how it should ultimately be defined How procurement can leverage services spend to move from a tactical or administrative role to one where they strategically partner with the business The most egregious mistakes global procurement leaders are currently making when it comes to services spend (and how to correct them) Links: Gordon Donovan on LinkedIn From C-Suite Priority to Procurement Strategy: Managing Risk at Scale w/ Gordon Donovan and Matthew Montgomery Subscribe to This Week in Procurement  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“I think a large part of the ESG model is about bringing each other up together – capacity building – and learning from each other.” - Adam Hunt, Global SVP Procurement & Subcontracting, Exyte While ESG is becoming a top-line priority for the C-suite, the regulations, laws, expectations, and concepts underlying ESG are still relatively new – new to procurement and to the business as a whole. They can be challenging to pin down.  ESG is broad and complex, with each region, industry, or organization defining and measuring success in different ways.   Philip Ideson recently had the opportunity to speak with Adam Hunt, Global SVP Procurement and Subcontracting at Exyte, about the most important issues driving the current conversation around ESG and how procurement can evolve and elevate their ESG programs to meet the increasing interest coming from company leadership.  Along with a discussion of AI’s role in all this, they also discussed:  How to build a globally successful ESG program by understanding regional and cultural differences and regulations How to use data to power your ESG program The art of setting ESG targets that balance the attainable with the aspirational Links: Adam Hunt on LinkedIn Subscribe to This Week in Procurement  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“There is this misconception that procurement pros are paper-pushers – that we are not strategic, or we are not business partners – and we are just there to move things from one place to another.” - KR Barron, Principal Product Marketing Manager at Productiv Sourcing and purchasing software, especially SaaS solutions, is often a source of major friction for procurement. Tight timelines, complex stakeholder networks, difficult collaborations, and entrenched misconceptions can lead to missed opportunities not only for procurement but for the business as a whole. Fortunately, many of the challenges associated with software purchasing are rooted in commonly held myths that, when looked at more closely, are easily busted, paving the way for procurement to elevate their role in the process.  In this episode, based on an AOP Live Session, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner engage in some much-needed myth-busting with Aubrey Zimmerman, Procurement Analyst at Lattice, and KR Barron, Principal Product Marketing Manager at Productiv. They also share insights from recent research on software procurement that explores how procurement can simplify software decisioning and better align with the business.  In this episode, they discuss: Common myths surrounding procurement’s role in software purchasing and how these myths can negatively impact the business as a whole How procurement can build a single source of truth for software decisioning and utilization How procurement can start to change negative perceptions about the role they play in software purchasing and demonstrate their full value Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement KR Barron on LinkedIn Aubrey Zimmerman on LinkedIn Watch again: Busted! Demystifying Software Procurement

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“In procurement, we have a perception of the world we’re in, and we put boundaries around ourselves. But we have to explore beyond those boundaries and think about what we can do that will be different and better.” - Stephen Ashcroft A seismic shift is underway in procurement. Teams are adapting to a rapidly changing global business landscape and new technological realities. The best procurement leaders will take advantage of this transformational period to develop new strategies, tactics, and tools that will elevate their impact and position procurement as an invaluable partner for the business. In this episode, Philip Ideson goes one-on-one for a second time with global procurement thought leader, entrepreneur, and influencer Stephen Ashcroft, founder of the innovative new procurement professional development program Map & Territory. Steve, the former Head of Procurement for the African Development Bank, shares the greatest lessons he learned from his procurement experience in over 40 countries. They discuss:  The 3 most valuable skills every procurement leader needs to succeed today Where procurement is most underrated, and how to turn that around How a different approach to professional development and community building, like Map & Territory, can help procurement rise and adapt to new global realities  Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Stephen Ashcroft on LinkedIn Setting the Standard for Procurement Across Africa w/ Steve Ashcroft Map & Territory: A Procurement Leadership Program  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“Once you have clean data, it becomes a business asset. You can now answer questions from it. When it’s sitting there in a data swamp – it’s not even a data lake – you cannot leverage any type of insights from it.” - Robert Birch, Director, Data & Analytics, SpendHQ Without a strong foundation of reliable, clean, and accessible data, it is difficult for procurement to achieve and sustain success, and it may also expose the business to increased risk, waste, and missed opportunities.  Data underpins every decision procurement makes, and it should never be an afterthought. So how should procurement approach some of their most common data quality problems, and what kind of resources and approaches do they need to create the ideal data environment that will support differentiated decision making?  To answer these questions and more around procurement’s complicated relationship with data, Philip Ideson recently spoke with Andy Moir, Director of Product Marketing, Mitchell Couper, Vice President Delivery and Business Intelligence, Robert Birch, Director, Data and Analytics, all from SpendHQ. In this episode, they discuss: The importance of prioritizing, improving, and maintaining data quality Assessing your data maturity and the value of data enrichment Where AI can (and can’t) support data hygiene and management Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Andy Moir on LinkedIn Mitchell Couper on LinkedIn Robert Birch on LinkedIn  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“If procurement wants to have an outsized impact, they need to provide value in a way that alters how decision making happens.” - Philip Ideson, Founder and Managing Director of Art of Procurement In this episode, Philip Ideson, Founder and CEO of Art of Procurement, welcomes the procurement community into 2024 by continuing an annual tradition of sharing his perspective on the most important issues, challenges, and opportunities procurement is likely to face in the new year.   Technologies like AI are now changing the face of the profession we love and today’s uncertain macro environment shows no signs of abating. Collaboration between procurement, supply chain, finance, HR, operations, IT, and all other business functions are more important than ever before.  Amid all of these changes and existential reckonings, Philip encourages procurement to look inward and think deeply about 3 key questions in 2024: What is the purpose of procurement in your organization? How can you create a true competitive advantage, and what are you doing to achieve that? How are you driving differentiated decision making in 2024? Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Philip Ideson on LinkedIn 3 Key Messages to Procurement Leaders in 2023 2021 Annual Letter (Part 1): Day 1 for Procurement 2021 Annual Letter (Part 2): Celebrating Successes and Looking Forward 2019 Annual Letter (Part 1): Procurement In Review 2019 Annual Letter (Part 2): Art of Procurement In Review AOP 2018 Annual Letter (Part 1): Procurement in Review AOP 2018 Annual Letter (Part 2): Art of Procurement in Review  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“I think it is really important not to assume that just trying to tie everything to revenue is the right answer … I think we should tie everything to the value and the outcomes perceived by our stakeholders.” - Dan French, CEO at Consider Solutions Procurement has long struggled with feeling as though they are an underappreciated or undervalued function that receives less support, advocacy, and budget than other areas of the business – especially revenue-driving areas, like sales or marketing.  As Dan French, CEO at Consider Solutions, said in the opening session of Mastermind LIVE 2023, not only is this perception a little misguided (and likely not doing procurement any favors either), but it also can lead to an over-reliance on revenue contribution as procurement’s key performance metric.  Instead, he says, procurement has to understand that their existential angst is not unique. Every business unit is fighting for relevance (and resources) and delivering real value requires procurement to look at more than just cost savings and create a more “balanced scorecard” of what success looks like. In this episode, Dan talks with Philip Ideson about: How to build a balanced performance measurement framework that reflects procurement’s real value contribution The importance of aligning with the business versus going rogue when it comes to goals and KPIs What procurement keeps getting wrong about their own role in the business Links: Dan French on LinkedIn Mastermind LIVE 2023 on Demand Subscribe to This Week in Procurement

You can’t build a community based on the power of a podcast if you don’t love listening to them yourself. All year long, the Art of Procurement team is interviewing, producing, and promoting podcast interviews with some of the most interesting people in the field. In this episode, Helen Mackenzie, Head of Sales and Community at Art of Procurement, takes over hosting responsibilities to share the five interviews she thinks of as 2023’s chart toppers. She also enlists a bit of help from our Procurement 6 announcer to count them down. Listen in for a recap of Helen’s picks of the year: Stephane Morel and his category workbench, a place where all the tools procurement needs are in one place, making work so much easier. Advice on shifting priorities and procurement’s ability to adjust from Matt Reddington and Mu Wagh from Procure Analytics  Vendr’s Emily Campbell and Nick Pinkman digging into the darkness to address the topic of shadow spend Katherine McCleery, a B2B brand marketing expert, on how important procurement’s brand is to getting engagement and making an impact. And her #1 pick - A powerful example of using procurement as a force for good: Tim Nelson, CEO of the charities Hope for Justice and Slave Free Alliance, talking about how we can help combat slavery in today’s supply chains    Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Navigating the Perfect Storm Using Category Management with Stephane Morel Strengthening Your Corporate Culture to Survive Challenging Economic Times with Mu Wagh and Matt Reddington Stop Shadow Spend in Its Tracks With Improved Data Visibility with Emily Campbell and Nick Pinkman How to Know When Procurement Needs a Rebrand with Katherine McCleery Enlisting Procurement in the Fight to Eradicate Modern Day Slavery with Tim Nelson

Long time listeners of the Art of Procurement podcast will know that the team hosts a related podcast, Dial P for Procurement, every Thursday. The show, which is hosted by AOP Head of Content and Operations Kelly Barner, is part of the Art of Procurement family, but runs in its own podcast feed.  Episodes air every Thursday and they have a different format than Art of Procurement. Most of the topics are pulled from the headlines and are covered as heavily researched solo pods. Don’t worry though - there isn’t a dull moment. Dial P for Procurement provides up to the moment storytelling about trending supply chain and general business news. Looking all the way back to the beginning of the year has a way of putting everything into perspective. In this episode, Kelly does just that - following the lead of the listening audience: Going back to the beginning of the year to see which Dial P for Procurement episodes had the greatest number of downloads. Taking some of the ‘honorable mention’ episodes topics and running a LinkedIn pulse poll to see which one the procurement social media community thinks best represented the general tone of 2023.  Listen to this week’s episode to find out the social media ‘business sentiment’ pick as well as the top 3 downloaded episodes of the year. Links: Kelly Barner on LinkedIn Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Listen to Dial P for Procurement on Art of Procurement Dial P for Procurement on Apple Podcasts  Dial P for Procurement on Spotify Dial P for Procurement on Google Podcasts    Episodes and newsletters referenced: The Power and Danger of Asking Good Questions Socrates: Ignorant Influencer or Disruptive Thinker? A GAAP in Judgement at Kraft Heinz I’ll Gladly Pay You Tuesday for a Hamburger Today Loss Aversion Theory and the Collapse of SVB We are Hardwired to Avoid Loss More than Risk Case Dismissed: Spencer Patton Prevails Over FedEx The Fine Line Between Free Speech and Commercial Speech Reading FedEx Ground the RICO Act  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“ESG… should be integrated as much as possible into existing processes, structures, and policies because there are so many synergistic effects to be gained.” - Alexander Hellwig, Editor Sustainability & Compliance, IntegrityNext Historically, regulatory requirements drove most of the momentum and investment in ESG. It was another, albeit critical, corporate box to tick, but rarely considered in relation to revenue-driving areas of the business.  Pressure from consumers, investors, and business leaders is causing a shift in this mindset, and ESG is quickly becoming a top-line business priority, one that cannot and should not be ignored.  To learn more about how to build and scale a strong ESG program, Philip Ideson recently spoke with Alexander Hellwig, Editor Sustainability & Compliance, and Jared Ridgley, Head of Sales US, both from IntegrityNext.  They also discussed: Perceptions and misconceptions around what ESG really means today The most important ESG topics everyone should be aware of in 2024 How to leverage emerging technology to build supply chain transparency and integrate ESG into every facet of the business Links: Jared Ridgley on LinkedIn Alexander Hellwig on LinkedIn Subscribe to This Week in Procurement  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“Purchasing has always been finally responsible for quality, cost, and delivery, but with some of the global challenges we’ve had in the last five years, purchasing has mutated into supply chain, and we have taken over a lot of those responsibilities.” - Stephen Tonks, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Fujikura Automotive Europe Procurement and supply chain are usually designated as two separate functions within organizations, each with different lines of reporting and operational structures. As procurement’s role has evolved and the value they bring to the business has expanded beyond sourcing or cost and into strategy, purchasing and supply chain are becoming more intertwined than ever before. To understand the relationship between purchasing and supply chain and what this means for the evolving role of procurement as a key strategic partner and relationship facilitator for the business, Philip Ideson spoke with Stephen Tonks, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Fujikura Automotive Europe.  Stephen emphasizes the importance of purchasing and supply chain being constantly aligned and focused on the overall goals, challenges, and needs of the business as a whole.  In this episode, he discusses:  How purchasing and supply chain can support each other and find greater alignment to deliver more value for the business The importance of relationships, both internal and external, to supply chain health and transparency How procurement can leverage customer insights and relationships to drive business value and optimize the supply chain Links: Stephen Tonks Subscribe to This Week in Procurement  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“The most successful procurement teams have a strong ability to articulate what they’re doing in the context of overall business objectives.” - Aaron Addicoat, Senior Manager at Deloitte  We live and work in a time characterized by global supply chain disruptions, inflationary conditions, the pandemic, and a war for talent. As a result, procurement has come under increasing pressure to “do more with less,” and deliver value in areas where they have not traditionally made direct contributions.  To better understand the evolving nature of procurement and, in particular, what distinguishes the highest performing teams or, “Orchestrators of Value,” from the rest of the pack, Deloitte made this the focus of their 2023 Global Chief Procurement Officer survey.  Philip Ideson recently spoke with Aaron Addicoat, Senior Manager, and Ryan Flynn, Principal, both from Deloitte, about Orchestrators of Value and how procurement teams can adapt their strategies to increase performance and drive more impact.  In the episode, Aaron and Ryan discuss:  How procurement Orchestrators of Value outpace their peers in terms of savings, performance, and relationships How communicating procurement’s value proposition increases their reputation and influence within the business  Key areas of focus for procurement moving forward, including operating models, talent strategies, and digital maturity Links: Aaron Addicoat on LinkedIn Ryan Flynn on LinkedIn 2023 Global Chief Procurement Officer Survey Subscribe to This Week in Procurement

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“Today, if we’re recruiting fresh talent, the right resource pool is not available. That talent incubation is not happening, which primarily means we need universities recognizing procurement as a discipline and making sure that individuals acquire a certain level of skills and are ready to be injected into the corporate setup.” - Nishish Saxena, Head of Terminals Procurement, India and Middle East, Maersk For years now, procurement has often been seen as a back-office function responsible for finding and managing suppliers and cutting costs, and not as a strategic superpower that can support the overall goals and growth of the entire business.  In part, procurement’s ‘perception problem’ and reputation as an undervalued and misunderstood function has to do with the way talent is, or isn’t, developed and how a lack of institutional and educational support is doing a collective disservice to procurement leaders and the discipline as a whole.  Philip Ideson recently spoke with Nishish Saxena, Head of Terminals Procurement, India and Middle East, at Maersk, about his personal views on why procurement is so often undervalued as a strategic partner. In this episode, they discuss:  The evolution of procurement’s value creation potential beyond supply chain and cost management How educational institutions can help establish procurement as a critical strategic business discipline and stop the perpetuation of misconceptions about their value potential The core skill set procurement needs to strengthen their capabilities and elevate their brand Links: Nishish Saxena on LinkedIn  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

In this four-part special series, host Philip Ideson speaks with members of the LavenirAI team about the current and future impact of AI on procurement. In each episode, they explore key aspects of the topic to prepare procurement for the changes to come, and for the changes that are already here.  In this fourth and final episode in the series, Philip Ideson speaks with Clive R. Heal, Founder and CEO, and Bill Michels, Chief Commercial Officer, both from LavenirAI, to bring all the concepts discussed in the series together and consider the overall impact AI is and will have in shaping the future of procurement.  Key topics include:  How AI will change procurement-stakeholder and procurement-supplier relationships The rise of virtual reality, augmented reality, and conversational AI in procurement How procurement can embrace a new AI-powered reality Links: Clive R. Heal on LinkedIn Bill Michels on LinkedIn [POD] Special Series: AI-Empowered Procurement  

In this four-part special series, host Philip Ideson speaks with members of the LavenirAI team about the current and future impact of AI on procurement. In each episode, they explore key aspects of the topic to prepare procurement for the changes to come, and for the changes that are already here.   In the third episode, Philip Ideson is joined by Bill Michels, Chief Commercial Officer at LavenirAI, to talk about how procurement can leverage automation to be more successful. Key topics include: Embracing automation to achieve next-level efficiency and stronger data sets Stronger predictive analytics, forecasting, and planning through automation The rise of data scientists and automation specialists as key players in procurement Links: Bill Michels on LinkedIn [POD] Special Series: AI-Empowered Procurement  

In this four-part special series, host Philip Ideson speaks with members of the LavenirAI team about the current and future impact of AI on procurement. In each episode, they explore key aspects of the topic to prepare procurement for the changes to come, and for the changes that are already here.   In this second episode, Philip Ideson is joined by Bill Michels, Chief Commercial Officer at LavenirAI, to discuss the impact of automation on procurement and how procurement needs to adapt their skills to thrive in an increasingly automated, AI-powered world.  Key topics include: Procurement’s most valuable skills going forward Where procurement should invest in skills development today The impact of AI on job functions, individual roles, and hiring Links: Bill Michels on LinkedIn [POD] Special Series: AI-Empowered Procurement  

In this four-part special series, host Philip Ideson speaks with members of the LavenirAI team about the current and future impact of AI on procurement. In each episode, they explore key aspects of the topic to prepare procurement for the changes to come, and for the changes that are already here.  In this first episode, Philip is joined by Clive R. Heal, Founder and CEO at LavenirAI, to explore what the procurement metaverse is, how to leverage it, and the transformational impact it is already having on procurement today. Key topics include: The procurement metaverse, what it is and how it will impact procurement’s day-to-day Procurement’s skill set of the future Embracing opportunity and facing fears around AI Links: Clive R. Heal on LinkedIn [POD] Special Series: AI-Empowered Procurement

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“We have the opportunity to do more, to shape the role of the procurement, shape the expectations that the C-suite has of procurement, define what procurement can do, and link that to the other capabilities that procurement has. That’s what a good procurement roadmap should do.” - Len Prokopets, Managing Director, Procurement and Outsourcing Advisory at KPMG Procurement has experienced unprecedented change and disruption in the past several years. Procurement operating models and priorities continue to evolve as new trends take hold, including economic turmoil, ESG, supply disruptions, shifting workforce dynamics, new regulatory requirements, and technology innovations such as generative AI.  Procurement must navigate these changes to help the broader organization adapt, innovate, and deliver. To help their clients understand this changing environment and benchmark their strategies and investment priorities, KPMG recently conducted a survey of 400 global procurement leaders. The study captured insights on procurement’s current challenges, goals, and priorities as well as the path forward. In this episode, based on an AOP Live session, Dipan Karumsi, Principal and Leader of Procurement and Outsourcing Advisory at KPMG, and Len Prokopets, Managing Director, Procurement and Outsourcing Advisory, discuss key market insights from the survey with Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner. Their guidance for forward-looking procurement leaders includes: The key investments that procurement leaders are making in response to today’s challenges and priorities  What savings levels procurement organizations are targeting going forward How procurement budgets and headcount are likely to change Emerging technologies being adopted and implemented Links: Dipan Karumsi on LinkedIn Len Prokopets on LinkedIn Watch Again: Rising to the Challenge: Driving Procurement Excellence in 2023 Subscribe to This Week in Procurement  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“It's important for providers to understand it’s not just about providing technology, but a solution that actually drives value. They have a responsibility to ensure that the implementation and adoption go well because it has a long-term effect.”  - Chris Sawchuk, Principal and Global Procurement Advisory Practice Leader at The Hackett Group Evaluating P2P solution providers can be challenging, but it is critical for procurement to tailor how they assess and select their solutions to the specific needs and expectations of their stakeholders. Procurement should look for solution providers that fit into ongoing transformation initiatives and align with their organization’s maturity level while also relying on data-driven benchmarking to evaluate their best options. Philip Ideson recently spoke with Andy Warzecha, Principal and Chief Market Intelligence Officer, Christopher Sawchuk, Principal and Global Procurement Advisory Practice Leader, and Rick Gardner, Director, from The Hackett Group. They discussed how procurement can implement The Hackett Value Matrix to create new opportunities for innovation and improvement.  In this conversation they address:  How to drive more cost savings and value for the organization The impact of AI in the procurement solution space How to increase adoption to achieve greater spend visibility Procurement’s ability to generate value beyond savings   Links: Andy Warzecha on LinkedIn Christopher Sawchuk on LinkedIn Subscribe to This Week in Procurement  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“Developing trustworthy and reliable suppliers is critical to your business, and maintaining those relationships is beneficial to the organization as a whole.” - Saurabh Mehta, Chief Revenue Officer and Managing Partner of Ops and Performance at Consus Global  Developing strong supplier relationships can have a profound impact on the overall health of a business and it is one of procurement’s most critical responsibilities.  While a certain subset of suppliers may fulfill a tactical role, others have the potential to be true collaborators alongside procurement in driving value for the business - if procurement can undergo a mindset shift in the way they think about, approach, value, and measure supplier relationships.  In this episode, based on an Art of Procurement webinar, Kelly Barner explores this mindset shift with Saurabh Mehta, Chief Revenue Officer and Managing Partner of Ops and Performance, and Manish Agarwal, Vice President of Supply Chain, both from Consus Global.  In the episode, they discuss: How and in what ways supplier relationships have changed in recent years Why procurement should work to understand the supplier’s perspective How a strong supplier relationship does (or doesn’t) affect pricing Tactical and strategic tips for building strong, healthy relationships with suppliers   Links: Saurabh Mehta on LinkedIn Manish Agarwal on LinkedIn Watch Again: Next Level Supplier Relationships Download: Procurement Digitization: The need of the hour? Subscribe to This Week in Procurement  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“You need to know your suppliers, what they can and what they can’t do, and what they’re ready to do on top of the relationship you have every day. In an unstable supply chain, you need to invent new rules.” - Olivier Berrouiguet, President & CEO, Synertrade The increasing complexity and volatility in the global supply chain is putting more pressure on procurement to level up their approach to risk management. But resource-constrained teams and a varied network of stakeholders with different understandings of “risk” means procurement has to work smarter, not harder, to be successful.  Philip Ideson recently spoke with Olivier Berrouiguet, President and CEO of Synertrade, to get his perspective on how procurement can improve their approach to third party risk management and, perhaps most importantly, how they can adjust their strategy to meet the needs of the moment, which is increasingly defined by instability, risk, and disruption.  In this podcast episode, Philip and Olivier discuss: How sustained supply chain volatility is changing the way procurement should approach risk management The often overlooked connection between supplier relationship management and supply chain risk management Why a more holistic approach to risk management is needed for direct, indirect, and services procurement The role of technology and generative AI in shaping the future of risk management solutions Links: Olivier Berrouiguet on LinkedIn Subscribe to This Week in Procurement  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“If you want to be successful in what you do personally or professionally, you’ve got to manage relationships because the show goes on. You need strong relationships with contractors and suppliers that you know can deliver.” - Matt Mehler, President of PROcurement Solutions Have you ever wondered what it is like to manage procurement for a large, high-profile venue? According to Matt Mehler, former VP of Procurement for Madison Square Garden, it’s exciting, but there’s also a tremendous amount of pressure. Madison Square Garden is a large corporate entity that hosts hundreds of sporting and entertainment events per year, welcoming millions of people to its facilities, which also include entertainment venues off site and even in other cities. In this podcast episode, the opening session of Categorypalooza 2023, Kelly Barner interviews Matt about the complexities and challenges that come along with managing procurement for a large venue with many different types of services. They discuss topics like: How to manage services procurement in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment The pivotal role relationships play in large-scale services spend management Managing expectations and measuring success in a complex organization with multiple stakeholders Navigating the nuances of supplier relationship and performance management in an advertiser- or sponsor-supported organization Links: Matt Mehler on LinkedIn Watch on demand: Categorypalooza 2023 Subscribe to This Week in Procurement

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“When you can demonstrate short-term success and communicate it – both inside and outside the company – it helps to smooth the pathway to the funding, staffing, and commitment required for longer-term impactful change.” – Lois Eichacker, VP of Customer Success, Supplier.io Supplier diversity is one of the most meaningful, impactful, and important corporate programs led by procurement, and a growing number of organizations are making supplier diversity a top priority. But creating a scalable supplier diversity program that can grow with the business, withstand changing political and economic landscapes, and sustain itself over time requires a unique set of strategies and tactics. To better understand how procurement can build a strong supplier diversity program, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner spoke with Daniel Dorr, VP of Marketing, and Lois Eichacker, VP of Customer Success, both from Supplier.io. As Daniel and Lois shared, a solid supplier diversity program is characterized by transparency, clear communication of expectations, and data-driven decision making. In this episode, based on an AOP Live session, Daniel and Lois discuss:  The importance of a solid spend baseline for supplier diversity growth How procurement can secure buy-in from decision makers Category-specific strategies for supplier diversity growth  Links: Daniel Dorr on LinkedIn Lois Eichacker on LinkedIn Watch the Replay: Simple Steps for Growing Supplier Diversity Subscribe to This Week in Procurement  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“Services are relationship-based from a procurement perspective, whether that means the relationship procurement needs to have with the business to be successful or the relationship the company has with the service provider.” - Philip Ideson. This week’s episode of the podcast provides a behind the scenes look at Art of Procurement’s ongoing research into services procurement - research that everyone in our listening audience and social following is encouraged to participate in.  Management of services categories has changed substantially in recent years, driven by the rise of contract work, freelancing, and contingent labor. With an increasing number of professionals working remotely, the barriers to accessing external talent are undergoing yet another adjustment. In this conversation, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner talk through some of the data points that form the core of the survey, sharing their perspective on the business outcomes and procurement processes in question. Procurement organizations in all industries and geographies will want to benchmark themselves against the following themes covered in the survey, which only takes 5-7 minutes to complete: Ownership over ‘make v. buy’ decisions related to talent and staffing needs Procurement’s consultative role in the process for establishing service specifications How companies decide which services are strategic - and which are not Links: The 2023 Services Procurement Survey  Philip Ideson on LinkedIn Kelly Barner on LinkedIn Subscribe to AOP’s This Week in Procurement  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“If you look at the strategic sourcing process, I think it was made for complex categories. That’s one of the things that makes this so exciting as a potential lighthouse project. It’s a great opportunity for procurement to say, ‘This is why we do this. This is all of the value we can add.’” – Benjamin Lambert, Principal at Efficio Navigating complex spend categories can be challenging for procurement – the stakes tend to be high, stakeholder resistance is real, and the category may be nuanced or unfamiliar to procurement. At the same time, complex spend categories give procurement some of the best opportunities to flex their strategic muscles and demonstrate the depth and breadth of value they can provide across the business.  To understand how procurement should leverage the opportunity associated with complex spend categories, Philip Ideson spoke with Ben Lambert, Principal at Efficio. According to Ben, procurement needs a mindset shift when it comes to complex spend - it is time for procurement to get excited about complex spend categories rather than fearing the potential risks.    In this episode, Ben and Phil talk about:  What makes a category “complex” How procurement can establish their reputation as a true strategic partner beyond tactical execution Ways procurement can deliver maximum value even when the category is unfamiliar  Links: Ben Lambert on LinkedIn Whitepaper: Unlocking Procurement’s Opportunity in Complex Spend Categories  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“If this is something that you want to tackle, it is not a lone wolf-type project. You’re going to need the support of the business. Having the right partner or the right shepherd in the organization can make a really meaningful difference.”  --Brian Salkowski, Chief Operating Officer at Guidant Global Decisions about how a company manages their external talent management program should not be taken lightly. There are many factors contributing to complexity, including varied expectations, a high bar for efficiency and effectiveness requirements, and the fact that no two people on the planet offer quite the same combination of capabilities. In this episode, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner interview Brian Salkowski, Chief Operating Officer at Guidant Global, and Marie France, Contingent Workforce Management and Procurement Operations Expert at Guidant Global. They discuss opportunities to elevate services procurement without disrupting the internal team or the stakeholders that rely upon that source of talent: The impact this category of spend has on a company’s ability to operate, and the contributions it can make to procurement’s value proposition How to optimize spending decisions at the intersection of multiple options and talent fulfillment models The importance of gathering market intelligence and benchmarking data, making the most of quantitative and qualitative supporting facts to bolster the business case Links: Brian Salkowski on LinkedIn Marie France on LinkedIn Watch Again: A Deliberate Path to Success through Comprehensive Talent Procurement

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“If you were to step back and look at the output of all these companies’ RFPs, I think what you are trying to get as procurement is not these wonky proposals. You're trying to engage in a very dynamic conversation, because even in software, the way in which we configure and support and train are all really better had as a live dialogue.” - Chris Mele, Managing Partner at Software Pricing Partners Most procurement practitioners would probably acknowledge that there is plenty of room for improvement when it comes to the structure and process associated with RFPs, especially for SaaS spend. Creating a fair, level playing field in the RFP process is a common challenge, and there’s often a lack of agility or customization: too much reliance on a one-size-fits-all sourcing approach. To better understand the supplier’s perspective and what pain points affect overall business outcomes, Philip Ideson spoke with Chris Mele, Managing Partner at Software Pricing Partners. Chris first appeared on the podcast two years ago to represent a sales perspective on the RFP process. In this follow-up episode, he returns to talk about improvements he has seen and to break down what is still not working.  In this episode, Chris and Phil discuss: The most dysfunctional aspects of the traditional RFP process for SaaS procurement   Practical ways procurement can optimize the RFP process Whether standard RFPs are obsolete, and if so, what is might be a replacement Why procurement should opt for a two-way dialogue instead of a one-sided RFP Links:Chris Mele on LinkedIn“A Sales Perspective on Software Pricing and the RFP Process” with Chris Mele

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“The largest corporations that spend the most on business travel are generally at about 75% of their 2019 spend, and they seem to be plateauing there. The growth is really coming from the small and mid-sized enterprises – those are the ones that are powering the recovery.” - Scott Gillespie, Founder & CEO of tClara The current state of business travel is in an interesting place, characterized by a healthy dose of cautious optimism and adaptability that’s counter-balanced by concerns over climate implications and the rising cost of travel. The post-pandemic “recovery” that we all expected is indeed underway, but it has also exposed some hesitancy in the market as some business travelers have grown to prefer the convenience (and low cost) of Zoom over in-person travel.    To discuss this and more, I recently welcomed back Scott Gillespie to the podcast. Scott is the founder and CEO of tClara, a company that provides advice, thought leadership, and innovation to business travel industry stakeholders. Scott is an industry-leading expert on travel strategy, carbon emissions, justifiable travel, traveler friction, and trip valuation. He has also worked across the travel industry and got his start in the ATK strategic sourcing practice of the 1990s while managing the corporate travel category. Scott was first on the podcast all the way back in 2016, and we recently reconnected over a piece of research that he has undertaken called “The Justified Business Trip” that measures the ROI of individual business trips and its usage in managing travel demand. In this episode, we also discussed the current health of the business travel category. Scott has recently attended the 2023 GBTA conference, and I started by asking him some of his takeaways from the event. We covered things like: Key factors driving the recovery of the business travel industry Most common pain points in business travel Quantitative models for justifying business trip expenses How to differentiate low-value from high-value trips and prioritize your company’s or team’s travel budget accordingly Links: https://www.tclara.com/register-for-tjbt https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottgillespie2008/  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“Yes, change is hard to manage and process at any level which is why I always recommend that you give change in bite-sized pieces. Bring people along the way.” Chandell Shorter, Senior Consultant of Change Management, Corcentric   Change, especially large-scale change, can be hard, overwhelming, or even scary for some people, but it’s also an inevitable part of life and work. Procurement professionals often find themselves at the very center of critical change management projects, leading change around processes, technology, talent management, and skills development, all of which can have profound effects on the company morale and culture. How can procurement lead the business through this change without implementing it in a way that it backfires or creates resistance?  In this episode, based on an AOP Live session, Chandell Shorter, Senior Consultant of Change Management at Corcentric, and Joe Payne, SVP Source-to-Pay at Corcentric, discussed everything procurement should know about change management with host Kelly Barner.  They covered: How to create meaningful communication and training strategies that help drive change and generate support from across the business Why it’s so important to frontload engagement and communication at the project level  Ways to lower common risks associated with change management, like personnel loss, concerns over cost and ROI, resistance, and skills gaps How the company’s past relationship to change should inform procurement’s approach   Links: Chandell Shorter on LinkedIn Joe Payne on LinkedIn Watch the live session here.  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“There are two ideal profiles for a procurement founder … you have industry veterans that live the problem, feel the pain, go out and create a solution to solve that pain. That’s been a tale as old as time. … There’s also serial entrepreneurs that don’t have a procurement background but understand a problem and want to go study it and bring on others to help them.” In recent years, there has been an “explosion” of procurement tech startups. But not all procurement startups are able to reach their full potential. In this episode from Digital Outcomes 2023, Philip Ideson speaks with Jack Freeman, procure tech investor and Partner at PeakSpan Capital, about the challenges and opportunities procurement tech startups face, particularly in category specialized solutions like SaaS, vertical software, finance, or construction.  Jack shares his perspective on: The most common reasons procure tech startups struggle  Strategies for avoiding the most common roadblocks founders and CPOs face when working with or launching young or emerging technologies The skills and background procurement tech founders should develop to successfully raise the capital they need to scale their technologies and go to market The nuances of what makes a successful procure tech founder Links: Jack Freeman on LinkedIn Watch Digital Outcomes 2023 on Demand  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

As companies face the weight of inflation and the potential for recession, executives are reevaluating their decentralized approaches to procurement management and decision making. Instead, many organizations are making the move back toward centralized procurement models to keep a sharp eye on the bottom line. The focus has shifted from viewing cost savings as a 'nice-to-have' to a necessity for operational continuity. In this episode, based on a recent AOP Live session, Mu Wagh, Chief Operating Officer at Procure Analytics, and Matt Reddington, their Vice President of Operations, discuss how a strong corporate culture can help companies navigate challenging economic times as they transition to centralized control in procurement. Mu and Matt provide valuable advice on how to strike a balance in the transition to centralized control without adding friction into the procurement process or doing harm to the organizational culture.  Strategies to increase compliance without disrupting procurement teams Tracking savings and spend analysis as a measure of purchasing efficiency and procurement success Establishing feedback mechanisms from different user groups to ensure procurement delivers what they need   Links: Mu Wagh on LinkedIn Matt Reddington on LinkedIn Watch the Webinar on Demand  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“If the C-suite doesn't understand the full procurement value proposition, then they will make decisions that impact procurement without really understanding the negative effects of those decisions.” Philip Ideson, Founder & Managing Director, Art of Procurement Believe it or not, 2023 if officially halfway over. It seems like just yesterday (or 10 years ago) that we were sharing our first podcast episode of the new year. In this week’s episode, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner sit down to talk about the half of the year gone by as well as what they think the second half of 2023 has in store. They talk about: The three key messages Philip laid out in his annual message and whether they have stood the test of time Major trends that have dominated news headlines this year and how they have (or have not) affected procurement New developments from AOP’s team, online presence, and content programs  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“The pandemic made everything about value. I believe that all healthcare premises – along with insurance systems and the patients themselves – became much more focused on the concept of value.”  Few industries faced the same level of challenge that healthcare did during the pandemic. Everyone from doctors, to support staff, to procurement was pushed to do their best on behalf of patients. As they cooperated to overcome these difficulties, each stakeholder group was changing a little bit - sometimes in ways that would alter their perspective on the experience forever.  In this episode, Philip Ideson interviews Heba Farouk, Chief Supply Chain Officer for Saudi German Health and one of the first practitioner executives Art of Procurement has featured from the Middle East. She shares her firsthand experience with the operational and perception-based evolution of procurement and supply chain in the healthcare industry. During the conversation, they discussed: Heba’s experience as a supply chain leader in a hospital system during the COVID-19 pandemic Subsequent changes to the role of procurement and supply chain within the patient care experience How the definition of value has changed forever for doctors, patients, and procurement  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

“To increase confidence within the C-suite, procurement must show it can work within the business to address internal risks and create value. Procurement teams need to meet their internal stakeholders where they are and break down the barriers that prevent them from achieving the best outcomes for the business.” The global procurement landscape is rapidly evolving to better align with the strategic vision and mission of the organization. Business leaders value the impact that procurement teams can have in their organizations, and they’re especially pleased with procurement’s ability to tackle external risk. However, confidence wanes when they consider procurement’s ability to collaborate internally. At SAP Sapphire 2023, Philip Ideson had the opportunity to speak with Baber Farooq, Senior Vice President and Head of Market Strategy for SAP Procurement Solutions. They discussed the findings of a new research study by Economist Impact: Decoding Confidence in the Procurement Function. The study surveyed 500 executives, including CFOs, COOs, CPOs, CSCOs, and CHROs in early 2023 and the resulting report explores how these executives perceive procurement’s performance today and how it needs to evolve for the future. During the conversation they discussed: Key priorities and challenges facing the procurement function today and tomorrow, and what is needed to optimize results How senior leaders view procurement’s role in the enterprise Ways procurement can prepare to meet challenges and trends such as supply chain disruption, rising costs, growing macroeconomic uncertainty, and increasing ESG expectations  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

There are few categories of spend as large and operationally complex as construction. From different sourcing models, to right timelines, to a whole host of contractors and subcontractors to coordinate, procurement has to walk a fine line between being a roadblock and advocating for active spend management. Neha Kumar has experience working for companies like Barclays, Bloomberg, Deutsche Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation across the corporate services, facilities, and real estate categories. Most recently her focus has been on construction. In this episode, Neha takes Philip Ideson on a journey through the peculiarities of construction procurement - the first time we have covered this category on the podcast!  Understanding and deciding between the common models for construction sourcing Why scheduling is just as important as price How construction RFPs differ from other RFPs and the role they play in the sourcing and project management process  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

In this week’s episode, we’re featuring a crossover from Dial P for Procurement - a show hosted by Kelly Barner every week on the Art of Procurement platform.  Dial P for Procurement is for anyone with an appreciation for business storytelling who isn’t afraid to take a closer look at tough topics. It is also part of the LinkedIn Presents network, which features a limited number of shows hand-selected by LinkedIn to be a part of their own podcast programming. This particular episode tells the true story of what happened when Kraft Heinz procurement ran afoul of the SEC by illegally securing and reporting on supplier cost savings. It led to significant turnover at the executive level - including the CEO - as well as the restatement of two years’ worth of financial statements. Listen in and then subscribe to Dial P for Procurement wherever you listen to podcasts! Links: Listen to Dial P on Art of Procurement Subscribe on Apple Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on Google  Subscribe to the Dial P for Procurement LinkedIn newsletter   

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

According to 2022 research conducted by Economist Impact and commissioned by SAP, risk reduction is a top priority for corporate leadership.  38 percent of C-suite executives view risk reduction as a way to deliver increased value through procurement. Do the other 62 percent recognize the role procurement plays in risk management? In this episode based on an AOP Live session, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner are joined by Gordon Donovan, Global Market Research Director, Procurement and External Workforce at SAP, and Matthew Montgomery, Solution Management Director, Supplier Lifecycle & Third Party Risk Management at SAP.  They answered live audience questions about: How C-suite executives view procurement’s role in managing risk         Why procurement talent and skills shortages may be part of the risk management challenge  How companies are leveraging supplier management technologies to address these challenges   

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

The procurement talent space has been on a rollercoaster over the last couple of years.  First the pandemic disrupted everything, then companies started making a grab for procurement talent - in many cases hiring people before meeting them. Demand and salaries shot up in parallel. Then, at the end of last year, economic headwinds led to a correction and hiring slowed. There have even been layoffs in some sectors. Where does all of that leave the procurement talent market today? In this episode, Philip Ideson is joined by Andrew Daley, Managing Director of Digital Procurement and Supply Chain at Edbury Daley and a returning guest. Edbury Daley is a specialist recruitment consultancy formed in 2005, and Andrew is one of the most well-connected procurement professionals in the UK.  Andrew shares his up-to-the-moment perspective on: What he has heard at recent conferences season about digital literacy for procurement professionals Outlook and advice for provider-side procurement professionals who may recently have been impacted by company layoffs  Why CPOs continue to consider procurement talent such a struggle, and why they are allowing training budgets to go unused in some cases  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

The concept of a ‘business ecosystem’ has changed over time. In the early days, a business ecosystem would bring together enterprise technology and implementation partners, easing the transition and accelerating value realization. Today, however, business ecosystems are far more expansive. They include both software and service partners that are able to support a company on its digital maturity journey. At SAP Sapphire 2023, Philip Ideson had the opportunity to sit down with Claus Gruenewald, Global Head Partner Business SAP Intelligent Spend Solutions, and Conor Mullaney, Business Advisor, Sustainability, Procurement and Supply Chain Lead at excelerateds2p.  In particular, they focused on the importance and accessibility of business ecosystems for mid-market companies: The ability to accommodate the unique localized nature of a business that is geographically or functionally dispersed Unique challenges and opportunities for procurement organizations in mid-market companies How the business ecosystem makes it possible for companies to combine an enterprise solution that addresses 90 percent of their needs with partners who handle the rest  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

Supply chain and procurement professionals are used to supporting informed decision making, but the last few years have been far from ordinary. Decisions are being made more frequently with less time to prepare, and each one has a far greater impact on business continuity and supplier relationships. This is even more true for direct materials. Sophisticated supply chain models and mature procurement strategy have been put to the test - each time the team must cross the ‘decision abyss’ could make the difference between competitive advantage and operational disruption. Keith Hartley is the CEO of LevaData and Lance Younger is the CEO of ProcureTech. They spoke at a live event co-created by Art of Procurement and LevaData earlier this year: Navigating the Decision Abyss: Managing Direct Spend in Chaotic Times. In this session, moderated by Philip Ideson, they address: What the decision abyss is and what it means to procurement, supply chain professionals, and category managers in today’s uncertain economic conditions The level of urgency being experienced by today’s corporate leaders, and how each decision making team is converting that urgency into action How LevaData is investigating the decision abyss to learn more about its causes and effects  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

There will always be things procurement does not know. Even if all of the data in the world were magically made available, there would be quality issues and analytics challenges to overcome. Data has to be validated - at scale - before the business can be confident making decisions based upon it.  In this episode, Philip Ideson is joined by Florin Tufan, Co-Founder and CEO of Veridion. Florin was recognized by the 2020 Romania Forbes 30 under 30 program for his willingness to take on the entrepreneurial risk associated with tackling the problem of firmographic data on an enterprise scale. During this conversation, Philip and Florin discuss: Why a company’s age impacts the data quality challenges they are likely to face through layers of legacy systems What firmographics are and why procurement should be investing in them The role that AI needs to play for robust firmographics data to be made actionable quickly and at scale  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

According to research conducted by CADDi, 28.1 percent of procurement professionals know what should-cost analysis is, but only 4.6 percent use it. Given the critical importance of efficient direct material sourcing to manufacturing companies, these numbers justify further investigation. In this episode, Kelly Barner is joined by Yushiro Kato, Co-Founder and CEO of CADDi. He is an advocate for should-cost analysis based on his first hand experience leveraging it as an effective cost reduction strategy and also for its potential to serve as a catalyst for collaboration with key suppliers. Yushiro and Kelly take this opportunity to discuss: Why there is an understanding gap around should-cost analysis How accurate should-cost analysis needs to be in order to be actionable What it looks like to conduct a collaborative should-cost analysis exercise with suppliers, and what results such an effort can deliver  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

Years of supply chain disruptions have caused global organizations to rethink the role of procurement - and procurement teams are doing some reflecting of their own. This is the time for procurement leaders to reexamine their operating model in preparation for the next potential crisis.  In this episode, based on an AOP Live session, Art of Procurement’s Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner are joined by Jake Taylor, Senior Director of Advisory at ProcureAbility. He provides his view on how leading procurement organizations are realigning themselves with the business and reinforcing that alignment with their operating model.  Jake answers questions on topics such as: The pros and cons of various procurement operating models Change management considerations that will put operating model adjustments into context Actionable insights that will help you make purposeful changes to your procurement operating model  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

Procurement teams are tasked with moving the ball on so many ‘important’ projects in parallel that it can be hard to put them in priority order. In fact, procurement could ask five executives which effort - cost savings, risk mitigation, or ESG - is the most important to the company and get five different answers. Clearly, building a mechanism to decide is the right place to start. In this episode, Philip Ideson is joined by Chris Riley, a Principal in Supply Chain and Procurement at Deloitte Consulting based in Perth, Australia. Chris has experience in a variety of procurement roles in the UK, Singapore, and Australia, with companies such as Ford, Cap Gemini, Lloyds Banking Group, and Rio Tinto.  During the conversation, Chris and Phil have the opportunity to discuss: Where procurement should go next, after the elevated role they have taken on over the last couple of years in response to supply and cost pressures How portfolio management and leadership strategies based on operational excellence can drive significant short and long-term improvements in procurement performance The role procurement can take on to support the corporate desire to spend with a social conscience

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

Effective today, Art of Procurement has a new brand: an uploaded logo, look, and feel that align with our vision for procurement and the expanded content and events that are available to the AOP community. This rebrand comes after eight years of gradual shifts. Starting with the launch of the podcast in 2015, Art of Procurement has grown to become the leading source of trusted, actionable insights for forward-thinking procurement leaders. In this bonus episode, Partners Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner explain the intent and process behind this change: How our rebrand goes beyond just sporting a ‘new look’ The need for procurement advocacy across the executive suite How this brand update aligns with our larger mission to 10X the impact of procurement  

Supplier.io recently analyzed $1.4 trillion in spend looking for supplier diversity benchmarks that can be used to identify top performers and aid the advance of these programs regardless of maturity, size, or industry. In this episode, drawn from an AOP Live session, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner are joined by Aylin Basom, CEO of Supplier.io, and Lois Eichacker, their Vice President of Customer Success. They share the findings of the 2023 Supplier Diversity Benchmarking Report and discuss the importance of having an accurate, reliable, and consistent way to measure supplier diversity program results.  Listen to this interview to discover: Why actionable data and benchmarks are critical to advancing the mission of the supplier diversity movement What the data reveals when small supplier spend and diverse supplier spend are studied separately The role industry plays in determining relevant supplier diversity benchmarks

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

Despite the efforts that have been made to eradicate slavery, the practice has adapted. People all over the world are being held against their will and forced to provide labor, endure inhuman treatment, and are even subject to forcible organ harvesting.   Tim Nelson is the CEO of the charities Hope for Justice and Slave Free Alliance. He was working in the banking industry when he met a ‘slave hunter’ through a friend - a chance encounter that started his mission to expose and address the slavery and human trafficking that exist within today’s supply chains. Today he is fighting both worldwide through an ever-expanding network of team members and partners. In this episode, Tim shares his knowledge and and advice with Philip Ideson about: Some of the products, services, and supply chains that are at high risk of involving modern slavery  Internal and external drivers of change that are starting to move the needle on modern-day slavery The role that procurement professionals can - and must - play in working to protect human rights and protect companies from reputational risk  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

The combined challenges of the global economy and digital competition are very real for most executive leadership teams. While many of the decisions they must make are focused on short term agility and operational resilience, they can’t allow themselves to lose sight of the investments required to fuel longer term growth. In this episode, based on an AOP Live session, Kelly Barner and Philip Ideson are joined by Yatin Anand, Principal and Procurement Leader at KPMG, and Michael van Keulen (“MVK”), Chief Procurement Officer at Coupa. They address how procurement can increase overall business resilience for the sake of short term agility and long term growth. Yatin and MVK answer questions about: How CEOs and leadership teams are approaching the challenges and opportunities they face today and the steps they are taking to prepare for the future Ways to enable companies to make better decisions across a range of strategic objectives by achieving better control over their spend  Where ESG targets fit into supply chain programs that are constantly being forced to emphasize risk and cost  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

The sooner procurement is engaged in a business need, sourcing project, or contract process, the better the outcome will be for the business. This principle is widely accepted within procurement as truth, but has it ever been proven? If procurement could provide data to support earlier engagement and stronger upstream relationships with the business, the entire value equation would change. Brian Peters is the Senior Director of Global Procurement Services & Delivery at Gilead Sciences, and he has a theory. He believes that if procurement has better upstream relationships, he will be able to measure the benefits in terms of: Higher savings Improved business outcomes Increased stakeholder satisfaction Shorter cycle times Improved supplier experience In this conversation with host Philip Ideson, Brian talks about his theory regarding the ROI of procurement’s upstream relationships and the process he and his team are going through to prove it is true.  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

Many leading procurement professionals started out in completely different fields. And while they manage spend and suppliers today, those past practices, skills, and perspectives are still available to them. That diversity of perspective is part of what makes procurement teams so creative and resilient. In this episode, Philip Ideson is joined by Fadi El Mouallem, a global procurement executive and digital transformation advocate. Fadi has experience working at companies like Salesforce and Apple, but his original field was architecture… something that has come in particularly helpful in a field that is constantly balancing art and science. When it comes to building and enabling amazing teams, Fadi has plenty of advice to share: The importance of being able to step back and take in the big picture while also keeping an eye on the details Purposefully pursuing a broad range of talent and backgrounds when introducing someone new the team The many forms that organizational influence can take, and why it always starts with human connection  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

In this four-part special series, host Philip Ideson speaks with members of the Sievo team. In each episode, we discover a unique way that differentiated decision making can help procurement 10X their impact: procurement as an information hub, ESG analytics, investments in talent, and crossing the data to action gap. In the fourth and final episode in this series, he is joined by Sammeli Sammalkorpi, CEO and Co-Founder of Sievo, to bring the whole series together by looking at how procurement can cross the data to action gap. They take this opportunity to discuss:  What the next frontier in procurement analytics may look like  Whether automated decision making will replace procurement professionals  How procurement decision makers should think about procurement data assets  

In this four-part special series, host Philip Ideson speaks with members of the Sievo team. In each episode, we discover a unique way that differentiated decision making can help procurement 10X their impact: procurement as an information hub, ESG analytics, investments in talent, and crossing the data to action gap.  In the third episode, he is joined by Deep Singh, a Presales Manager at Sievo, to talk about the current state of human decision making and the tools available to drive decisions into actions.  They take this opportunity to discuss:  How procurement can connect global sources of spend data with existing decision making processes What the decision making process looks like today with regards to managing risk Whether companies spend sufficient time cleaning and interpreting their data so they can improve their decisions

In this four-part special series, host Philip Ideson speaks with members of the Sievo team. In each episode, we discover a unique way that differentiated decision making can help procurement 10X their impact: procurement as an information hub, ESG analytics, investments in talent, and crossing the data to action gap.  In the second episode, he is joined by Heta Pirttijärvi, a Product Manager at Sievo, to talk about ESG analytics.  They take this opportunity to discuss:  Why ESG topics are becoming more important and receiving more attention  The main obstacles companies struggle with as they try to translate their ESG vision into an actionable strategy  Procurement’s likely future role in ESG initiatives  

In this four-part special series, host Philip Ideson speaks with members of the Sievo team. In each episode, we discover a unique way that differentiated decision making can help procurement 10X their impact: procurement as an information hub, ESG analytics, investments in talent, and crossing the data to action gap. In this first episode, he is joined by Heta Ruikka, VP of Product Management at Sievo, to talk about how procurement’s role has adjusted in response to differentiated decision making. They take this opportunity to discuss:  How the last few years have altered procurement’s role The new challenges that are increasing procurement’s visibility and responsibility Examples of how increased complexity affects procurement’s analytical and sourcing work  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

Art of Procurement recently passed a major milestone for any podcast - but one that is particularly exciting for a niche business podcast… our one-millionth download! Philip Ideson recorded the first episode of the podcast back in 2015 (he and Kelly Barner connected for the very first time to record episode 6!). Over time, the podcast has evolved and matured just as much as the procurement community has, and today it is the #1 downloaded procurement podcast in the world.  But if you thought that was our whole story, you would be missing out on a lot… To mark this occasion, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner recorded a special episode to share behind-the-scenes stories and answer listener Q&A. Here are just a few of the things they cover in this unprecedented and unfiltered episode: The master plan (or lack thereof) that motivated Phil to give up a perfectly good job to host a podcast Some of the low points on the journey, and what the team learned from them Episodes that were surprisingly well received… or didn’t resonate at all. Why the secret to this podcast’s success may actually be another unrelated podcast  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

Procurement often talks about visibility and transparency. Data turns abstract goals into actionable insight. Having greater visibility makes it possible for procurement to negotiate maximum savings while making sure the company has what it needs to operate competitively in a digital world.  In categories where it is easy for distributed buyers to act independently - like cloud software for instance - visibility also provides procurement with opportunities for improved savings leverage and the centralized oversight required to stop ‘shadow spend’ in its tracks. In this episode, based on an AOP Live session, Philip Ideson is joined by Emily Campbell, Director of Product Design & Research at Vendr, and Nick Pinkman, Sr. Cloud Manager at Vendr.  Emily and Nick share their perspectives about: The importance of centralizing workflows for managing spend and headcount The different types of cloud savings procurement should pursue during contract negotiations What data procurement should have in hand before entering a cloud software negotiation  

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

So much of what procurement does is about change management. Whether it is adopting new technologies, ensuring that soft skills continue to evolve, or understanding how procurement can best align with the business given their changing needs… something is always changing. Paras Sood has broad senior-level experience across the entire procurement value chain. He has worked as a practitioner, at a procurement tech company, and in procurement consulting. Most recently, Paras was the Global Head of Strategic Procurement Transformation for Deutsche Bank, until he made the move back into consulting at Future Purchasing.  In this episode, Philip Ideson taps into Paras’ experience in driving transformation to better understand his approach and how it has evolved to meet changing C-suite expectations.  How procurement can take a broad range of experiential and functional perspectives when planning a transformation journey Changes he has seen companies make to the business case required for both short and longer term funding for transformations Why successful transformation efforts require segmentation of transformational phases, stakeholder interests and enthusiasm, and technology implementation  

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

To support this need for balance, the Art of Procurement team brought together a broad range of experts to speak at Digital Outcomes 2023: one of our largest virtual events of the year. We heard about technical challenges and human growing pains… in addition to technical triumphs and human evolution.   In this episode of the pod, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner share their combined takeaways from this fast-paced two day event: How to take new ideas from a relatively safe incubation phase to full scale corporate programs The risks that exist for procurement teams that are not able to successfully leave the status quo behind and embrace new ways of working and thinking The opportunity that exists for procurement organizations that use digital platforms as impact multipliers, delivering expanded forms of ROI  

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Like most other companies, manufacturing companies have a problem with data. Many of them don't centralize much of the data they produce through regular transactions, and even when they do, they struggle to contextualize that information so that it becomes actionable. When procurement professionals in these companies sit down with engineers and supply chain planners, they need to be able to harness that data as the ‘common language’ for value. Keith Hartley is the CEO of LevaData - and a passionate surfer, a brand new combination for the Art of Procurement podcast. Keith joined the LevaData team in 2022, but he isn’t new to procurement - and he has deep experience helping manufacturing companies drive better decision making through the use of data.  In this episode, Philip Ideson and Keith discussed: The current state of direct material sourcing  How procurement and engineering teams can foster greater collaboration to everyone’s benefit How leading companies are using increased data visibility to differentiate their decision making - even in chaotic times  

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

All companies are works in progress, as are the many professionals dedicated to their operational performance and efficiency. Since today’s business conditions are far from being straightforward, having a better read of the macro landscape can represent a significant competitive advantage. In this episode, based on an AOP Live session, Art of Procurement’s Philip Ideson was joined by Rujul Zaparde, Founder and CEO of Zip, and Colin Glazier, VP of Solutions Consulting at Zip. They regularly hear different perspectives on the challenges and opportunities that will be presented to all of us, as well as suggestions about what we can start doing now to make the most of the new year. Rujul and Colin answered questions from the Art of Procurement community about three key areas: How macro-economic trends and pressures will affect providers and practitioners differently, and exhibit themselves in each group’s work The impact that no-code platforms and automation may have on user friction and compliance New approaches procurement can take to influence specific categories and relationships today and in the future  

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

The procurement job scene has been a wild ride for the last few years. Conditions are standing to change, and no one ever should have expected otherwise. As procurement begins to enter a new phase of recruitment under very different economic conditions, there are still plenty of op[portunities - but it may require a new approach to find them.   Mark Holyoake is the Managing Director of Holyoake Search, a recruitment specialist focused on procurement. Mark joined host Philip Ideson for a discussion about the general health of the procurement job market and how it has evolved over the past couple of years, along with his tips for any listeners who have been impacted by workforce reductions.   In this interview Mark and Philip discuss: How the spike in demand for procurement professionals during the pandemic caused years’ worth of overdue salary increases to hit hiring companies all at once Why recent news of mass layoffs, especially within the tech sector, should not be seen as a proxy for the market as a whole - and certainly not for procurement Why hiring managers and candidates all have to keep an open mind about which skills and experiences can apply to which open positions

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Procurement often talks about being limited by others’ perception of them. But how is that perception created? In some cases, experience dictates what stakeholders expect from procurement. In other cases, it stems from procurement’s internal brand, the combination of voice, tone, and values they use when communicating with the business. Katherine McCleery is a good friend of the Art of Procurement team. She is a marketing and branding expert who has significant experience working with procurement services and SaaS companies. She understands the power of a good brand as well as immediate opportunities for procurement to build one of their own. In this conversation, Katherine and host Philip Ideson discuss: Why branding is important for procurement leaders to understand and invest in How to build and then scale an effective procurement brand How the efforts that go into building a brand could also make procurement a better partner to the business

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Could there be any better qualification to compete in Ironman events than a 20-plus-year career in procurement?  We find out in this week’s podcast, as host Philip Ideson is joined by procurement leader turned Ironman Vytas Sliesoraitis.  Vytas has a diverse procurement background that includes time in procurement at Intel in his native Brazil, leading procurement at Google X (Google’s R&D company), and Global Head of Procurement at Epic Games, the makers of Fortnite.  In this conversation, Vytas and Philip discuss many of the lessons learned from his long and varied career in procurement: The balance he learned to achieve while in procurement at Intel, balancing global strategy with local nuance Building trust based partnerships while establishing the procurement function at Google X What made him want to train for Ironman competitions and the lessons he has learned that current procurement professionals can benefit from

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Do fish know they are wet? Every creature on earth has a natural habitat. Procurement’s habitat is digital. And yet, the digital aspects of procurement’s work are so pervasive, they surround us like the air we breathe. It is easy to forget to look at the nature of digital business when we are focused on individual technologies… just like fish may not notice they are wet. Digital Outcomes is an annual virtual event that creates a space for procurement to think about the macro trends associated with digital business. In this episode, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner reveal the topics, speakers, and session scope featured in this year’s agenda. Attendees to the live virtual event on February 15th and 16th will discover: Why procurement can only improve their results by making the user experience frictionless The context and terminology required for procurement to address cybersecurity concerns with stakeholders and suppliers The upsides, downsides, and disruptive complexities of today’s robust procurement startup landscape

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Category management has its fair share of supporters and detractors - and that is just within the procurement community. But rumors of its pending demise may be premature. Rather than rejecting category management because circumstances and strategies are constantly changing, procurement should embrace category management because circumstances will always change and strategies must adapt accordingly. In this episode, Philip Ideson welcomes the first guest of 2023: Stephane Morel, a Global Process Owner within Strategic Procurement at Novartis. He is responsible for advancing, aligning, alleviating, accelerating, and automating strategic procurement processes. He also had the opportunity to lead Novartis’ highly successful stakeholder mapping exercise in 2016, an experience which shaped many of the perspectives on stakeholder partnership he shares in this interview. Philip and Stephane take this opportunity to discuss and debate: When and where category management should be applied, and how this connects to the future trajectory of the procurement operating model Whether digital maturity can address procurement’s previous failed attempts to engage the business in category management efforts The five essential workstreams that may make it possible for procurement to navigate the combined challenge of the economy, aggressive ESG targets, supply chain risk, and ever-evolving automation

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Over the course of the year, the Art of Procurement team is privileged to speak to a LOT of people from across the procurement ecosystem. In 2022, we created almost 200 podcasts, three multi-day events, ran a monthly webinar series, and facilitated a number of roundtables and CPO dinners. I personally traveled to eight procurement and supply chain conferences across North America. We see and hear a lot - the vast majority of it in candid, off-the-record conversations that can never be shared verbatim, but that inform our perspectives and opinions.  Based on these experiences, I want to share three key messages for procurement leaders to consider at the beginning of this new year.

In addition to being the Head of Content and Brand Partnerships at Art of Procurement, Kelly Barner is also the host of The Sourcing Hero podcast, a collaboration with Una. New episodes air every Wednesday at 6am ET and they cover a wide range of topics… everything from soft skills to sales, and category management to digital transformation. In this specially curated podcast, Kelly shares excerpts from three recent interviews featuring authors: Simon Horton, a negotiations expert, talks about persuasion.  Tim Hughes provides a lesson on Social Selling for procurement  Jonathan O’Brien talks about the challenge of sustainability - and how procurement can rise to meet that challenge. So get in your most comfortable book position, grab a cup of tea or coffee, and join us to hear Kelly’s selected highlights.

Art of Procurement is best known for our podcast, but did you know that we also host a number of virtual conferences each year as well? These longer form events allow us to have in-depth discussions about the opportunities and challenges procurement professionals face. All of those opportunities and challenges can be met with a combination of digital solutions, data, and powerful relationships - and we get to hear real world examples of how that works from our event speakers.  In this specially curated podcast, Helen Mackenzie shares her most memorable excerpts from this year’s virtual events: Melissa Drew, Associate Partner at IBM, speaking about how AI can elevate procurement's focus from tactical to strategic SpendHQ Chief Operating Officer Doug Van Wingerden talking about how technology is changing the ‘game’ of category management Tanya Manning-Grant, CEO of TMG Professional Services Consulting Firm, focusing on driving supply chain value in disrupted times

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Digital procurement is no longer a ‘next level’ approach to spend and supplier management. Digitized procurement processes have fast become the table stakes for any procurement team that hopes to become a true business partner.  And yet, procurement often still struggles to ‘connect the dots’ between multiple strategic and technical considerations - a business-wide effort. In a recent LinkedIn Snap Poll, Art of Procurement community members told us that alignment with the business is the most important input to digital transformation. That in and of itself is an important indication of procurement maturity. This episode features a recent AOP Live session where Philip Ideson was joined by Alpar Kamber, Julie Brignac, and Chris Eyerman from WNS Denali. They took the opportunity to dig deeper into the connection between alignment with the business and procurement’s digital transformation goals. They discussed: What the concept of a digital ecosystem really means - to procurement and to the rest of the company How procurement should perceive the connections between digital transformation and their own maturity journey The important role that experienced and objective third parties can play in accelerating both transformation and maturation

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

In challenging economic times, each company has to eke the most value out of every contract. But are there limitations to that? A recent article from CIPS’ Supply Management Magazine, How the Actions of Procurement Teams Are Contributing to Insolvencies, brought this question to the forefront. In a LinkedIn Pulse Poll, Philip Ideson asked, should procurement be responsible for what they ask for in situations where they hold a high amount of leverage or is it up to the supplier not to offer what they cannot afford? In this episode of the podcast, Philip is joined by Kelly Barner to discuss the results of the poll as well as some related ‘ethical’ questions that procurement teams may be facing today: How can procurement ‘protect’ suppliers from bankruptcy if those suppliers are not fully transparent about their cost model? Who should decide what it means to make a ‘fair profit?’ Could holding a supplier’s feet to the fire lead to brand damage for the buying company?

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

It is not easy to strike a balance between the need for speed, control, and compliance.  Get it right and you’ve unlocked the X factor. Get it wrong and the customer experience will suffer. The business wants more convenience but procurement is wired to ensure control. Can procurement satisfy both at the same time? In this session from Mastermind LIVE 2022, Radhika Samant, VP of Finance and Head of Global Procurement at Optimizely, and Lalitha Rajagopalan, Co-founder and Head of Strategy & Marketing at ORO Labs, share their thoughts on the procurement X factor and why it is so critical to transformation. They shared their perspectives about: How procurement can be a revenue driver as well as a cost manager What is driving the shift towards decentralized procurement activity and ownership Ways that new digital capabilities are allowing greater freedom spending without sacrificing oversight

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

The procurement talent landscape has always been complex, and the last few years have accelerated the rate of change and amplified the impact on companies of all sizes. First there was the pandemic, and the transition to working from home. This gave way to the Great Resignation, which saw people leaving their jobs in droves. Some exited the workforce altogether, others switched jobs or industries, and many decided to take the opportunity to dabble in entrepreneurship.  Now, with trouble looming on the economic horizon, the pendulum is starting to swing back in the other direction, and news of large scale layoffs is making people think twice about leaving a secure position. In this episode, based on an AOP Live session, Joe Payne, SVP of Source-to-Pay, and Jennifer Ulrich, VP of Advisory, from Corcentric answered a range of questions about these employment trends and how they are impacting procurement talent: The challenges created by the 59% of procurement professionals who told us that when faced with talent shortages they just “work harder” The opportunity that exists to leverage hybrid insource/outsource procurement delivery models - particularly at the strategic end of the hiring market How the combination of so much disruption in the overall employment market is expected to affect hiring managers and procurement organizations into next year

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

What does it take to formulate an ambitious vision and then go hands-on to bring it to fruition? Tony Uphoff is a growth advisor, tech mentor, and turn around expert. He was the President and CEO at Thomas (formerly ThomasNet), and personally drove the effort to transform the 100 year old business into a modern media enterprise, what he calls a “125 year old startup.” This week’s episode is from the first session of Mastermind LIVE 2022. Tony joined Kelly Barner to kick off the two day event by sharing his experiences with driving organizations towards a big goal or vision - despite enterprise inertia in a challenging market. Listen to hear Tony share his point of view on: How to drive significant change quickly without jeopardizing the future success of the company One of the most common mistakes turnaround leaders make when they are approaching a new project Strategies procurement can use to liberate themselves from traditional roles, perspectives, and results

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

The last few years have seen an explosion of new investment and startups to serve leading procurement organizations. While procurement is certainly worthy of such attention and enablement, they are also the ‘innovation gateway’ for the company as a whole. Keeping them inspired is a critical job - one that this week’s guest takes personally. Matthias Gutzmann founded DPW in 2019 to deliver against an unmet need that he recognized in the procurement community. He didn’t want to host another conference, but rather to create an event, one that would bring together the most diverse community of professionals possible. In this conversation, Matthias joins host Philip Ideson to share his founder’s story and talk about where his attention is focused right now: The lengths he and his team go to in their efforts to avoid the ‘same old stuff’ onstage at DPW The genesis of the ScoutLab initiative and how it is making it possible for innovation to scale within large procurement teams and large organizations The potential downside of having so many digital options at a time when procurement is facing constant challenges and change

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Professional athletes represent the top 1% in their sport. While talent will take an athlete a long way, the key differentiator between those that reach the top and those who come close is mindset: the ‘athlete's mindset.’ This powerful but intangible way of thinking makes it possible to achieve seemingly insurmountable goals - no matter what arena you compete in. In this week’s episode, we are sharing the final session of Mastermind LIVE 2022. Philip Ideson was joined on the virtual stage by Lou Alexander, a former NFL and Division 1 football player who now works with procurement teams daily as part of his role at ProcurementIQ.  Join Philip and Lou to hear how the determination required to build an athlete’s mindset is critical for anyone who wants to embark on their own journey to 10X the impact of procurement: Why the most important thing a leader may do is stop talking and start listening How procurement professionals and teams can redefine what is means to be successful

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

According to research done by Globality, "90% of global procurement leaders are committed to the urgent transformation of their operating models and processes to be more resilient and agile.” And yet, committing to an idea does not necessarily guarantee that it will gain operational traction. For that, procurement needs to change the way they engage with the business. During this fireside chat moderated by Philip Ideson as part of Mastermind LIVE 2022, BP Director of Digital and Innovation Sourcing Nicholas Wright and Global Category Manager for Talent and Consulting Ben Weston were joined Globality’s Graham Moore to discuss how agile sourcing can deliver increased efficiencies and ROI by moving more spend to a self-service process.  In this session, they explored topics such as: How procurement should rethink the sourcing process to be more responsive to the needs of the business.  The corresponding adjustments that requires to engagement with specific suppliers and stakeholders How the team at BP, one of the world's largest integrated energy businesses, approached transforming their sourcing process to become more agile by placing a particular focus on services categories.

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

In this episode, Philip Ideson is joined by Helen Mackenzie, Art of Procurement’s Head of Community and Events. They recently had the opportunity to attend ProcureCon EU in Barcelona, Spain.  Not only was the conference a great place to meet with colleagues face to face, it also presented an opportunity to consider today’s key economic, geopolitical, and business challenges from a uniquely European perspective. During the conversation Philip and Helen discuss: Some of the most memorable procurement executives and points of view shared during the trip The changes procurement needs to make if they really want to form partnerships and drive innovation by working with smaller suppliers Setting sustainability targets that ensure progress is being made and the right kinds of change are driven by the business

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Procurement’s role in integrations and separations is often overlooked – and understandably so. Corporate development teams and M&A professionals are chartered with identifying, negotiating, and closing the deal. Execution on the investment thesis is paramount. However, the untapped potential in procurement represents an opportunity to ‘sweeten the deal’. At its core, procurement is chartered with the management of third party spend and partner relationship oversight. The inherent supply base influence on profitability and risk is only magnified in a M&A environment. Thus, sidelining procurement in inorganic activities such as acquisitions or divestitures could mean missing the opportunity for deal upside and value acceleration. This episode of the podcast is based on an AOP Live session with Chris McCarney and Marcos Cortes from KPMG, LLP.  Chris and Marcos joined host Philip Ideson to explore… Procurement’s role at each stage of the deal cycle Overlooked and under-estimated procurement opportunities in integrations and separations Pre-deal, post-deal, and no-deal elements to consider

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

There has been a lot of talk about ‘experience’ in procurement during the last couple of years, but how important is it really? Could it be that improving the employee experience is the only way for procurement to fully leverage their ability to drive value? We wanted to know more, so we partnered with the team at Zip Intake-to-Procure to run a survey that looked at how the procurement-created employee experience impacts procurement performance. The findings were really compelling, as you will hear.  In this episode, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner share their perspectives on the report findings as well as the changes procurement can make to improve experience and results in parallel: Increasing transparency so that buyers know the status of their purchases and also which functions other than procurement may be holding up their approval How the meaning of risk and compliance change when procurement expands from traditional indirect spend categories into technology and knowledge-based service spend Why procurement should stop worrying about maverick or rogue spend and instead invest in the convenience of digitally-enabled processes

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Some categories of spend are dependable and constant. Their reliability makes them seem like they’ve been the same forever, which gives procurement a comfortable opportunity to manage them with equally consistent strategies and results. It is hard to think they will ever change; until they do. How can you stay ahead when disruption strikes your spend category?  How can procurement introduce the required flexibility while continuing to achieve steady results? In this episode, we’re sharing a session from Categorypalooza 2022 during which SpendPro and marketing category expert Steve Trussell shares the core approaches that will serve you well during times of change. He also describes the strategies he uses to stay on top of evolving categories while continuing to deliver value. Listen to the conversation facilitated by Kelly Barner to learn: About the current state of marketing: what has changed and what has remained the same? Time-tested approaches that will serve you well during times of volatility and change, regardless of what category of spend you manage How to ensure that procurement’s strategies and execution align with what the business really needs

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Many of us work in what we consider ‘global’ organizations, but we do it from the comfort of our home or at a local office. Actually going global, relocating to an entirely different part of the world may not be for everyone, but the opportunities to broaden your perspective and have a lasting impact are second to none. Steve Ashcroft is the Director of General Services and Procurement for the African Development Bank Group. He has spent many years in the world of procurement, including time as a consultant, an educator, and a practitioner.  Most interestingly, Steve has vast global experience, and is currently based in Cote d'Ivoire, a country on the coast of Western Africa.  In this episode, Philip and Steve discuss: Working successfully across cultures The opportunities that exist when building a procurement capability that spans 44 countries across Africa  Why anyone thinking about a career in procurement should take the leap

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

One of the industries most impacted by the pandemic was travel, and while leisure travel has rebounded in many parts of the world, how companies and employees see business travel has undergone a change as a result of multiple overarching trends.  In this week's episode of the podcast, Philip Ideson interviews Martin Biermann, Chief Product Officer at the HRS Group. HRS is a global tech company with a focus on business travel and one of the top hotel travel partners in the world.  Martin and his team are keeping a close eye on the megatrends affecting business travel today, looking for ways to optimize travel spend while protecting traveler safety and experience. In particular they focus on: Why leaders of corporate programs such as risk management and ESG/sustainability that are taking a closer look at business travel Why traditional hotel booking methods fail to leverage available data on security, sustainability, safety, and satisfaction  How AI can be applied to reduce the ‘paradox of choice’ during the purchase decision making process

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Many highly-praised books are written every year. And yet, this week’s guest quotes one that we’ve never had come up in an Art of Procurement podcast before: The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson. Even at 635 words, there are five characters, heroes and villains, danger, hope, an escape, and a happy feel, good ending. Not a word is wasted. And that’s when you realize this is not a typical episode of AOP. Philip Ideson is joined for this unique conversation by Simon Geale, Executive Vice President at Proxima. They recently had the opportunity to sit down - face to face - and have a wide ranging exchange about some of the bigger picture dynamics at play in our professional lives. The discussion opened with a focus on the art of storytelling, something Simon knows a great deal about. He has been telling stories to influence executives for years, making appearances on media outlets like the BBC, CNBC, Wall Street Journal, and many more. But their conversation went a lot deeper than that. They also discussed The health of the procurement profession: what is exciting and where frustration persists  The vulnerability associated with being an introvert or speaking publicly, and potential ways to overcome those fears Why it is so important to try and see a story through our audience’s eyes - long before we tell it

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

It’s easy to think that in this world of access to information, being able to forecast, anticipate and (most importantly) RESPOND to changes is a straightforward task. Just Google search the category or read articles from credible news sources and off you go. Right? If the last few years have taught procurement anything it is that casual, high level research is not enough.  We need to understand what changes are coming and develop the insight required to help the company prepare for that change. Because of the importance of market intelligence to procurement’s work, we kicked off Categorypalooza 2022 by talking about how it can be used to generate insight that offers actionable value to the business. In this session, Host Philip Ideson speaks with ProcurementIQ’s Embry Davis and Ben Kempenich about how all of us can be prepared for the uncertainty and disruptions to come: How to know which data is the most reliable How the speed of business is impacting the shelf life of intelligence Which stakeholders and suppliers procurement should turn to as potential sources of category insights

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

This week we are featuring a special crossover episode from The Sourcing Hero podcast, a collaboration with our partners at Una. Hosted by our own Kelly Barner, The Sourcing Hero brings together professionals from a broad range of roles to share their stories of  business heroism and optimism. In this episode, Kelly welcomed Ashley Sieb, a creative, energetic marketing and communications specialist who knows her way around procurement. She also knows how to get - and keep - people’s attention… and then (to use her personal mantra) “find a way forward” that works for everyone. Listen in as Ashley shares her tips and perspective on how anyone can drive higher levels of engagement from different types of audiences: The components of her personal model for driving engagement: the REAL model Whether all personality types are equally effective at doing what needs to be done to drive engagement When and how engagement and communication are the same, and when communication is a channel for driving others’ engagement

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Procurement teams often struggle to connect their business case for S2P and the systems-related work and change required to deliver ROI. Platforms are chosen for the wrong reasons, system administrators turn over, catalog setup work becomes a secondary priority, and hastily made configuration choices add friction over time. This episode is based on an AOP Live webinar titled “Digital Procurement Is Not Easy: Don’t Go It Alone.” Host Philip Ideson was joined by Anthony Mignogna and Claire Sexton from Corcentric who shared their advice for getting the most out of a source to pay technology investment.  Anthony and Claire answered questions on implementation-related topics such as: How to strengthen the connection between your S2P business case and your S2P business benefits Why post go-live maintenance and configuration will either enable or prevent continuous improvement How managed services can help procurement seize the upside potential of digitization by driving adoption and utilization

In this Art of Procurement special series, host Philip Ideson asks members of the WNS Denali team: How do you design an end-to-end ecosystem based procurement operating model? Throughout the four parts of this series, they provide their insight about the basics of an ecosystem approach, and then each set of guests digs into specifics across category management, source to contract, and procure to pay processes. In the fourth and final episode in this series, he is joined by Sushant Adhikari, Director, and Sanjeev Singh, Director of Capabilities and Solutions, both at WNS Denali.  In this interview, Sushant and Sanjeev focus on the procure to pay process: Why it is a mistake (and a lost opportunity) to think of procure to pay as a tactical process The critical role that data quality plays for organizations that are trying to maximize the ROI of their procure to pay capabilities The most important challenges that leading procurement organizations are overcoming through mature procure to pay

In this Art of Procurement special series, host Philip Ideson asks members of the WNS Denali team: How do you design an end-to-end ecosystem based procurement operating model? Throughout the four parts of this series, they provide their insight about the basics of an ecosystem approach, and then each set of guests digs into specifics across category management, source to contract, and procure to pay processes. In the second episode, he is joined by Lynn Rideout, Vice President of Global Category Advisory, and Sanjeev Singh, Director - Solutions both at WNS Denali.  They focus on taking an ecosystem approach to the category management process: What does true category management entail and how does it benefit when procurement takes an ecosystem approach? What are the common pain points companies work to overcome?  What role do digital transformation, investments in talent, and business alignment play in category management success?

In this Art of Procurement special series, host Philip Ideson asks members of the WNS Denali team: How do you design an end-to-end ecosystem based procurement operating model? Throughout the four parts of this series, they provide their insight about the basics of an ecosystem approach, and then each set of guests digs into specifics across category management, source to contract, and procure to pay processes. In this first episode, he is joined by Satyen Pathak, Vice President Solution and Capabilities, and Lynn Rideout, Vice President of Global Category Advisory, both at WNS Denali.  They take this opportunity to discuss how to start the planning process for taking an ecosystem approach to procurement:  What do we mean when we talk about an “ecosystem approach to procurement?” Should procurement organizations start with a process similar to baselining? How can decision makers determine what should be changed, especially to ensure ‘fit’ over time? What factors determine a ‘best fit’ solution?

In this Art of Procurement special series, host Philip Ideson asks members of the WNS Denali team: How do you design an end-to-end ecosystem based procurement operating model? Throughout the four parts of this series, they provide their insight about the basics of an ecosystem approach, and then each set of guests digs into specifics across category management, source to contract, and procure to pay processes. In the third episode, he is joined by Sushant Adhikari, Director, and Sanjeev Singh, Director of Capabilities and Solutions, both at WNS Denali.  Their conversation focuses on the source to contract process: Which stakeholders should be involved in source to contract vs. procure to pay? How can procurement work with the leadership team to achieve better alignment? The approach to talent - whether through hiring or upskilling - and how it positions procurement for sustained success

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Most of the improvements procurement has achieved over time have been incremental. And while there is nothing wrong with incremental change, the challenges presented by today’s economy and global supply disruptions demand more. This is procurement’s “hour of change and challenge” as J.F.K. said in the famous speech quoted above. During the last 20 years or so, procurement has operated within a narrow band of capabilities and strategies. And while we have certainly had to contend with external limiting factors, many of the guardrails that constrain us are ones that we put in place for ourselves. If procurement wants to reach the next level, we have to break free from those guardrails and break down traditional notions of what procurement is and what we can deliver to the business.  From day one of Art of Procurement, our intent has been to help procurement organizations become and remain relevant. To meet the demands of this moment of change and challenge, we have chosen to embark on a mission to 10X the impact of procurement. In this special podcast, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner share the philosophy behind 10X: Where did the idea originate, and how is the Art of Procurement team holding themselves to a 10X standard on a daily basis? What are the six principles that we must balance in order to achieve the mission’s end goal? How are we challenging the Art of Procurement community and our brand partners to join us on the mission?

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Although most corporate conversations about data focus on quality, data utilization is also a critical concern. 95% of data never gets used, and since the useful life of data can be as short as a few days or weeks given the industry, value is being lost every day.  Fortunately, new data is being created at an even faster rate; the decision to get started is ours to make. This episode is based on an AOP Live session focused on the results of the fifth annual Data Quality and Governance Study conducted by The International Association for Data Quality, Governance and Analytics (IADQGA).  Kelly Barner was joined by Joseph Yacura and Vishal Patel to answer live questions related to data quality and actionability: How to get started on a data quality journey despite the complexity of today’s business environment Best practices and rules of thumb about the lifespan of corporate data What procurement should be doing differently and/or better with the system-generated data to which they already have access

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.     Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Procurement understands that suppliers offer critical opportunities for advantage and risk resilience - but does the rest of the company? A recent book, Profit from the Source: Transforming Your Business by Putting Suppliers at the Core, makes the case for more involvement and understanding from CEOs. In this episode, Philip Ideson is joined by two of the four authors of that book, Daniel Weise, a Partner and Managing Director in Boston Consulting Group’s Dusseldorf office, and Dr. Wolfgang Schnellbächer, a Partner and Managing Director based in BCG’s Stuttgart office. Their combined expertise in procurement and game-theory-based negotiations are evident in the book, which was written with their colleagues Christian Schuh and Alenka Triplat. Philip takes this opportunity to draw out addition thoughts from Daniel and Wolfgang about: Their firsthand experience working with some of the world's leading companies to drive bottom-line and top-line growth  How procurement leaders can help increase the profile of procurement across the C-suite and demonstrate the ROI for additional procurement investment  The importance of deliberately putting suppliers at the heart of procurement strategies

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

If procurement were based upon comic book rules, sales professionals would be the arch nemesis. The funny thing is, sales feels the same way in return. If we could just achieve more understanding, everyone would benefit. This week’s episode uses a roundtable format to dig into the timeless struggle between procurement and sales - more honestly and personally than we’ve ever done before. Philip Ideson is joined by Donna Donato, CEO Americas at ChainIQ, in the ‘procurement corner,’ and in the ‘sales corner’ he welcomes Chris Donato, Founder & CEO of esellas, a revenue management company, and Megan Dimmer, CRO, esellas.  And yes, Donna and Chris are married. They explore procurement and sales alignment and discuss whether there are actually any opportunities to support each other.  As you might expect, they also had some interesting differences of opinion about the tactics and strategies sales and procurement use to make life more difficult for the other.  Listen as they debate topics such as: Why sales needs to feel good about the relationship with their customers and prospects before they can advocate internally for competitive pricing How procurement can work with and through sales to gain entry to the buying process when the rest of the business is not actively engaging with them The importance of procurement and sales being able to come together to agree upon desired outcomes and what success will ultimately look like

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Although the challenge of managing supply chains and supplier relationships has compounded in recent years, most procurement teams are still over-reliant on fragmented internal information that slows their response in a negotiation. What procurement needs is an empowering source of insight that combines internal and external information in one place, providing optionality and agility so they can make changes in response to changing economic and geopolitical conditions. In this episode, Philip Ideson speaks with Rajesh Kalidindi, Founder and CEO of LevaData, about his background in electronics direct materials management and why he decided to leave his position to start his own company. The opportunity that exists to augment existing human potential with technology that empowers faster decision making The requirement to do so at scale, so that procurement can strategically manage spend in all categories without adding headcount Why gathering insights alone isn’t enough without a way to ensure they are actionable

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

There are multiple ways of looking at every business topic. Provider and practitioner are the ones procurement is most familiar with, but there are also third parties like researchers and academics. When we are trying to master a subject - especially one that we will have to manage cross-functionally - the more perspectives we can compare and synthesize, the better. Art of Procurement recently had an opportunity to bring multiple perspectives together in one panel-based live event, an AOP Live session focused on connected planning.  Philip Ideson was joined by three guests, each of whom shared examples from their experience demonstrating how procurement and finance can connect sustainability with financial planning, making everything measurable in the process. Attendees heard actionable advice from: The Practitioner: Nick Wingbermuehle, Sr. Director, Capabilities and Continuous Improvement at Anheuser-Busch The Expert: Adrian de Groot Ruiz, Executive Director at the Impact Institute The Solution Provider: Bryan Baum, Head of Supply Chain Solutions, Sourcing and Procurement at Anaplan

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

One of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development goals is to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, for their own sake and for the sake of economic growth and development. The UN has a number of specific targets that address violence, discrimination, and other harmful practices and there are other third party organizations doing work in this area as well. Is there something procurement can do to move companies towards global gender equality goals? That is the topic of this conversation with David Latten, Head of Global Indirect Procurement at Logitech. Not only is he convinced that there is a lot procurement can do to support gender equality, he feels that we are particularly well positioned to do so. How a consumer-focused effort to evaluate how “Gender Fair” companies are became his cause internally with B2B suppliers The organizations helping with measurement and monitoring of individual companies’ relative gender equality His advice for starting a procurement-led effort to emphasize gender equality in your company

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Procurement currently finds themselves at the intersection of many challenges. The war in Europe, inflation (possibly recession?), sustainability, diversity, and the Great Resignation are just a few. All of these need to be balanced with the core deliverables of cost and risk management, making data, digital experiences, and measurement more important than they have ever been. SAP has recently commissioned a number of research studies with The Economist, IDC, and Harvard Business Review, all looking at different opportunities for procurement to impact the business. In order to get some idea of their findings, Philip Ideson recently interviewed Baber Farooq, Senior Vice President of Product Strategy, Procurement Solutions at SAP, at SAP Sapphire in Orlando, Florida. In this conversation, Baber shares his perspective on: Why initiatives like sustainability will struggle to have an impact without the measurement and reporting that procurement is already well-suited to provide The importance of SAP sponsoring studies on the topics of greatest importance to procurement, and not to support a specific product or functionality rollout The two top findings that stood out to him from all of the data and research he has had the opportunity to review

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.  Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Diversifying your supplier base is most likely near the top of your organization’s highest priorities this year, but is it enough to really make an impact outside of the four walls of procurement? How are we addressing the challenge of creating equity for diverse business owners, and are we truly taking an inclusive approach to sourcing? A corporate initiative to increase diverse spend needs depth in purpose from the people and teams working to achieve it. Whether your organization has a dedicated DE&I team leading and supporting company-wide projects, or it’s on you and a small group to implement new processes to hit diverse spend targets, understanding who you are impacting and why it matters is essential for success. In this week’s episode of Procurement for the People, show host Katherine McCleery explores the challenges of both the buy and sell side of supplier diversity programs with special guest Jason Roberts, CEO and Founder of Kaleida. In addition to sharing some of his personal experiences that shaped and motivated him, Jason takes us on a deep-dive to teach us:   Why accessibility is the catalyst for increasing equity for diverse business owners How diverse businesses can overcome unconscious bias in the sales process Three ways to ensure a successful diverse spend initiative: executive buy-in, public communication, and working with a technology partner to identify diverse suppliers Why making stereotypical diverse supplier selections actually perpetuates discrimination and how to avoid it in the tender process

Why do so many P2P implementations fail or fall short of ROI expectations? The majority of these failures are the result of three problems:  1. Procurement selects and implements solutions they believe are best fit without seeking input from the business.                    2. Procurement works with the business to implement a solution, not for what it was designed to do, but for what they want it to do. 3. Procurement forgets to address the supplier experience: enablement, onboarding, messaging, and everyday usability.  During this AOP Live based episode hosted by Kelly Barner, Joe Payne, Jennifer Ulrich, and Tom Pellescki from Corcentric answer questions about why procurement’s ability to lead a successful change management initiative is so critical and how procurement can overcome the common P2P implementation challenges of the past.

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

There has been an explosion of startups and investment interest in the digital procurement space over the last few years. As companies with new and diverse perspectives tackle shared problems in unique ways, the type and variety of ‘best of breed’ options available in the ecosystem broadens as well. In this week’s episode, we bring you a session from our recent AOP Digital Outcomes 2022 virtual event. Philip Ideson was joined by Jack Freeman, a Partner at PeakSpan Capital, to talk about the tech trends he is seeing - and how lasting he thinks they will be. Key takeaways from the interview include: The pace of change within procurement, and how well that matches the pace of change in enterprises and markets How he sees the battle to be the ‘single source of truth’ playing out Ways that today’s technology is pushing processes to adapt, and improving the user and supplier experience in the process

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement. Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Procurement has a troubled relationship with the notion of ‘best in class’ practices. On the one hand, all teams want to be considered best in class. On the other hand, how procurement teams align with their organization as a whole is very nuanced, and should vary company by company. What should procurement strive to be? Rendi Miller is the Vice President of Strategic Sourcing and Procurement at Zendesk and a passionate supporter of the procurement community as a whole. Rendi and host Philip Ideson recently connected in person at the ProcureCon Indirect West event in Phoenix, AZ.  They took that opportunity to discuss Her experience working to build a procurement group in a high-growth tech environment  What the procurement experience should look and feel like and how she and her team make that vision a reality How she is working to future-proof procurement’s strategic role in times of significant change and disruption 

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement. Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Contingent workforce spend is often seen as a risky, cost-based category. While lowering cost and risk is important, there is a whole range of strategic benefits available to companies that take a broader approach.  Procurement needs to think bigger and take the category to the next level so they can deliver value beyond savings.  In this episode, Philip Ideson is joined by Morten Petersen, the co-founder and CEO of Worksome, as well as James Nicholls, Worksome’s Head of Enterprise, about contingent workforce trends and best practices. They discuss a number of audience-driven topics, including:  How contingent workforce is changing,  Procurement’s role in helping organizations think about talent more broadly,  How contingent workforce spend can deliver a lot of value and innovation,  And finally, how to avoid doing more harm than good!

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement. Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Far more teams talk about category management than successfully carry it out, but is the challenge one of talent or scale? It is certainly one of the more creative processes procurement engages in, which opens the door to more value creation - as long as procurement has the right metrics and KPIs guiding their work. In this week’s episode, we bring you a session from our recent AOP Digital Outcomes 2022 virtual event. Kelly Barner was joined by Gary Levitan from WeWork and Remko Van Hoek from the University of Arkansas to discuss whether or not category management initiatives can be executed at scale. Key takeaways from the interview include: Category management can facilitate stakeholder collaboration when products, services, and/or suppliers overlap How the automation of rote and even ‘boring’ procurement tasks can make it possible for procurement to invest more time and effort in strategy  Why it is important to consider automation part of a process or a subset of spend categories instead of waiting to include 100% at the same time

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement. Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

We all know what digital transformation is, right? The two words together sound simple enough, but it has become an increasingly complicated process that might start with the intention to improve the business but ends up as a band-aid for problems that never see the light of change. So where have we gone wrong? Don’t worry, it’s not all on you! Dr. Epstein reveals from a consultant’s point of view the many missteps she’s seen at the executive level that have perpetuated a cycle of inept transformations. But there is hope – in the data flowing through the enterprise and the people working together to use it. But, Dr. Epstein reminds us – there is no magic button. It takes work. There’s a new skill set that requires a general digital literacy, but it also requires working with people that perhaps have been the roadblock for a long time. Show host Katherine McCleery takes listeners on a journey through Dr. Epstein’s comprehensive view of where procurement’s gone wrong and a closer look at the path she sees ahead:  How procurement leaders can build a business case for better data and what it takes to close the gap with CIOs  Why open-sourcing data analysis and business strategy is one way to move procurement and supply chain forward Predictions on the state of the supplier experience and where we can expect to see new investment in 2022

Procurement’s time, energy, and attention are being pulled in a million directions today - but the ‘loudest’ issues are not always the most important ones. Despite constant disruption and economic uncertainty, we still need to maintain our investment in sustainability, an effort that provides an opportunity for procurement to show what we are truly capable of in terms of organizational impact.  In this week’s episode, Philip Ideson is joined by one of the giants of the procurement industry, Thomas Udesen, Chief Procurement Officer at Bayer and the Co-Founder of the Sustainable Procurement Pledge. They took this opportunity to discuss his unique procurement philosophy. Of particular interest are Thomas’ comments on: What sustainability means to him and the role procurement can play in addressing this important challenge  The key ideas he heard at the recent World Sustainable Procurement Day event How procurement can ensure that ideation about sustainability leads to associated actions

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement. Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

In late 2021, LinkedIn selected Art of Procurement Head of Content and Brand Partnerships Kelly Barner to be one of 100 creators - and the only procurement professional - to go through their first ever Creator Accelerator Program. For ten weeks starting in January 2022, Kelly had to post four pieces of new content per week related to her project, which was focused on supplier diversity. Although the program wasn’t easy to complete, it was a great opportunity for Kelly to learn more about a critical topic, to receive personalized coaching about how to make the most of LinkedIn, and to show a broad audience how valuable and interesting procurement is. In this episode, Host Philip Ideson interviews Kelly about: Having the opportunity to be an early Beta tester for LinkedIn’s new live audio event functionality Best practices for being engaged on LinkedIn in a way that increases the size of your network and reinforces the value of active connections Challenging and surprising takeaways from her 50+ interviews with supplier diversity professionals, certifying organizations, and diverse-owned businesses

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement. Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Procurement wants to have an impact on the organization we support. Usually that impact is measured in terms of savings, but with the advancement of digital tools and sophisticated processes, we have the opportunity to take that ‘impact’ to the next level, making it scalable and sustainable. In this week’s episode, we bring you a session from our recent AOP Digital Outcomes 2022 virtual event. Helen Mackenzie was joined by Johann Raunig, a Partner at McKinsey, who has undertaken a lot of work to identify key disrupting elements.  Key takeaways from the interview include: A number of disrupting imperatives that are impacting procurement, the procurement delivery model, and our ability to accelerate our impact How procurement can achieve a response speed that matches the kinds of uncertainty we must navigate Why and where we should bring select suppliers into the procurement transformation process as well

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement. Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Procurement is finally a ‘labor of love’ for many of the professionals who make up its ranks. And while enthusiasm within the profession is a huge step in the right direction, there is still work to be done to win the hearts and minds of broader cross functional teams. Each CPO has the opportunity to place their team at the intersection of company culture and employee experience, determining how procurement can advance and align at the highest levels of the company. The ultimate goal of this approach is for procurement to become a trusted advisor to the business. In this interview, created as an AOP Live session, Host Kelly Barner is joined by Colin Glazier, VP of Solutions Consulting at Zip, and Joe Frederick, Senior Director of Procurement & Sourcing at Snowflake. They share their unique perspectives on the important role procurement plays as a key enabler for innovation: The qualities and actions that define a world class procurement experience The most common friction points that exist in procurement processes and the impact their have on the business How technology can help solve these issues, and what people and process steps need to be taken first A new discussion of the classic ‘make v. buy’ decision and how enabling technologies can improve the employee experience.

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement. Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Procurement has the best seat in the business right now with more influence on spend than ever before, yet still remains incredibly elusive to the sales teams 18 months into pursuing them. We have to ask – is procurement the problem or is sales just not getting it? Regardless of which side you’re on, that answer is probably blocking deals and opportunities for innovation in your organization. It’s the seemingly age-old question asked in this episode of Procurement for the People that now has a very clear answer bridging the gap between those that hold the spend and the ones looking to win their business.  Show host Katherine McCleery brings the two worlds together with guest Jill Robbins, for a masterclass on selling to procurement and how to make an impact on the value chain. Jill opens up her own sales playbook built upon years of experience in procurement.

The self-service approach has been used in a number of corporate process areas, such as requisitioning, contingent labor, benefits, employee onboarding, mobility, and travel booking. What’s more, it has been in use for decades - it is no longer an untested method. Procurement must catch-up with stakeholder expectations for scalable, digital enablement in purchasing as well. At Art of Procurement’s Digital Outcomes event in March, session moderator Philip Ideson had the opportunity to speak with Elisabeth Schlag Lawrence, SVP, Head of Procurement Governance & Enabling at Bayer, and Mita Gupta, Senior Vice President at Globality Inc., about this topic. The central question was whether self-guided buying can enable the business to scale quickly and easily - and how procurement can adjust to the change as well.

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement. Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

The common legacy of procurement software is one of overpriced technology that no one uses (if they can avoid it). Procurement technology is perceived as a tool intended for process enforcement rather than enabling insight or competitive advantage. But it doesn’t have to be that way. For all of procurement’s talk about wanting to change, it seems as though the desire for a new way of doing things is stronger outside of procurement than within. Before procurement can actively drive change for ourselves, through technology and analytics, we have to embrace a whole new mindset - one that creates a culture of insight by providing open access to actionable data. In this episode - based on an AOP Live session, Heta Ruikka, Vice President of Product Management at Sievo, and Flavio Monteleone, an Expert Partner in Procurement at Bain & Company, discussed ways for procurement technology to be user friendly - even in the midst of data heavy activities. Why collaborating with the business to leverage the power of data is where the magic happens The ‘people challenges’ that have to be resolved before any technical challenges can be addressed or deliver ROI What Sievo has learned from their clients about the power of self-service dashboards

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement. Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

In September of 2021, Art of Procurement collaborated with BT Sourced, the procurement services group at BT, to produce a hybrid event called Dare to Discover: Reaching New Heights for Procurement. As part of this event, Philip Ideson had the opportunity to facilitate three executive panel sessions.  In this week’s episode, you’ll get to hear the last of those panels, a discussion focused on the formation of procurement companies. He interviewed three leaders who work, not just in internal procurement departments, but companies that spun procurement out of their organizations to create independent procurement companies.  The panel featured Cyril Pourrat, Founder and Chairman of the Board at BT Sourced; Vanessa Pepperell, Global COO and Strategy Procurement VP at Aquanima; and Beatrice Felder, CEO of BuyIn, who support companies like Deutsche Telekom and Orange. The conversation they had gives all procurement organizations and leaders an opportunity to consider what it is like to think like an external service provider. Of particular interest are their comments on: The stories and journeys behind their move from internal procurement lead to externally facing service providers What suppliers of the companies they support think about the shift in model and how it affects their experience How they think the model of a procurement operating company will evolve from this point forward

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement. Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Talent management is one of the hottest trends in business today. Talent has always been a key differentiator, but recent changes have been accelerated by COVID and stressed by the great resignation, leading us to total talent management - also known as contingent labor.  In this episode, host Philip Ideson is joined by Mathias Linnemann, the Co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer of Worksome, a marketplace and workforce management systems for freelance and contract labor. He and his team have had a front row seat for the recent changes in talent, and they have not just monitored trends - they have found ways to innovate the space as well. They take this opportunity to discuss: The rise of the freelance economy and what it means for companies and procurement teams Recent changes in how companies are accessing talent, and how that provides new opportunities to access talent and experience were previously out of reach Who owns the talent spend category, and the role that procurement can play in driving business outcomes that extend far beyond savings

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement. Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Procurement has struggled to achieve alignment with the business for a long time, and we’ve always owned that disconnect - feeling that we were somehow falling short, or not communicating clearly, or just plain misunderstanding what is needed of us. But what if the root of the problem is something else… what if it is ‘them?’  In the first episode of Procurement for the People, host Katherine McCleery welcomes Daniel Barnes, contract management extraordinaire and founder of World of Procurement – which began as a blog and has expanded to so much more including a Discord community.  Katherine takes this opportunity to speak with Daniel about why no one ‘gets’ procurement, and what we can do about it: How procurement can present a value proposition to stakeholders that fosters understanding The harsh reality of supplier contracts and what stakeholders should get out of a good contract review Why procurement should have the endgame in mind, no matter where they are in the process

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the whole world has watched unbelievable scenes unfolding before our eyes on television. And while most people have a feeling of helplessness, procurement and supply chain skills are critically important for securing and moving the goods that the Ukrainian people require right now. The biggest challenge of all is harnessing all the goodwill from the procurement community and making sure we use it to hit what is undeniably a moving target. In this short but very important podcast, host Philip Ideson is joined by a good friend of the show, Sammeli Sammalkorpi. Many of our listeners know Sammeli as the CEO and Co-Founder of Sievo, based in Helsinki, Finland. What you may not know is how Sammeli has mobilized his team in support of Ukraine. In this conversation, Sammeli shares what procurement professionals can do right now, starting with Procure4Peace, the brand new resource for anyone who wants to help.

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement. Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Procurement is in the midst of a period of significant change - driven in large part by an exploding ecosystem of digital solutions. With these new options comes new expectations, specifically the need to provide a consumer-like buying experience for all categories.  For instance, the way that procurement buys technology is changing - from a one-size-fits-all model, to one where care is taken to architect a tech stack that can meet the needs of the business.  In this episode, host Philip Ideson welcomes two guests: Dr. Ferhat Eryurt, a Partner at ap-solut Group, and Lukas Wawrla, Co-founder and Managing Director at Archlet. They took the opportunity to discuss: Where procurement is on the digitization journey today How procurement should manage the many options presented by combining platforms and best-of-breed solutions Whether procurement is giving enough weight to the stakeholder experience when building out a technology ecosystem

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement. Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

In this special 4-part series, Managing Supplier ESG Risk, produced by Art of Procurement in partnership with Dun & Bradstreet, Host Philip Ideson is joined by Brian Alster, General Manager of Finance and Risk Solutions, and Rochelle March, Head of ESG Product, both at Dun & Bradstreet. They dig into the emerging imperative for procurement to understand the ESG (or Environmental, Social, and Governance) profiles of their suppliers, and provide actionable tips and recommendations on how to manage ESG in the context of broader supplier and supply chain risk management.

In this special 4-part series, Managing Supplier ESG Risk, produced by Art of Procurement in partnership with Dun & Bradstreet, Host Philip Ideson is joined by Brian Alster, General Manager of Finance and Risk Solutions, and Rochelle March, Head of ESG Product, both at Dun & Bradstreet. They dig into the emerging imperative for procurement to understand the ESG (or Environmental, Social, and Governance) profiles of their suppliers, and provide actionable tips and recommendations on how to manage ESG in the context of broader supplier and supply chain risk management.

In this special 4-part series, Managing Supplier ESG Risk, produced by Art of Procurement in partnership with Dun & Bradstreet, Host Philip Ideson is joined by Brian Alster, General Manager of Finance and Risk Solutions, and Rochelle March, Head of ESG Product, both at Dun & Bradstreet. They dig into the emerging imperative for procurement to understand the ESG (or Environmental, Social, and Governance) profiles of their suppliers, and provide actionable tips and recommendations on how to manage ESG in the context of broader supplier and supply chain risk management.

In this special 4-part series, Managing Supplier ESG Risk, produced by Art of Procurement in partnership with Dun & Bradstreet, Host Philip Ideson is joined by Brian Alster, General Manager of Finance and Risk Solutions, and Rochelle March, Head of ESG Product, both at Dun & Bradstreet. They dig into the emerging imperative for procurement to understand the ESG (or Environmental, Social, and Governance) profiles of their suppliers, and provide actionable tips and recommendations on how to manage ESG in the context of broader supplier and supply chain risk management.

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement. Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

We are going to be discussing ‘experiential procurement’ in detail throughout 2022. In short, the experience procurement creates for all stakeholders - both while interacting with us and while navigating the buying process - is fundamental to determining the impact we can have and the role we can play in the businesses.  In this week’s episode, host Philip Ideson is joined by Tim Jones, former Chief Procurement Officer for Google, now Vice President of Business Operations at Epic Games. They last spoke (via podcast anyway) seven years ago - an entire lifetime in the procurement maturity progression. Tim and Phil take this opportunity to catch up and dig into the concept of ‘experiential procurement’  What procurement ends up getting tangled and tripped up by an overly internal focus, when the organization definitely needs us looking outward How procurement technology has changed in the wake of the eCommerce boom, and how our processes need to hurry to keep up Why procurement needs to be ‘on the lookout’ for evidence of buyer arrogance in the RFP process

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement. Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Despite the fact that it isn't frequently discussed as a spend category, health insurance represents an ideal opportunity for procurement to create value for the business. It is a large category in terms of spend, involves a lot of nuances and complexity, and it has been the exclusive domain of Human Resources - until now.   ​​This episode is based on a recent category briefing held within the AOP Mastermind community. Philip Ideson was joined by Eric Krieg, the Managing Director of Risk International Services, experts in helping organizations manage the health insurance spend category. He provided a category overview and then answered live questions.    In the conversation, Eric shared how procurement can strategically manage the health insurance category, including:  The nature of the health insurance market today  Tips on how procurement can engage with stakeholders to manage this critical and sensitive category The opportunities that exist for procurement to create lasting value once we are engaged

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement. Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Supplier diversity programs offer access to innovation, new markets, and localized socioeconomic impact. And yet - despite all of these benefits - most public sector entities have yet to make a persuasive and actionable case for diversity. There are several obstacles preventing governments from realizing the value potential and cost savings associated with supplier diversity. For instance, a preference for known suppliers and the complexity associated with onboarding new suppliers are just two barriers that limit the potential supplier pool.  As unprecedented levels of Federal funding become available, it is more important than ever that part of these resources are used to support diverse suppliers and build communities in alignment with federal and state stipulations.  Sean Correll, Head of Ivalua’s Public Sector team, and Jarrod McAdoo, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Ivalua recently joined Art of Procurement for an AOP Live session. In this podcast version of the event, host Philip Ideson asked Sean and Jarrod questions about: Making public sector supplier diversity discovery, onboarding, and management easier through fit-for-purpose digital procurement technologies The need for effective contract administration in response to new and changing regulations and legislation The advantage associated with making specific diversity spend commitments to incentivize municipalities and agencies to work with new suppliers and therefore drive innovation

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time.  Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement. Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Historically, procurement has focused too much on savings and not enough on revenue and growth - the true heartbeat of any competitive enterprise. Rather than trying to reposition savings as top line impact, procurement needs to insist upon more suitable performance metrics.  This insistence has to be backed by concrete examples of the spend categories procurement believes they can manage in such a way that it fuels corporate growth. If these categories have been ‘off limits’ in the past, procurement is going to have to make a results-driven pitch for access, followed by the delivery of measurable outcomes. In this episode, based on an AOP Live session run in late 2021, Host Philip Ideson speaks with Greg Anderson and David Clevenger about what procurement needs to do differently in 2022 and beyond: The importance of user experience, improved by breaking free from legacy thinking and out-of-date business models How procurement can connect company-wide value drivers with strategic supplier relationships to support sustained growth Why there may be more of an opportunity to move away from savings as the key procurement performance metric than we think

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time.  Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement. Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Climate change, habitat loss, and plastic waste threaten our environment. Social issues such as modern slavery, inequality, and discrimination blight the lives of millions of people. As procurement professionals, we have the ability to use our buying power to help address these issues and drive change around the world. But how?  In this episode, Host Philip Ideson welcomes back two repeat guests, Mark Perera, CEO at Vizibl, and Peter Smith, Managing Director at Procurement Excellence, to discuss their new book: Procurement with Purpose. And yet, this is more than a book - this is an opportunity to have conversations with purpose-led procurement organizations and leaders all over the world. They use this conversation to share their perspective on: How purpose-driven procurement is spreading around the world and leading to scope and focus changes for many Chief Procurement Officers The differences between corporate approaches to sustainability and government or NGO approaches to the same initiatives What procurement can do to help our stakeholders make decisions that are not only good for business, but for the environment and social causes as well

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time.  Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement. Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Entrepreneurs have a unique way of looking at the world. They identify gaps that need to be solved, and develop solutions so strong they create a brand new competitive advantage. This is even more true of ‘serial entrepreneurs,’ because they have perfected the ability to spot the opportunities to revolutionize how we live and work.  In 2021, Art of Procurement collaborated with BT Sourced, the procurement services group of BT, to produce a hybrid in-person and virtual event called Dare to Discover: Reaching New Heights for Procurement. This episode of the podcast is one of two panel sessions recorded at that event - the other recorded session will be published soon. The panel was brought together to discuss (and debate!) some of the ‘big bets’ that have been made to spur procurement innovation. Charlie Clark founded Rosslyn Data Technologies and Darkbeam, Ulf Zetterberg founded Seal Software and Time is Ltd.; and Chirag Shah founded MarketMaker4 and is now Executive Chairman at Simfoni. Towards the end of the discussion, they pulled Adam Brown, Head of the Procurement Digital Garage at BT Sourced, up out of the audience to add in his perspective.  During this one-hour session, Moderator Philip Ideson asks the guests: About at least one big bet they are willing to make about the future of procurement innovation and the personal perspective or philosophy underpinning that bet The difference between enabling technology and infrastructure technology in terms of ROI and in what level of engagement is asked of users and beneficiaries The responsibility that employees and employers now have to protect corporate assets against the risks of the digital economy

This time of year provides a natural opportunity to pause and reflect; standing on the boundary line between old and new, past and future. After skipping the tradition of writing a pair of annual letters in 2020 - because what was there to say that hadn’t already been said? - Philip Ideson uses this week’s episode to consider the foundational philosophy of the AOP team as we head into 2022. In addition to sharing his reflections on 2021, Philip elaborates on the importance of mindset and culture in the face of what would seem to be never-ending disruption: The difference between a ‘Day 1’ and ‘Day 2’ mentality, and what each means for procurement Why leading teams will need to drive results through experience, outcomes, and insight to continue fueling their transformational journeys The activities that will NOT pave a new path for procurement, despite continuing to be table stakes

We often refer to “the business” when we are trying to ensure that we take a larger perspective on procurement’s work. But at the end of the day, “the business” is made up of many individuals, each one of them is a different type of procurement stakeholder. We want to share more stakeholder voices because procurement is always at risk of misunderstanding or misinterpreting what they really need from us. At Mastermind LIVE Fall 2021, Philip Ideson moderated a session with Chet Patel, Chief Commercial Officer and President of the Americas at BT, and Cyril Pourrat, CPO at BT Sourced, BT’s procurement services company.  Art of Procurement has had a front row seat to watch the transformation of the BT Sourced enterprise procurement team, one that we believe is setting the standard for the future of procurement. In this session, focused on stakeholder collaboration, we got to hear: What a procurement digital transformation journey looks and feels like to stakeholders observing from the outside How closely related partnership with the business and partnership with suppliers are for procurement How procurement can establish themselves as a trusted advisor to the business - even when that means telling them ‘no’

Data was a major topic in 2021, whether the focus was on quality, access, or analytics. There always seems to be too much data, not enough data, or trust issues from procurement and/or the business to make our decision-making processes as data-driven as we would like. At Categorypalooza 2021, Betsy Pancik, Joe Adamski, and Nick Buitrago from ProcureAbility considered the challenge of getting accurate data to inform procurement’s buying strategies and offer their personal tips on how to overcome those challenges.  Betsy Pancik moderated the session, which included deep dives on topics such as: The impact that procurement’s data problems have on the business and what we can do about them How much time procurement should spend digging into their data versus building relationships (for instance) What leading procurement organizations are doing with (or about) their data and what others can learn from them

In 2021, we facilitated a lot of discussions about category management. Is it still fit for purpose or does this 25-year old business process need to evolve faster to keep up with the ways procurement continues to change? At Mastermind LIVE Spring 2021, Nancy Nicoll, VP of Indirect Sourcing Center of Excellence at Retail Business Services, and Jaime Robles, CPO of Caseys General Stores, joined Philip Ideson for a panel session to discuss procurement operating models - specifically, whether category management is 'dead' or 'alive' and if procurement should pursue a relational or expertise-based model for working with the business. They answered questions such as: What are some of the challenges that a category management-driven procurement structure brings and how can we overcome them? How might procurement’s approach to category management affect their relationship with the business? Where should procurement get category expertise from if it doesn't reside in the person running the sourcing process?

Supplier experience management is a new area of focus for most procurement teams, even though we often serve as the primary point of contact for suppliers. We just haven’t thought about it before. If we want to improve the supplier experience, becoming customers of choice in the process, we are going to need to revisit many of our policies, processes, and programs. In an effort to better understand the supplier experience and the opportunity associated with improving it, we partnered with HICX to run a three-part AOP Live series. We were joined by leading practitioners to answer audience questions on three topics: Making a Business Case for Supplier Experience Management Looking at the present and future of Supplier Experience Management in Practice, and Articulating the ROI associated with World Class Supplier Experience Management The three hours of conversation were full of insights and inspiration, and we’ve edited the best portions of them into this podcast. In the first session, Charlotte Anabelle de Brabandt and Ramit Mahajan talked about the benefits associated with creating a good enough supplier experience to be seen as a customer of choice - what that looks like in practice and whether the disruptions of the last two years have impacted how executive leadership regards that objective.  In part 2, Adam Brown and Costas Xyloyiannis talked about the misalignment between how highly procurement would rate themselves as a partner and what the supplier experience is actually like in practice. In the final installment of the series, Robert Bonnar and Mary Beth Lang explored the meaning of supplier experience management and how it connects to other types of value and initiatives that procurement is already leading.

Leading procurement organizations are constantly reimagining their processes and operating models, but in today’s unpredictable and fast-changing world they are under more pressure than ever to deliver a high-level roadmap to building the procurement function of tomorrow. In TRANSFORM - a thought-provoking new podcast series from Art of Procurement in partnership with Globality - we spotlight the agenda-setting procurement leaders and companies who are changing the game and redefining the Future of Procurement. In the third episode in the series, host Philip Ideson talks with Vanessa Pepperell, Global COO and Strategy Procurement Vice President of Aquanima, the procurement company of Santander. Their two decades’ worth of expertise now allows them to support external clients as well. In this interview, Vanessa explains how Aquanima is driving digital transformation in services procurement: How investing in ESG can help companies build brand value and ward off risk Why strategic partnerships require transparency, but they also require development from the buy-side organization The change management effort that will be required over time to account for the fact that sustainable supply chains are often more expensive

There are multiple ways for procurement to achieve savings - and some are more collaborative than others. The more planful we can be about the overall process, the more opportunities we are creating to work arm-in-arm with the business in pursuit of those savings.  Art of Procurement recently hosted an AOP Live webinar with Joe Payne, SVP of Source-to-Pay at Corcentric, and Dave Quillan, Senior Manager of Procurement at Alliant Credit Union (ACU) to discuss how procurement should discuss savings with the business and what incentives can be used to ensure the business feels rewarded by the process. Dave and Joe share their experiences and points of view to these topics and more: How procurement can work with leadership to incentivize savings and minimize compliance problems at the same time Partnership oriented ways for procurement to increase their category-specific credibility with the business without stepping on their toes The critical step of defining - or potentially redefining - addressable spend before developing strategies to deliver savings How to build and execute a sourcing roadmap to ensure annual savings targets are met and the resources that can help procurement reach their savings goals

Each change journey is unique - and yet - can benefit from embracing proven best practices that have been formalized by specialists with equally unique expertise. The benefits of taking such a journey are becoming clear at the University of Massachusetts, as they bring their print, marketing, and branded merchandise spend under management through a partnership with SupplyLogic. David Cho is the Chief Procurement Officer and Managing Director at the University of Massachusetts. His team began their change journey with an investment in their partnerships (both internal and external), technology, and data that helped them achieve a deeper understanding of their marketing and print services spend. They worked at the category level to inform strategies and decisions that would have a lasting impact and deliver multiple forms of ROI for the university. In this episode, based on an AOP Live session, David is joined by Phil Schoonmaker, CEO of SupplyLogic, and Host Philip Ideson to answer live audience questions about what he and his team have learned on their change journey: The importance of centralizing procurement so that there can be one ‘attack plan’ for managing large numbers of suppliers and transactions and one approach to influencing stakeholders When and why to leverage experts outside of the organization to advance the partnerships being built internally Insights and intelligence that can be used to advance corporate social responsibility in the form of local, diversity-owned, and environmentally friendly supplier partnerships

Leading procurement organizations are constantly reimagining their processes and operating models, but in today’s unpredictable and fast-changing world they are under more pressure than ever to deliver a high-level roadmap to building the procurement function of tomorrow.  In TRANSFORM - a thought-provoking new podcast series from Art of Procurement in partnership with Globality - we spotlight the agenda-setting procurement leaders and companies who are changing the game and redefining the Future of Procurement.  In the second episode in the series, host Philip Ideson talks with Adam Brown, Head of the Procurement Digital Garage and Senior Manager of Transformation at BT Sourced. Adam and his team are leading the way in transforming the role and the impact of procurement beyond traditional boundaries.    This interview gives Adam a forum to talk about the importance of building a digital procurement ecosystem to enable lasting transformation: Why procurement needs to think about transformation as a process of constant reinvention How his perspective on procurement talent is shaped by the emphasis BT Sourced places on their best-of-breed digital ecosystem Building self-service capabilities that distributed buyers really don’t have to worry about getting right

In 2021, 62% of the companies in the S&P 1500 index did not provide an annual forecast - some even stated that there is just too much uncertainty for them to be accurate (WSJ, 9/22/21). This is a reality that all companies in all industries worldwide have accepted; market conditions will remain uncertain for the foreseeable future.  In this episode, based on an AOP Live session, host Philip Ideson talks with Sherri Barnes, Director of Market Intelligence Services at ProcureAbility, and Kristen Rellihan, Senior Manager of Advisory at ProcureAbility. They discuss how procurement can develop strong buying strategies despite the certainty of uncertainty in the market and what tactics may be best suited in our current inflationary environment.  Sherri and Kristen also answer live audience questions about: The current state of the economy and how long ProcureAbility expects the uncertainty to last What economic information sources procurement may want to consult, and how we can turn what we learn into actionable insights How to bring market information into conversations with internal stakeholders, especially when the news is not positive

Usually the transformation journeys we hear about are focused on a single company, but there are instances of industry wide transformation efforts as well. The oil and gas industry is a perfect example. These companies are looking to evolve into broader chemical and energy organizations for the sake of sustainability, and procurement has the opportunity to become a strategic partner in this transformation.  ​​In this episode, host Philip Ideson gets a look into the role of procurement transformation in the oil and gas industry by interviewing Artem Sherekh, the Global Oil and Gas Practice Lead at SAP, and Ferhat Eryurt, a partner at apsolut Group. Headquartered in Germany, apsolut Group is an SAP and SAP Ariba consulting partner that delivers on-premise cloud and hybrid procurement solutions.  After shining a light on the role of procurement in the oil and gas industry, Artem and Ferhat talk about: How companies are overcoming the cost-based hurdles associated with transitioning from conventional oil and gas to more expensive but sustainable renewable energy sources Ways for procurement to reevaluate their value proposition to the company as conditions change, and how that should guide their activities Why high quality, centralized data is an absolute must, even in fast-paced, regulated organizations going through a lot of M&A activity

Leading procurement organizations are constantly reimagining their processes and operating models, but in today’s unpredictable and fast-changing world they are under more pressure than ever to deliver a high-level roadmap to building the procurement function of tomorrow.  In TRANSFORM - a thought-provoking new podcast series from Art of Procurement in partnership with Globality - we spotlight the agenda-setting procurement leaders and companies who are changing the game and redefining the Future of Procurement.  For the first episode in this special series, host Philip Ideson talks with Dr. Elouise Epstein, a partner at Kearney and the acclaimed author of Trade Wars, Pandemics, and Chaos: How Digital Procurement Enables Business Success in a Disordered World. She is surely at the forefront of driving the procurement profession to an elevated future. Dr. Elouise shares her honest perspectives on: How she thinks most procurement leaders need to change their thinking about the profession How technologies like AI can enable companies to achieve their ESG goals and tap into new sources of innovation, growth and enterprise value The traits that distinguish the companies that have best positioned themselves for long term success

The State of the Procurement Profession report, one of the largest studies of the profession, is now in its fourth year. Among the key takeaways is data that suggests cost-related objectives remain dominant, with sustainability initiatives far down the list of priorities, despite discussions and content that suggest more progress has already been made. The silver lining is that the entrepreneurial procurement movement seems to be taking hold, and may usher in a time of accelerated change.   In this episode, host Philip Ideson is joined by Dr. Marcell Vollmer, Partner and Director at Boston Consulting Group, and Christoph Bode, Professor at the Business School of the University of Mannheim and Endowed Chair of Procurement. They recently collaborated, with the assistance of ISM, to survey the procurement profession, and have published their findings in the newly released report “State of the Procurement Profession 2021.”   The key findings of the research focus on entrepreneurial orientation, digitization, and ESG, as well as considering procurement reporting structures: Early indications that the first ‘big wave’ of procurement digitalization may be coming to an end Why recent concerns about supply chain risk are changing how companies approach sustainability, and why this shift plays to procurement’s strengths The mindset and risk tolerance that are observed in entrepreneurial procurement teams - who also appear to be outperforming their peers

In a recent Art of Procurement survey, access to market insights was cited as the second most pressing challenge for procurement professionals. Even when procurement is able to access the insights they need, they still have to ensure that they are up-to-date, harder than ever given the level of uncertainty and unpredictability in today’s business climate. In this week’s episode, Host Philip Ideson is joined by Ashley Cruz, Manager of Client Services at ProcurementIQ, and Thomas Lawson, their Product Development Manager. Starting by providing an honest look at procurement’s legacy relationship with market intelligence, they share some of their best tips for making insights actionable and provide a behind the scenes look into how ProcurementIQ builds their market intelligence reports. In particular, Ashley and Thomas answer questions about: Why the time has come (or passed) for procurement’s market intelligence to move beyond supplier discovery and cost/price benchmarking The value of incorporating market trends and dynamics as well as models into the negotiation and bid review process The most frequently asked questions they hear from procurement teams when it comes to accessing and acting upon market insights and intelligence

The high number of low-cost transactions is just the beginning of the challenges with tail spend management. Spend often finds its way into the tail through multiple ‘wrong turns,’ each of which requires a different approach by procurement and a correspondingly different resolution. There is no one ‘cause’ of tail spend and therefore there is no one solution.  In this episode, which is based on an AOP Live session, host Philip Ideson speaks with Jean-Baptiste Anne, Head of Enterprise Sales and Professional Services Teams for Amazon Business, and Vishal Patel, VP of Product Marketing at Ivalua about all things tail spend. How do they define it, how to integrate self-service models, and ways to look at the ROI of your tail spend program. Jean-Baptiste Anne and Vishal Patel answer audience questions about: The differences between a dedicated tail spend solution and integrating that same capability into a platform How to know that you are making the right investment to deliver a tail spend ROI for your company The criticality of understanding what is in your tail spend to being able to direct it through self-guided buying options such as Amazon Business, new procurement-led sourcing projects, or incorporation into existing contracts

Procurement has been working hard to expand our value proposition beyond savings for a long time, and the current conditions in service-based industries may provide a perfect opportunity. Many service and people-based industries are being hit hard by what is being called ‘The Great Resignation.’ Managing these categories on cost alone will definitely not be enough. In this episode, host Philip Ideson speaks with ​​Amy Fong, Vice President of Sourcing and Vendor Management at Everest Group. Amy has had a front row seat to procurement transformation as both practitioner and an advisor, and she is currently focused on services categories. This interview was recorded as part of PASA’s (Procurement and Supply Australasia) ninth annual PASA Premier Confex. Amy answers service-specific questions about: The roles and industries where labor shortages are the greatest - and therefore the potential price increases are the highest Evidence that companies may be pre-buying digital services the way they were hoarding toilet paper in 2020 The trends she sees with regard to service providers integrating technology and automation into their delivery models

We have observed a huge surge in investment in procurement technology startups over the last 12 months, and many of them are leveraging new ‘cognitive’ technologies to be smarter and more intuitive than the procurement technology of years past. In order to truly understand the value proposition of these solutions, procurement needs to have a solid grasp of what cognitive technology is and how its introduction will impact current technology, processes, and talent. ​​In this episode, host Philip Ideson speaks with Melissa Drew, an Associate Partner at IBM. Melissa has 27 years of procurement and supply chain experience, from both an industry and consulting perspective. She collaborates with organizations to reimagine how companies should look in order to remain competitive and was recently recognized as a global leader in consulting in the ‘Excellence in Influence’ category. Since most procurement organizations are in the early stages of thinking about cognitive technology, Philip asks Melissa questions about: What is cognitive technology really versus what we might read and hear in ‘hyped’ product marketing literature? Where should companies be looking to apply the advantages of cognitive technology to their current procurement processes? The critical need for procurement leaders to invest in the data literacy of their organization

Everyone who works for the Clorox Company is encouraged to lead ‘with their head, heart and guts.’ For procurement, this meant boldly accepting - and even driving - change by reimagining their indirect procurement operating model.  Art of Procurement was recently joined by Kathy Thrasher, a Senior Procurement Manager at The Clorox Company, and Mike Caldron, Senior Group Manager at WNS Denali, for an AOP Live session all about their transformation journey. When asked what made the greatest difference in their success, Kathy knows the answer offhand, “Communicate, communicate, communicate.”  Clorox transformed their indirect P2P - half of their total spend as a company - in the middle of the pandemic, during a time when they were ‘all hands on deck’ trying to support the global spike in demand for antibacterial products. They were able to move from operating without any purchasing system to empowering distributed buyers and suppliers to meet their own transaction and information needs. In this episode, host Philip Ideson speaks with Kathy and Mike about: The role of IT in the transformation of Clorox’s indirect procurement How the team revisited their talent and staffing to ensure that skills and system-related changes were addressed The investments they made to improve the supplier experience, enabling their external partners in very challenging business conditions

News of supply shortages and price increases seem to be everywhere. For consumers, that means their dollar doesn’t buy quite as much as it used to, but for procurement, it means every supplier email or call is likely to be a request for a price increase. What is procurement to do? In this crossover episode from The Sourcing Hero podcast, produced in partnership with Una, Host Kelly Barner flips the tables to interview AOP Founder and Managing Director Philip Ideson. His advice on how to address supplier price increase requests is timely - as is his input on how procurement can avoid being ‘re-pigeonholed’ as a cost-only team. If you enjoy this interview, subscribe to The Sourcing Hero podcast for weekly conversations on topics of interest to procurement with a wide-ranging group of guests. In this conversation, Phil shares his perspective on: How procurement should respond to a supplier that reached out with a request for a price increase What options procurement has for mitigating the increase once it has been determined to be a valid request from the supplier If procurement needs to worry about getting TOO GOOD at protecting the bottom line in challenging times

It isn’t often that procurement has the opportunity to hear the sales perspective on our work, but that is precisely what we bring you in this episode of the Art of Procurement podcast. Chris Mele is the Managing Partner of Software Pricing Partners. In this interview, he provides an outsider’s perspective on two topics that are important to procurement: How pricing works in the software industry: whether suppliers are being fair and how to negotiate when you feel like you’re examining a ‘black box,’ because the pricing is value-based rather than input cost-based  What the typical RFP process looks like to sales reps. You won’t just hear Chris’ perspective on RFPs - he solicited input from other sales professionals as well.  Before hitting play, we would like to offer a special listener’s caution on this conversation...  There are two ways to listen to this episode. You can either hear a salesperson advocating for process changes that might make his job easier (not recommended), or you can hear honest input that will help you design your sourcing strategy to better deliver what the business needs from its supply partners. Which way you listen is entirely up to you.

Procurement, treasury and accounts payable have one set of shared objectives when it comes to supplier engagement and management, but all too often they operate in silos. This complicates supplier management and does little to improve their experience while working with a company. Restructuring how these groups work together through procurement transformation can create opportunities to support each other’s goals and therefore better deliver against business expectations. In this episode, Host Philip Ideson is joined by Joe Payne, SVP, Source-to-Pay at Corcentric, and Jennifer Ulrich, Senior Director of Advisory at Corcentric. They are both return guests on Art of Procurement and are two of four authors of the recently released book: Managing Indirect Spend. This conversation is based on a recent AOP Live webinar titled, “Bridging the Gap Between Procurement, AP, and Treasury through Procurement Transformation.”  In that session Joe and Jennifer answered questions from a live Art of Procurement audience about: Where procurement, treasury, and accounts payable tend to fall out of sync and why How fragmented processes not only negatively impact suppliers, but reduce the ROI to the company from those relationships  The additional benefits - such as reduced overall effort and improved data quality - that result when all three groups work collaboratively

“I'm going to change your mindset. You're going to want me to help you. You're going to want my team. You're going to want more procurement and you're going to advocate for us. I love watching it shift.”   Many procurement leaders have been tasked with building the first procurement organization at their company. It is always a challenging journey, with many unexpected twists and turns. For fast-growth companies with a global footprint, establishing formal procurement is absolutely critical, but it has to be done in a way that does not impede the growth trajectory.   Sarah Kaye is the Director of Procurement at Spin, a part of Ford Mobility, an electric scooter and bike-share company. She is combining her passion for marketing with the procurement experience she gained working at organizations such as Target, Radisson Hotel Group, and WeWork.   Sarah’s responsibilities at Spin began at the beginning; building and growing the company’s very first procurement team.   In this conversation, Host Philip Ideson and Sarah discuss how she is building procurement capabilities that truly align with the needs of the business, and how she is leveraging her marketing skills to build and sell the procurement value proposition: The level of sophistication she is able to bring to procurement’s internal relationships by making personal connections aimed at delivering long term value Why the best problem she has is too many contracts to negotiate and execute The importance of procurement taking programs like diversity and inclusion or sustainability and moving beyond tracking and reporting to full advocacy with the business

Corporate travel is one of the most complex spend categories that procurement has management responsibility for. For almost two years now, business travel has been in a state of flux resulting from the global COVID-19 pandemic, leaving most companies and procurement teams with a whole series of unanswered questions:   How should your corporate travel policy change to reflect new realities? How do you negotiate deals when volumes are uncertain? How do you account for traveler safety? And how do you integrate sustainability into your travel program? In this four-part special series brought to you in partnership with Egencia, the world’s business travel platform, we will cover all of these pressing issues and more. In the final episode of the series, host Philip Ideson speaks with Kristina Zdrilic Siljedahl, Global Account Manager and Sustainability Ambassador at Egencia, to discuss the tactics and metrics that companies can use to integrate sustainability into their travel program.

Corporate travel is one of the most complex spend categories that procurement has management responsibility for. For almost two years now, business travel has been in a state of flux resulting from the global COVID-19 pandemic, leaving most companies and procurement teams with a whole series of unanswered questions:   How should your corporate travel policy change to reflect new realities? How do you negotiate deals when volumes are uncertain? How do you account for traveler safety? And how do you integrate sustainability into your travel program? In this four-part special series brought to you in partnership with Egencia, the world’s business travel platform, we will cover all of these pressing issues and more. In the third episode of the series, host Philip Ideson speaks with Caitlin Deegan, Senior Director of Strategy at Egencia, to discuss the elevated responsibility organizations have to protect traveler safety, and what actions they can take to minimize risk as much as possible.

Corporate travel is one of the most complex spend categories that procurement has management responsibility for. For almost two years now, business travel has been in a state of flux resulting from the global COVID-19 pandemic, leaving most companies and procurement teams with a whole series of unanswered questions:   How should your corporate travel policy change to reflect new realities? How do you negotiate deals when volumes are uncertain? How do you account for traveler safety? And how do you integrate sustainability into your travel program? In this four-part special series brought to you in partnership with Egencia, the world’s business travel platform, we will cover all of these pressing issues and more. In the second episode of the series, host Philip Ideson speaks with Delphine Boulton, Director of Consulting at Egencia, to discuss different approaches procurement teams can take to negotiate travel deals when traveler demand is uncertain.

Corporate travel is one of the most complex spend categories that procurement has management responsibility for. For almost two years now, business travel has been in a state of flux resulting from the global COVID-19 pandemic, leaving most companies and procurement teams with a whole series of unanswered questions:   How should your corporate travel policy change to reflect new realities? How do you negotiate deals when volumes are uncertain? How do you account for traveler safety? And how do you integrate sustainability into your travel program? In this four-part special series brought to you in partnership with Egencia, the world’s business travel platform, we will cover all of these pressing issues and more. In this first episode of the series, host Philip Ideson speaks with Ann Dery, Director of Global Travel at S&P Global, and Rob Fodor, Global Account Manager at Egencia, about the changes companies are making to their travel policies in the short term and their perspective on when different types of travel will resume.

Anyone who has worked in procurement for more than a year or two has probably found themselves in a situation where they suspect that they are overpaying on a supplier contract. How can you be sure and what should you do if you uncover overpayment? In some cases overpayment issues are based on billing errors, and in other cases, agreed upon contract terms are not being adhered to by suppliers. Either way, third-party compliance audits can be essential. Ben Evans is the President at Auditech Solutions, a company that provides accounts payable and contract compliance audits to help companies determine whether they are overpaying on invoices. He points out that not only may audits need to be done when a company suspects something is wrong with a set of invoices, but that it may be advantageous to include an audit clause in certain contracts. In this conversation, Ben and host Philip Ideson:  Discuss the value of inserting audit causes into supplier contracts, what they should look like, and how to negotiate them.  Take a deeper dive into compliance audits and how to make them a regular part of a supplier governance program.  And cover the ‘nuts and bolts’ of updates, including the different types of commercial models for hiring and compensating an audit firm.

Procurement has been working to digitally transform spend and supplier related processes for years, but even the companies that have succeeded can always do more. Each procurement process connects to other enterprise processes, functions, and systems. The more integrated all of those components are, the better positioned the company is to respond to disruption and seize competitive advantage. In this conversation, Tony Harris, Global Vice President, Global Business Network Solutions at SAP, and host Philip Ideson discuss what today's integrated business networks actually are and what use cases he has seen. In addition to sharing his detailed thoughts about data models, spot buying, and business networks, Tony also shares some tips for procurement leaders that want to start on their own business network design and implementation journey. For example:  Looking for ways to speed up the typical RFP process so that it supports the business instead of hindering progress Ensuring that third party services and contingent workforce providers are included in distributed sourcing and buying platforms Opportunities for supplier value creation associated with leveraging global business networks

Since Philip Ideson started Art of Procurement almost six years ago, a broad range of executives, practitioners, academics, and more have shared over 3.2 Million words of wisdom through our podcasts, webinars, virtual events, and long-form writing. Regardless of their focus or point of view, each person shared our singular goal of helping forward-thinking leaders change the game for their company by elevating procurement’s impact.  In this week’s episode, Philip Ideson delivers a solo show update on the year to date, looking at everything we’ve all been through and how it has changed our lives, our work, and our perspective on the future.  Listen in to hear his opinion on: The overall impact of COVID on procurement as a result of how it has affected supply markets, talent availability, investment in technology, and socially-driven initiatives. How the Art of Procurement team is working to make sure that we never get too comfortable, remaining open to feedback and inspiration and continuing to raise the bar on ourselves Purposeful changes we are making to the availability and delivery of our content and events to ensure that we remain aligned with what you need most

Procurement professionals are always plagued by the fact that no one seems to understand what we do. While this is often blamed on language barriers and the fact that procurement is always evolving, at the end of the day it comes down to one harsh reality - procurement does not have a well-established, recognisable brand. Steve Wills is the Founder and Managing Director of Procurement Central, a specialist training provider based in the UK. Steve formerly served as the Procurement Advisor to the 2012 London Olympic Games’ organizing committee. He has extensive business experience with blue chip organizations and has worked with leaders in industry and commerce as a CPO to transform complex procurement functions.  In this conversation, Steve and Host Philip Ideson discuss procurement’s brand and how function is positioned strategically. This is a topic that is central to procurement executives and leaders, and will only become more so as procurement pushes to change how they are perceived internally and externally. Steve provides the following thoughts and examples to make the case that procurement should purposefully invest in their brand: Whether procurement’s brand should be across the professional community or defined specifically within each company The lasting damage that can be done when procurement prioritizes short term goals and objectives over their longer term vision The difference it can make when the CEO or executive team ‘gets’ what procurement can do and why they are so valuable on the journey to organizational success

In this week’s episode, which is based on an Art of Procurement Mastermind Community Category Briefing, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner ask J. Grant Caplan, President of Procurigence, Inc. and Chairperson  of the GBTA Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, detailed questions about the current state of the meetings and events to better understand the conditions companies are dealing with and possible steps they can take to restart their meetings programs without incurring unnecessary risk. He shared his knowledge and experience regarding: The nuanced differences between ‘meetings’ and ‘events’ and how procurement needs to manage them How companies can navigate the complex web of policies and guidelines that help meeting and event planners decide how much to spend on what elements of their gathering Why he believes travel is a service sold as a commodity, and how that should influence procurement’s handling of the category

Every time someone interacts with procurement’s people, processes, or technology, it influences what that person thinks of procurement. This perception determines how early procurement is brought into a sourcing decision, if they are approached about a new business need, and how willingly stakeholders participate in procurement-led projects.   Procurement may not often focus significant resources on the ‘intake-to-procure’ process, but distributed buyers are likely to feel different. By meeting buyer needs through an improved intake-to-procure experience, procurement has an opportunity to recast their internal image and finally realize the level of business engagement they have always sought.   In this podcast, which is based on an AOP Live session, Liem Hua, Michael Denari, and Rujul Zaparde discuss  How procurement is currently perceived in many organizations, and the opportunities they have for improving the ‘customer experience’ associated with distributed buying  The common pain points in the intake-to-procure process that procurement may not even be aware of, but which are affecting distributed buyers on a regular basis How technology can empower distributed buyers without endangering procurement’s ability to manage spend and suppliers

“A lot of procurement managers think, ‘I have my process. It will be digitized, but I'm still in control of the process and it will remain with procurement.’ But digitalization is one step further where you really question everything.”  Procurement has been focused on digital transformation for so long that we accept the change it will have on our work and team structures. That said, none of us is certain how emerging technologies such as RPA and AI will be incorporated into existing platforms, where we should start the process of automating procurement tasks, and what the future implications will be. To find out, akirolabs worked with Cognitive Corporate Consulting to apply the scientific method to different types of procurement tasks to capture the efficiency impact of automation. Christoph Flöthmann is one of four co-founders at akirolabs, a new and growing procurement collaboration tool focused on helping procurement professionals develop and execute more impactful supply and category strategies. His experience includes time at organizations such as Bayer, The World Bank, DB Schenker, and KPMG.  In this episode, Christoph joins Host Philip Ideson to discuss:  The methodology used by Cognitive Corporate Consulting and akirolabs to research the task-level impact of automation on the future of procurement and what they learned What he sees as the seven ‘next generation’ skills for strategic procurement professionals and teams Some of the actionable insights uncovered by their research and shared in their new whitepaper

When the first edition of Managing Indirect Spend was published, Joe Payne and Bill Dorn often spoke to customers about what strategic sourcing was and what value it could bring to their organization. 10 years later, much has changed, but a lot has remained the same. Procurement is now much better known and recognized as a valuable corporate function, and yet we are still facing many of the same challenges we were back then. Authors Joe Payne, Bill Dorn, Dave Pastore, and Jenn Ulrich all work for Corcentric, where they spend their time working with procurement teams to help them transform and mature. Many of their real life experiences are included in the book, allowing procurement leaders to learn from the journeys of others. In this conversation, the authors speak with Host Philip Ideson about: How procurement can secure ‘sponsorship’ for strategic sourcing projects and encourage the business to engage them as early as possible The common mistakes or ‘landmines’ that undermine procurement’s efforts to bring spend under management Options for procurement organizational design that make it possible to address all of the levels of project complexity that naturally arise

Between corporate efforts to digitize operations and an increasingly remote workforce, telecom and technology spend is now more important than ever. Changes to the ownership or structure of a business often lead to opportunities to optimize this category - but only if procurement has it actively under management and knows what to be on the lookout for. Jeff Poirior is the President & COO of Valicom. He joined us for a recent AOP Live session focused on the unique nuances and opportunities contained in telecom spend. This category requires a specific approach, because - despite the size of the category - very few procurement organizations have a dedicated telecom specialist. This makes it a real challenge to navigate huge data sets and detailed requirements without inflating costs or impacting connectivity and service quality. In this AOP Live-based session, Jeff Poirior answers live audience questions about: How to navigate the distributed ownership typically associated with telecom spend and make a solid business case for optimization Common sources of savings, including avoiding late fees and changes to the business that justify re-analysis Supplier management strategies, including negotiation and benchmarking

We recently partnered with UNA to bring their The Sourcing Hero podcast into the Art of Procurement stable.  The Sourcing Hero is a weekly 20-30 minute podcast that captures the stories of people who are rising up and beating the odds to create exceptional value within procurement, and is hosted by Art of Procurement General Manager, Kelly Barner.   Today marks the launch of Season 2 of the podcast, and the first of our collaboration with UNA, and we’re going to run the episode in full in the AOP feed. --- Learning to Recognize Heroes feat. Dr. Dred Scott and Anthony Clervi Over the last year, most of us have expanded our concept of what it means to be a hero. From teachers to truck drivers, and grocery store workers to hospital staff, we have plenty of community members to look up to. We’ve also learned that anyone, anywhere, in any role has the opportunity to be a hero to the people around them every day - whether it is in their job description or not. In this very special episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Dr. Dred Scott, President of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kansas City, and Anthony Clervi, Principal at Una, to talk about the importance of heroism in all its forms. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City has been helping at-risk youth for over 100 years. While much has changed during that time, heroes have always been present - sometimes in the form of the adults working at the club, and other times in the children themselves.

As digital transformation progresses, corporate leadership teams are increasing their focus on the quality and availability of data. Spend analysis is just one internal data resource in a sea of data ecosystems, but it has the potential to serve as the foundational connection point for all procurement analytics. For this special series, Art of Procurement partnered with Sievo and Buyers Meeting Point to take a deep dive into procurement data ecosystems. We will explore how procurement leaders can meet their analytical requirements while also exploiting the full cross-functional value of data – data that enables corporate growth and competitive advantage. In this episode, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner provide a series recap and reflect back on the major take-aways from each interview and identify the connecting opportunities that bring them all together into one cohesive vision for data-driven procurement. What we learned about data from these diverse points of view, including what makes it valuable and how to approach the problem of poor quality data How to identify the breaks between people, systems, and processes that prevent data from driving strategic insights and actions The ways in which procurement has to approach data differently for the sake of its future potential, and how this connects to our vision for procurement as a whole

As procurement places greater and greater emphasis on building supplier relationships, what impact will that have on the role played by our contracts? Kate Vitasek has been studying the role of contracts in relational procurement for years, and she has seen the contract v. relationship question go wrong many times. She has seen companies tell suppliers that they are in a partnership, only to terminate their contract on 60 days’ notice, and she has seen effective contracts fall into disarray when the buy-side company is acquired by someone else. As the architect of the Vested business model, she is dedicated to helping companies and their suppliers thrive with the right combination of contracts and relationships. Her latest book is Contracting in the New Economy: Using Relational Contracts to Boost Trust and Collaboration in Strategic Business Relationships, published in May 2021. In this episode of the podcast, Kate joins Host Philip Ideson to talk about: What a formal relational contract looks like in practice and how the change management process should work How to establish governance frameworks around contracts that are based on principles and behaviors rather than specific deliverables and KPIs Whether suppliers are open to the differences between traditional contracts and relational contracts

As digital transformation progresses, corporate leadership teams are increasing their focus on the quality and availability of data. Spend analysis is just one internal data resource in a sea of data ecosystems, but it has the potential to serve as the foundational connection point for all procurement analytics.   For this special series, Art of Procurement partnered with Sievo and Buyers Meeting Point to take a deep dive into procurement data ecosystems. We will explore how procurement leaders can meet their analytical requirements while also exploiting the full cross-functional value of data – data that enables corporate growth and competitive advantage.    In this episode, Kelly Barner and Magnus Bergfors, Global Business Director of Basware, discuss the evolving role of procure-to-pay in helping procurement satisfy business objectives while also improving the internal user and supplier experiences. How to ensure that any P2P implementation or digitalization project delivers what the business needs over the long term The barriers to supplier adoption and what additional requirements are being added through efforts to bring small and diverse suppliers into the enterprise supply ecosystem How CPOs should approach P2P in the coming years, and how they should evaluate their success

The bi-annual Deloitte CPO Report has been a source of insight and information for procurement leaders for years. In the last report, released in 2019, the core topic was mastering complexity. Little did Deloitte - or the participating CPOs - know, the whole world was about to get a crash course in mastering complexity. Ryan Flynn is a Principal at Deloitte Consulting and one of the co-authors of the 2021 CPO Report: Agility serves as the solution to an increasingly complex procurement landscape. Their research and the resulting report focus on top CPO priorities, talent, risk and suppliers management, and what allows procurement leaders to be “agility masters” in today’s complex business landscape.

As digital transformation progresses, corporate leadership teams are increasing their focus on the quality and availability of data. Spend analysis is just one internal data resource in a sea of data ecosystems, but it has the potential to serve as the foundational connection point for all procurement analytics. For this special series, Art of Procurement partnered with Sievo and Buyers Meeting Point to take a deep dive into procurement data ecosystems. We will explore how procurement leaders can meet their analytical requirements while also exploiting the full cross-functional value of data - data that enables corporate growth and competitive advantage.  In this episode, Kelly Barner and Pierre-Francois Thaler, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of EcoVadis, discuss the different scopes, organizational models, and ways of tracking, certifying, and reporting on investments in sustainability. The current state of sustainability initiatives and what large enterprises can do to scale their impact How procurement can use metrics and scorecards to ensure that investments in sustainability are recognized from the end consumer to the boardroom Whether risk mitigation is a natural outcome of sustainability programs and how technology can carry these efforts successfully forward into the future

Procurement has been swept up in nearly non-stop change for the last two decades, and yet, we continue to talk about the need for transformation? Is this due to their failures or their successes? In Conrad Snover’s opinion, it is a little bit of both. Conrad Snover is the President of ProcureAbility and he was joined by Betsy Pancik, their Vice President of Customer Success, for a recent AOP Live session. They believe that how procurement is structured can either help them achieve overall business alignment and an improved customer experience, or can slow processes down and hold them back from delivering full value.  In this AOP Live-based session, Conrad Snover and Betsy Pancik answer live audience questions about: What a procurement operating model is and how that aligns with procurement’s organizational structure The evolving requirements of procurement talent and how the available skill sets may need to change during and after transformation  Which transformational concerns can be addressed - and even advanced - by selecting the right procurement operating model