Art of Procurement

If 2019 was the year of emerging technology hype, then 2020 holds the potential to be the year that we turn our attention to the work that needs to be done to derive concrete value from that technology: blockchains included. In late 2019, Remko Van Hoek, Clinical Full Professor of Supply Chain Management at the University of Arkansas – Sam M. Walton College of Business and a Member of the CSCMP Bo...

As we begin to wind down for 2019, Art of Procurement host Philip Ideson shares the three themes that are at the forefront of his mind when considering the health of the procurement function and the opportunities that await in 2020.

This week's podcast is based on our recent AOP Live session with Pierre Lapree and Jason Treida. They joined us last month to take live audience questions about how procurement can maximize the value potential of automation while ensuring that performance management is not lost in the 'noise' of technology. Most of today's technology focuses on either the transactional aspects of procurement (P2P)...

Whether you call it supplier performance management or supplier relationship management, procurement has always understood that we need supply partners at their best for us to realize the maximum ROI from each contract. Usually, however, that boils down to a meeting where we point out where they could be doing better or ask a bunch of questions that imply the same thing and send them on their way...

Having the opportunity to reflect back on a successful career in its entirety is a gift, and in "A Procurement Compendium", Peter Smith shares that gift with the whole procurement community. From being found by procurement (either because he could play tennis or because he was lousy at sales), to his time as a consultant and then 8+ years with Spend Matters, he's experienced nearly everything. Pet...

In this episode, AOP Host Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner (General Manager of AOP and Owner of Buyers Meeting Point) discuss their major take-aways from November's news, industry topics and podcast interviews. Note: This is a special - early and shortened - version of our This Month in Procurement podcast due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the US. We would like to thank you, our listeners and follo...

In this week's podcast, Philip Ideson is joined by two members of the Procurement Leaders team, David Rae, their Chief Product Officer, and Geraldine Craven, Head of Research. They recently completed a study in cooperation with Bain Consulting to understand what is changing in advance of the arrival of 2020 and what remains the same. In this conversation, David and Geri talk about the key recommen...

"A good procurement person has two qualities: One is they're curious. They want to know how things are made. How did we get it here? Why is the supplier doing that? What is the price? What is the cost? So, curiosity is the number one thing and the number two thing is emotional intelligence. Do they have the capability to build relationships inside and outside the business?" In this week's podcast,...

In this episode, AOP Host Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner (General Manager of AOP and Owner of Buyers Meeting Point) discuss their major take-aways from October's news, industry topics and podcast interviews. In October, we heard a total of seven podcasts: A solo show from Philip Ideson on Getting Executive Buy-in for a Procurement Change Initiative A five-part series with leadership team from Effi...

"The 'complexity masters' have taken the transactional side of procurement and turned it into a well-oiled machine, a combination of operating models and digital strategies, so that they can focus on those areas where they can drive the most value." The annual Deloitte Global CPO survey is one of the most anticipated reports of the year. In this year's report, the 11th annual, the authors took a d...

You have just been appointed to a new CPO position. Your executive leadership team is looking at you to make an immediate impact while setting up procurement as a driver of sustainable, long term value. You know that your first 100 days in the role may make or break your career. What do you do? Where do you start?  In this special 5-part series, made possible through a partnership with Efficio, we...

You have just been appointed to a new CPO position. Your executive leadership team is looking at you to make an immediate impact while setting up procurement as a driver of sustainable, long term value. You know that your first 100 days in the role may make or break your career. What do you do? Where do you start?  In this special 5-part series, made possible through a partnership with Efficio, we...

You have just been appointed to a new CPO position. Your executive leadership team is looking at you to make an immediate impact while setting up procurement as a driver of sustainable, long term value. You know that your first 100 days in the role may make or break your career. What do you do? Where do you start?  In this special 5-part series, made possible through a partnership with Efficio, we...

You have just been appointed to a new CPO position. Your executive leadership team is looking at you to make an immediate impact while setting up procurement as a driver of sustainable, long term value. You know that your first 100 days in the role may make or break your career. What do you do? Where do you start?  In this special 5-part series, made possible through a partnership with Efficio, we...

You have just been appointed to a new CPO position. Your executive leadership team is looking at you to make an immediate impact while setting up procurement as a driver of sustainable, long term value. You know that your first 100 days in the role may make or break your career. What do you do? Where do you start?  In this special 5-part series, made possible through a partnership with Efficio, we...

I've been spending a lot of time the past few months working with procurement teams on their transformation journey from being a tactical function to a strategic one. This journey must begin by inspiring people on the art of the possible. This often has to be members of your procurement team - to rethink the possibilities of what they can achieve - and also senior executives and stakeholders - on...

In this episode, AOP Host Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner (AOP Content Director and Owner of Buyers Meeting Point) discuss their major take-aways from September's news, industry topics and podcast interviews. In September, we heard four diverse interviews: NBA CPO Joe Postiglione started the month by reminding us of the importance of self-empowerment as well as how powerful a truly engaged manager...

"If you were to ask me what the 'Art of Procurement' is, I would say it is bringing together the right people and the right partners." In this week's podcast, we get to listen in on a conversation about digital transformation on a global scale that was recorded at Ivalua NOW in Paris earlier this year. Hakan Cakir is the Procurement Digitalization & Analytics Product Owner of Sourcing Solutions fo...

"How do I get from where I am today to where I would like to be?" In the age of digital transformation, it goes without saying that change is on everyone's mind. But despite all of the energy we are putting into thinking about change, we may or may not be seeing that change come to pass. In this week's podcast, host Philip Ideson speaks with Chris Sawchuck, Principal and Global Procurement Advisor...

"We have to be able to talk in a language that the business understands, and they have to see the actual value of what [procurement is] bringing to the table over and over, above any type of savings, I think that's the key for me." In this week's podcast, host Philip Ideson speaks with Mahmood Shah, Director of Global Procurement at MetLife. He started his career in supply chain in the automotive...

If we were to describe a CPO that was focused on emotional intelligence (EI) and self-empowerment, tranquility and self-possession, where would you guess he or she worked? Maybe at a lifestyle brand or a Silicon Valley startup. It would probably take you a few hundred guesses to come up with the National Basketball Association (NBA).  In this week's podcast, host Philip Ideson interviews Joe Posti...

In this episode, AOP Host Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner (AOP Content Director and Owner of Buyers Meeting Point) discuss their major take-aways from August's news, industry topics and podcast interviews. In August, we split our time between active procurement practitioners and thought leaders. Dana Small, Global Category Manager at BioMarin Pharmaceutical, talked about her transition from finance...

According to research undertaken by today's guest, Procurement Insights Founder Jon Hansen, 70% of an organization's digital transformation activity passes through the procurement and supply chain. But is procurement prepared to step outside the frameworks of our historical job descriptions to proactively enable our companies to create and execute their digitization strategies? In today's podcast,...

No one wants conflict for its own sake, but it can actually be an important factor in personal or organizational growth and decision making. Rather than shying away from conflict, especially in a professional context, procurement professionals need to start embracing it as proof of diverse thought and opportunities to practice empathy. That is the point of view espoused by Jason Cammorata, Vice Pr...

It seems that we live in a service-centric world these days, and that includes a growing number of procurement spend categories. Although we've made headway in IT, legal and marketing, there is one category of professional services spend that still gives most of us reason to pause: management consulting. In this episode of the podcast, I ask Helene Laffitte, Founder and CEO of Consulting Quest, so...