Talent Talks Podcast

“I'm not here to cut costs, I'm just here to add value. However you want to dress that word of value, it's totally up to you.” The next generation of bright procurement prospects bring with them a focus on understanding what they’re procuring in a way that we haven’t seen before. We can only continue this trend of value and ROI, however, if we overcome the barriers to entry for scho...

“If something doesn't look exciting enough for something they're going to do for the next 40-50 years in their career, why are they going to bother even trying to get into that profession?” When the senior procurement professionals end their careers, we need a rich talent pool to whom they can entrust all that experience and expertise. Who better to ask about the current barriers impedin...

“The single biggest barrier to entry for getting young people into procurement is a lack of knowledge of what it even is.” Young professionals entering today’s procurement world will be leading our industry into an age led by sustainability & social value, so what’s the experience like for future CPOs, and how does it need to improve? To answer this key question, Martin is joined this week by...

“I think we don't always realise that we have a reputation with our suppliers, just like a company will have a consumer brand.” Consumer branding is a standard aspect of any business that’s well documented - lesser considered but equally important, however, is the prospect of your supplier branding. Presenting yourself to potential suppliers for a partnership is a skill, one in which Cameron...

“In general when you're buying services, it won't have such a complex supply chain. But in terms of what you're buying, it's infinitely more complex.” Pinpointing the value of procured services on more metrics than pure cost is an issue worth solving, given the trillions in annual global spend that go towards services procurement. Zivio are leading the way with their SaaS platf...

“The common element is very similar between organisations. What you need to understand is the environment you're working within, the stakeholders that you have and their agendas.” Between impressively varied roles at Fulham FC, Harrods & and Allianz, Nick Brazier is evidence that when you understand your environment, third party management demands a similar skillset. Having now set up a t...

“How do you make sure that sustainability is not a compliance play, it's not a nice-to-do and a tick box? Put it right in your business strategy.” From Simon King’s eventful early career, to his hugely influential endeavours in the sustainability world now, he’s amassed experiences to inspire us all to embrace the green agenda. Whether it’s making the huge leap in efficiency through electric...

“In procurement, you’re trying to get meetings with people who don't want to see you, persuade them to do things they don't want to do, and negotiate a deal. Procurement and sales are very similar in skillset.” With over 13 years in Coca-Cola, a CPO role at Tata and an influential stint at Mitie, rolling out the UK’s largest pure electric fleet, Simon King has seen it all. While we’ve co...

“You'll start to think, ‘I'll be making a sourcing decision against one of the biggest elements of our impact within the next few years, which might almost commit me already to 2030’. It’s about getting that into the decision making now.” We often hear how our sector adds value, but seldom is it referred to explicitly as a revenue generator. With an ever-greater emphasis on ESG, setting...

“It's not about the ‘what’, it's about the ‘how’, and I don't think we're doing enough with the ‘how’ at the moment in the private sector.” As social value remains front and centre of public sector procurement, and grows in relevance in the private sector, are there more complexities and variables than ever when it comes to initiating successful procurement transformation? The...

“It isn't about the price of the consultancy, it’s the impact of the outcome they're delivering, so cheap can become very expensive.” The difference in spend between contingent labour and consultancies globally is incredibly small, yet the technology and systems to work with them lags far behind. As CEO of Constellia, Rob Levene keeps close contact with their Consultancy Procurement Coun...

“From my perspective, data is the foundational resource that we now need to use in terms of how we think about our procurement transformation.” As apps like TikTok innovate the tools that curate content for us, it’s clear that the future of procurement is one in which we won’t settle for inadequate tools. We’ve been seeing gradual digitisation for decades, and as the need to process data and imple...

“With our size and scale, we can deliver value for money through social value, but also leave a lasting legacy in communities.” The scrutiny that comes with multi-billion pound projects in the public sector gives National Highways a strong impetus to put social value first in its operations. So how do we achieve the same in the rest of the industry? In a Talent Talks first, we feature a panel of 3...

“Sustainability needs to be a priority, and that starts at the top.” Digital procurement transformation is a perpetual journey, and with the growing importance of ESG initiatives it’s key now to ensure these initiatives come from the very top level to maximise your organisation’s value. This week’s guest on Talent Talks is Coupa’s Vice President in Northern Europe, Eric Brown, who shares how incre...

Recent years have brought new challenges to the healthcare sector, so for HealthTrust Europe it’s been key to engage stakeholders to guarantee social value in every process they implement. Advocating the renewed need for social value and sustainability in procurement within the sector is COO Dale Robinson, who considers the holistic, end-to-end view of a process to be essential in unlocking that v...

Committing to procurement transformation that earns buy-in from the board is a hurdle made far easier to vault with the help of one key asset - the right people structure. It’s a foundational part of Patrick Dunne’s ‘Three P’s’ for progressing any procurement function, an approach that’s evidently effective. Patrick’s experience spans industries, and boasts the 2019 CIPS Leader of the Year award....

“Good people, regardless of function, generally have a choice. We've worked hard to get our hiring managers in a mindset that, when they go into the interview, it is a two-way thing.” The market for new, ambitious procurement professionals might seem relatively thin right now, but could our industry set our sights further afield to create a wider talent pool with more varied skill sets? Balfo...

“From a recruitment perspective, it's one of the first questions candidates ask us now: What is that business's sustainability agenda?” With the well-publicised COP26 bringing sustainability ever closer to the front of consumers’ minds, there’s a renewed focus on supply chains to become greener at every stage. For such a current and pressing topic, it was a delight to host a panel discus...

“We're trying to get value for money, but we still use the word savings. We've got to change our language accordingly to sell procurement.” Welcome to a very special episode of Talent Talks, recorded live at last month’s Talent Talks event in central London! We were lucky enough to bring together a panel of wonderful procurement professionals to discuss some of the burning issues facing...

“We need to be hot on our game to ensure that suppliers are meeting ethical standards, and that we're operating in an ethical and compliant way ourselves.” Procurement is bestowed with a power to join supply chains in a way that nobody else can, so we need to be hot on our game when it comes to sustainable procurement. Sustainability is not just about carbon emissions - former CPO EMEA JLL an...

“You have to be relevant, and to be relevant you need to understand where the business is trying to get to.” Creating transformation in procurement that actually makes a tangible impression on a business takes more than offering refined processes and cost-saving. But what exactly are the key ingredients to a successful procurement function? Enter Nick Jenkinson, whose unique CV spans 7 companies i...

When looking at the educators inducting our future procurement professionals, it’s always reassuring to see a wealth of experience behind them - Paul Alexander is exemplary in this, with decades in the corporate world across oil & gas, professional services and aerospace. Now divulging his expertise at the University of Portsmouth, Paul’s unique perspective offers him a nuanced view on why app...

“I love transformation, because you can make a profound difference to organisations if you get it right.” With broad industry experience that proves he’s no one trick pony - BA, Three, Estee Lauder and the Home Office to name a few varying examples - Tim Snow is a fine example of why procurement professionals shouldn’t be pigeonholed. After all, in what other industry can you work on security for...

“Leading with a discussion around sustainability and an organization's overall impact on the planet and on society is a way of opening doors.” The Sustainable Procurement Pledge has an ambitious goal to enlist 1 million procurement professionals on their mission to transform sustainability from a luxury to a necessity in our industry.  Bayer’s CPO and the pledge’s Co-Founder, Thomas Udesen, r...

“The structure being put in place that hasn't been there before, around all the components that sit within social value, is enabling an acceleration of the whole agenda around social value.” There’s an element of procurement beyond the nitty gritty that’s steadily come to the forefront of the agenda, particularly in the last 10 years - social value. For Jonjo Hobbs, Managing Director of Capit...