Art of Procurement

The Procurement Revolution is less than two weeks away!  I am busily recording content from thought leaders around the world who have inspiring perspectives to share on how we need to challenge the status quo to survive and thrive in the new era of procurement. Listen in to today's episode to learn more about the event, the content that will be shared, and the channels we are using to get the word...

Much has been written about the fact that the Millennial Generation will make up 50% of the workforce by 2020.  How to attract and retain Millennial professionals is becoming an increasingly important challenge for procurement leaders as large numbers of baby boomers retire by the day. In the first part of today's episode, I connect with M.L. Peck (of the Institute for Supply Management - ISM) and...

How can professionals best position themselves for success in the new era of procurement?  That is the question that I explore in the second of a two part series on the factors that look to change the shape of our profession. In this episode, I explain the notion of a two-tier procurement profession, and the six different role types that I believe will be fundamental in ensuring that procurement r...

What will the future of procurement look like, and how as procurement professionals can we prepare for disruption that is heading our way?   In the first of a two part series, I explore the   likelihood that procurement as a function will even exist in 10 years time - in response to a number of projections that I have recently heard about the future of our profession.   I then share my perspective...

On today's Art of Procurement, I welcome Coupa President and CEO Rob Bernshteyn to the show. In our discussion, Rob and I focus on the concept of value as a service, and the benefits of focusing on delivering outcomes rather than tasks. I then question Rob on what procurement leaders can apply from the concept of value of a service as they look to build a more stakeholder orientated procurement de...

As a Buyer, a key factor in my sourcing decisions was the size of the supplier.  While it is arguably the greatest piece of marketing of all time, the fact that "nobody ever got fired for buying IBM" was often at the forefront of my mind.  I had a number of reasons for taking this approach – some real, some perceived.  In today's Art of Procurement, I explore the reality of working with small and...

On Wednesday of this week, I joined host Jamie Liddell (Editor in Chief at Outsource Magazine) and fellow panelists Kate Vitasek (Vested) and Don Ryan (KPMG) on this month's Outsource Talks Q&A webinar. During the webinar, I answered questions from Jamie related to the current challenges that CPO's are facing, and the evolution (and future) of procurement outsourcing.  My favorite was a question o...

As the Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of Tradeshift, Christian Lanng is on the front lines of the technology evolution, and he gets to see first-hand the impact that innovative technology is having – and will have - on the enterprise. In today's Art of Procurement podcast, I sit down with Christian to understand what this will mean for procurement. If Christian's vision materializes, it will mean a...

Procurement plays a pivotal role in the delivery and execution of the Olympic Games.  However, it was not always like that.  The organizing committee of the 2012 London Olympic games took the decision to invest in strategic procurement like never before.  The result: the success of team created a legacy whereby the IOC has recognized that procurement must play a pivotal role in the delivery of all...

As procurement professionals, we often see our peers across the negotiating table as adversaries. However, there is a lot that we can learn and apply from the art of Sales, particularly when it comes to influencing others. This week's guest on the Art of Procurement is Stan Garber, President of Scout RFP. Stan is a proven sales and business development leader, and I wanted to tap into that experie...

In my experience, there are few stakeholder relationships that are as important, or as fractious, as those between procurement and IT - particularly when it comes to supporting strategic purchases.  How can we turn this relationship on its head, and become friends and not foes? This was the topic of today's conversation with Kendra Von Esh, ex-CIO of Veolia and current Executive Strategic Advisor...

As the skill sets that CPO's require from their procurement professionals continues to evolve, the market for the most qualified talent is becoming more competitive than ever. Previously, the lure of a brand, or a small step up in responsibilities and salary was enough to attract the best and brightest.  As a candidate, you were told to be happy that someone – anyone – was willing to give you a pa...

Kelly Barner and I feel strongly that we have a lot of opportunity in front of us as a procurement function, but we need to challenge the status quo.  By focusing on the same things that we have always done is more likely to lead to us becoming irrelevant than a strategic business partner. Enter, The Procurement Revolution. Kelly and I have started to finalize the themes within the Procurement Rev...

Think of the handful of supplier agreements that you have that are fundamental to your business operations and strategy.  How many of your most material supplier relationships are based on leverage, power dynamics and a zero sum game? Today's guest is Kate Vitasek, Founder of the Vested business methodology. Kate provides real world examples as I ask how we, as procurement professionals, can put t...

At some point in time, we all come to a crossroads. A decision has to be made between two paths that has long term implications on the direction of our careers. I have encountered a number of these crossroads throughout my career to date.  In today's show, I share three such examples, the decisions I took (and why), and then I reflect on the lessons that I learned so that you don't have to make th...

With procurement talent at a premium, and the skills required to be successful rapidly evolving, professional development has arguably never been so important within our field.  But, are old world methods of learning such as classroom training dead?  Mark Pollack, Vice President of SIG University is an expert in adult education. In today's episode, Mark shares why ongoing development is so importa...

In today's Art of Procurement, I share how the concept of demand management came to the front of my mind while out shopping for birthday presents for my son last weekend. I then discuss five different ways in which procurement can help our organizations reduce their overall expenditure by managing demand rather than reducing supplier profit margins. For more information, visit http://artofprocurem...

Where do you go for supplier information if you are asked to lead a sourcing project for a product or service you are unfamiliar with? Stephany Lapierre, my guest on today's Art of Procurement show, is the expert in Supplier Discovery. First Stephany founded Matchbook, a consulting firm helping biotech firms identify and source hard to find suppliers to meet very specific needs. Following customer...

The makeup of the workforce is changing rapidly.  Statistics show that organizations are looking to hire part-time, temporary words more than ever before, as they look to become more agile and reduce their fixed costs. At the same time, the service industry and enabling technology that underpins the flow of contingent workers is undergoing a revolution.  It feels like hardly a week goes by before ...

David Hearn is on a mission to help forward thinking procurement leaders transform their procurement organizations from being tactical to strategic.  As a practitioner, he has led three different organizations - Juniper, Kaiser Permanente and Sun Microsystems, through this transformation journey.   In today's Art of Procurement, David shares what he has learned from his experiences to date - what...

A week has passed since the UK electorate shocked the world by voting to leave the EU.  In this episode, I share my personal feelings on the vote, and also explore both the short term impact and what I believe is the most likely long term outcome. In the short term, I believe that the Brexit vote provides an opportunity for procurement professionals and leaders to position themselves as the go-to...

In the second part of our Value Based Procurement series, I am joined today by former CPO & Founder of Supply Chain Advisors Joanna Martinez and Jordan Early of Old Street Labs.  Joanna, Jordan and I explore where to look to find opportunities to create value for our organizations.  We discuss a wide range of options, from supplier driven innovation to how to make a stakeholders experience with pr...

Let's undermine the status quo. Stand Up. Speak Out. Drive Change. Today on the Art of Procurement, I am excited to launch a new procurement event in conjunction with Buyers Meeting Point and Kelly Barner: The Procurement Revolution. In today's show, Kelly and I explain the philosophy behind The Procurement Revolution, what it is, and how you can get involved! For more information, visit http://ar...