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 seismic shift is in store for our profession over the next 10 years. In this episode, you will learn...
Aug 16, 2016•49 min•Ep. 80
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 subsequent Games. I am joined today by Gerry Walsh, the CPO of the London 2012 games. We discuss his a...
Aug 11, 2016•39 min•Ep. 79
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 experience to focus on two specific use cases where procurement can lever Sales techniques to increase thei...
Aug 09, 2016•36 min•Ep. 78
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 for Coupa. Kendra and I explore how the CIO is measured, why a CIO may bypass procurement, and what w...
Aug 05, 2016•37 min•Ep. 77
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 pay check. How things change. In today's show, Andrew Daley, co-founder of procurement recruitment firm...
Aug 02, 2016•46 min•Ep. 76
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 Revolution, and there is one that we wanted to enlist your help with today. Listen in to today's Art of ...
Jul 29, 2016•9 min•Ep. 75
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 these rules in to practice and create relationships based on the notion of shared value. The result: a...
Jul 26, 2016•1 hr•Ep. 74
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 the same mistakes as I did! For more information, go to http://artofprocurement.com/careercrossroads...
Jul 22, 2016•15 min•Ep. 73
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 important, along with the keys to delivering training programs that inspire and motivate professionals to eng...
Jul 19, 2016•45 min•Ep. 72
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://artofprocurement.com/demandmanagement...
Jul 15, 2016•14 min•Ep. 71
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 demand, she then built and launched tealbook, an online supplier knowledge management platform. In ...
Jul 12, 2016•40 min•Ep. 70
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 I read about the launch of another platform, technology or partnership in the space. So how can we mak...
Jul 08, 2016•32 min•Ep. 69
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 works, and what does not - and he discusses the importance that technology plays in driving the changes...
Jul 05, 2016•41 min•Ep. 68
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 contacts for the c-suite in managing the supply side volatility that is a natural consequence of the ...
Jul 01, 2016•27 min•Ep. 67
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 procurement more streamlined and user friendly. For more information, visit http://artofprocurement....
Jun 28, 2016•44 min•Ep. 66
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://artofprocurement.com/TPRlaunch
Jun 24, 2016•12 min•Ep. 65
In my experience, e-auctions are often used and abused for the wrong reasons. However, if you use them strategically, they can be a very powerful tool in your sourcing tool kit. In today's show, I explore the critical success factors that determine the successful of your next e-auction. Alun Rafique and Anya McKenna of Market Dojo explain the necessary steps you must take at all stages of an auction - from pre-event preparation to post-even communication. For more information, visit http://artof...
Jun 21, 2016•41 min•Ep. 64
It has been a couple of months since I opened up the curtains and shared with you some updates about the Art of Procurement. However, I have a couple of announcements to make that I am really excited about, and I cover these in today's Art of Procurement Friday show.
Jun 17, 2016•13 min•Ep. 63
Business acumen is an often cited skill needed to be successful in the "new" procurement. But what exactly is it, and how does it apply to procurement? This was the topic of conversation in today's interview with Jim Barnes, the Managing Director of ISM Services. Jim highlights 10 different traits that he sees - in his experience helping procurement leaders increase the capabilities of their teams - that collectively make up the concept of business acumen. Jim also shares which he believes are t...
Jun 14, 2016•26 min•Ep. 62
Today's Friday Show is in response to a listener question: how can I get early engagement with my business stakeholders? In this episode, I take a look back at my experiences as a practitioner, and look at the key elements that differentiated the projects where I was able to engage early and those where I was nothing more than a rubber stamp. For more information, go to: http://artofprocurement.com/61
Jun 10, 2016•10 min•Ep. 61
We hear a lot about the changing procurement skill set, and the difficulty that CPO's are experiencing in hiring the talent they require. However, what is the reality, and if so, how can procurement leaders adjust? And how can procurement professionals stand out from the crowd? My guest today on the Art of Procurement is Greg Tennyson, the Chief Procurement Officer of VSP Global. Greg explains why the talent shortage isn't as black and white as it may seem, and he shares what he looks for when h...
Jun 07, 2016•37 min•Ep. 60
This week's Friday Show is a little different. A recurring theme in my discussions with procurement thought leaders is the need to expand the value that we bring to being more than cost savings alone. With that in mind, I started working with Joanna Martinez (former CPO and Founder of Supply Chain Advisors) and Jordan Early (Head of Research at Old Street Labs) on a series of shows dedicated to the concept of value based procurement. Joanna, Jordan and I met earlier this week to start mapping ou...
Jun 03, 2016•14 min•Ep. 59
How organizations use third party procurement services like outsourcing is evolving rapidly. While only a short time ago, procurement outsourcing was synonymous with job losses, it is now being used as an enabler for growth. In this episode of the Art of Procurement, Mike Jacobs, Chief Procurement Officer of Staples, explains how Staples uses procurement BPO to enable his internal team to focus on providing value to their stakeholders and elevating the role of procurement. For more information, ...
May 31, 2016•36 min•Ep. 58
This week, rather than publish my normal Friday solo show, I am going to share another great interview. Procurement consulting firm Advanced Purchasing Dynamics (APD) recently surveyed a cross section of President's, CEO's and CFO's across the manufacturing industry to understand how they perceived the role of procurement. To any procurement professional, regardless of industry, the results were both eye opening and alarming! Today's guest on the show is Jeoff Burris, the Founder of APD. Jeoff s...
May 27, 2016•32 min•Ep. 57
Today's guest on the Art of Procurement is Tom Derry, CEO is ISM (Institute for Supply Management). Tom and I sat down at last week's ISM 2016 Conference to discuss his key takeaways from the event, and how ISM is evolving to meet the changing needs of its members. Tom then answered a number of quick fire questions, including a question asking if we are facing a talent deficit in procurement. Listen in to hear Tom's answer! For show notes, visit http://artofprocurement.com/ism2016...
May 24, 2016•23 min•Ep. 56
Alan Mulally led arguably the greatest turnaround in corporate history. He saved Ford Motor Company from bankruptcy amid the chaos of the 2008 recession, and architected and led the transformation of Ford's product line, brand reputation and financial performance. I had the opportunity this week to sit in on a keynote with Alan at the ISM2016 conference in Indianapolis. In today's Friday show, I want to share what Alan described as "all I know". The 11 steps that he used to drive the transformat...
May 20, 2016•14 min•Ep. 55
My guest on the Art of Procurement today is John P. (Jack) Miles. There are few, if any, leaders in the procurement profession with the depth and breadth of experience as Jack. Jack has enjoyed multiple CPO roles at some of North America's largest companies and has served as Secretary of the Florida Department of Managed Services. He is currently at advisory board member at Coupa. In today's show, Jack shares seven of the key lessons that he has learned from his career in both the private and pu...
May 17, 2016•32 min•Ep. 54
How can we make procurement less boring? That is the question I recently posed based on the perception that we hear that procurement is a boring profession. As you can imagine, it led to a lively debate within the procurement profession! In this episode I explore why others may feel that procurement is boring, when practitioners believe it is anything but. I share three listener voicemails, and give my opinion on the actions and mind shift that we need to take to increase the reputation of the w...
May 13, 2016•16 min•Ep. 53
I was fortunate to the be in the audience recently to listen to today's guest, Dr Robert Handfield, give a talk on the future of procurement analytics, and the impact that access to real-time and predictive analytics will have on the procurement function. I was delighted when Rob agreed to share his thoughts with me on the Art of Procurement. Rob talks passionately about how procurement is at in inflection point – where our ability to deliver value by using old tools such as leveraging spend is ...
May 10, 2016•45 min•Ep. 52
Time has flown by - we have now passed a half century of shows! I have learned a TON from the thought leaders who have graciously shared their time with us to help us all collectively elevate the role of procurement. In today's show, I take a look back at five key themes that I have taken away from the first fifty episodes. Listen to the show and you will also hear how to get my 20 page report where I share a key lesson that I learned from each episode! For more, go to http://artofprocurement.co...
May 06, 2016•18 min•Ep. 51
