Art of Procurement

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 pro...

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 add...

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 fr...

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 accur...

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 Phi...

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 understan...

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...

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 Ma...

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 Ch...

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 th...

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...

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 transf...

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 th...

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...

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...

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...

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 Ide...

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...

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...

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 th...

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:...

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 ea...

"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-g...

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...

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...