Saying that someone has or embodies the ‘spirit of entrepreneurship’ implies a lot of different drives and qualities. There is the willingness to take calculated risks, the need for self-accountability, contagious levels of energy and creativity, and a true understanding of the top to bottom impact of business decisions. Procurement can absolutely benefit from professionals with an entrepreneurial background – the question is how we can add them to our ranks. I interviewed Jill Robbins, Senior D...
Apr 22, 2019•38 min
When you get right down to it, innovation is just solving a business need in an entirely new way. In order to do that, however, you and your team have to really understand the business and its customers. The most strategic suppliers – usually a select few – play an important role in the process of innovation, which creates an opportunity for procurement to guide their technical value potential to the point where it delivers operational results. While I was at ProcureCon Indirect East, I intervie...
Apr 15, 2019•46 min
Everyone wants to be seen as an innovator, and procurement leaders are no exception. The problem with this desire is that, much like procurement transformation, the definition of innovation can be hard to pin down. We all know it when we see it, but setting out in the morning with “innovation” at the top of your to-do list can be paralyzing… unless you have a master plan. I interviewed Nancy Nicoll, Vice President of Not for Resale (NFR) / Indirect Strategic Sourcing, at ProcureCon Indirect East...
Apr 08, 2019•31 min
When we hear about ‘fintech’ providers, most of us immediately think of a quickly shifting ad diverse landscape of startups – highly innovative companies, some of which are here today and gone tomorrow. If partnering with a fintech is even on your company’s radar screen, how can procurement develop a reasonable strategy for such an unpredictable industry? I’m joined today by Andy Atkins, a professional commercial contract manager with a decade of experience negotiating and drafting complex finan...
Apr 01, 2019•44 min
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 March’s news, industry topics and podcast interviews. In March, Louis Bastone (Indirect Category Manager at ASML) talked about making the move into procurement from another function or later in one’s professional career. Sammeli Sammalkorpi (co-founder of Sievo) provided some grounded advice about AI, making clear that if we want it to generate rea...
Mar 25, 2019•46 min
In a era when we emphasize the importance of ‘soft skills’ in the face of the hardest business challenges, the human element is impossible to ignore. While most of us tend to focus on developing our own interpersonal skills (or the absence of desired interpersonal skills in others), an equally important element is behavior. What are people doing and why? If we can understand behavior, we are in a far better position to deliver results and build sustainable relationships. I’m joined today by Davi...
Mar 18, 2019•59 min
Automation can only be as good as we program it to be. If we want innovative, industry-leading support from emerging technologies, we need to be informed about the potential applications of AI and machine learning. I’m joined today by Sammeli Sammalkorpi, Co-founder of Sievo, in a discussion that was driven by the engaged audience that joined us for February’s AOP Live session. We gathered questions in advance and fielded spontaneous ones during the event rather than wading through a conventiona...
Mar 11, 2019•54 min
We often discuss the impact that procurement talent has on current results and the role it will play in determining how our function evolves in the future. The procurement community is vibrant, diverse and defined, but we need to remember that some of our best future team members are currently either in college or working in other functions. How we represent ourselves to them will determine how soon and how willingly they join our ranks. I’m joined today by Louis Bastone, Indirect Category Manag...
Mar 04, 2019•40 min
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 February’s news, industry topics and podcast interviews. In February, Andrew Daley (Edbury Daley) described the importance of conquering risk aversion when we scope out and fill open positions. Jens Hentschel (FIVIS Partnership) reminded us of the danger of “toiling away” at a tactical level while missing the big picture. Finally, Matt Clark (Corce...
Feb 25, 2019•45 min•Ep. 241
The Accounts Payable team play a key role in the success of procurement. The data that they extract from supplier invoices determines the accuracy of our spend analytics (and therefore our strategic insights) and the capture of the cost savings we claim (and thus procurement's ROI). Today's guest on the show is Matt Clark, President and COO of Corcentric. Corcentric's research shows that, despite the importance of Procurement and Accounts Payable alignment, the vast majority of groups still oper...
Feb 18, 2019•33 min•Ep. 240
Recruiting and strategic sourcing actually have a lot in common – even beyond the role that risk appetites play in decision making. In both cases, the sooner you get a specialist or expert involved, the better stated your requirements will be, and the better the outcomes you can achieve. It can also be hard to break free from historical approaches to meeting needs, whether that means escaping the pull of an incumbent supplier or looking beyond a traditional candidate profile. I’m joined today by...
Feb 11, 2019•49 min•Ep. 239
We’re all positive that digital automation is the right way forward for procurement, but why? Are we pursuing progress for its own sake or to achieve an expanded range of procurement contributions? Put more simply, what do you plan to do with the time freed up by smart automation? I’m joined today by Jens Hentschel, Founder and CEO of THE FIVIS PARTNERSHIP, a consultancy and training company based in London. With the FIVIS team, Jens focuses on the importance of customer-centricity in procuremen...
Feb 04, 2019•51 min•Ep. 238
This month, AOP revives and reimagines ‘This Month in Procurement’ as an informal monthly discussion of podcasts, news and trends. In this episode, AOP Host Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner (AOP Content Director and Owner of Buyers Meeting Point) share their secrets for surviving the unceasing onslaught of procurement content and discuss their major take-aways from the month’s podcast episodes. In January’s podcasts, we heard from Charlotte de Brabandt and Yannick Blattler about generational diffe...
Jan 28, 2019•47 min•Ep. 237
We constantly read about disruptive change affecting companies and entire markets. The source of that disruption is always positioned as the hero - but what about the other characters in each of those stories? What if you are living through change that is not of your own making? I’m joined today by Joanna Martinez, Founder of Supply Chain Advisors, LLC and author of the new book, A Guide to Positive Disruption: How to Thrive and Make an Impact in the Churn of Today’s Corporate World. Joanna is h...
Jan 21, 2019•42 min•Ep. 236
Entrepreneurship and innovation are highly prized in today’s business environment, but has procurement managed to deliver its fair share of either? I’m joined today by Sarah Scudder, President of the Real Sourcing Network (RSN), a company that provides clients with print management software that allows them to manage the print category in-house. In our conversation we discuss a wide range of topics, including healthy risk taking for the sake of career development, how to make the most of modern ...
Jan 14, 2019•47 min•Ep. 235
How can procurement leaders create the environment necessary to attract the next generation of talent into the profession - and help them fulfill their potential? I’m joined today by returning guest Charlotte de Brabandt - ISM’s 2018 30 Under 30 Winner - and Yannick Blattler, the Managing Director of NeoViso, a consulting firm that helps companies more effectively engage with Gen Z. In our conversation, we discuss common misconceptions about Millennial and Gen Z workers, while Charlotte and Yann...
Jan 07, 2019•35 min•Ep. 234
Are you ready for 2019? In today's podcast - the last of 2018 - I reflect on what has changed for procurement this year, and what hasn't! I then share a couple of predictions for 2019, including my recommendations for areas of technology investment next year. Finally, I leave 2018 with three questions to consider over the holiday break that will help you kick-start your change journey in 2019.
Dec 17, 2018•20 min•Ep. 233
Out of the 232 podcasts to date, today is the first time that we dig into GPO’s - or Group Purchasing Organizations. And as I planned out this topic, I invited today’s guest, Jay Black, to join me. Jay is Vice President at Insight Sourcing Group and has significant experience in the GPO space, selling and operating services under a number of different GPO delivery models. I’ll be honest and say that, prior to today’s discussion, I have always felt that a GPO fit a very specific market niche of s...
Dec 10, 2018•42 min•Ep. 232
Today on the show I am joined by Mike Morsch. Mike is the Vice President of Global Procurement and Supply Chain at CDK Global. Mike shares more about CDK in our interview, but to give you some context, CDK Global is a $2B+ revenue company that provides technology and digital marketing solutions to the automotive dealership industry. They were formally the Dealer Services division of ADP before being spun off into an independent company back in 2014. In today’s conversation, we discuss Mike, and ...
Dec 03, 2018•50 min•Ep. 231
My guest is Edmund Zagorin. Edmund in the founder and CEO of BidOps, and I hope he won’t mind me saying, but a technology geek when it comes to procurement. Our conversation today focuses on the application of emerging technology to the sourcing process - particularly complex sourcing events - and the subsequent negotiation process. Of particular interest to me was Edmund’s quest to automate the negotiations process. I dug into the what, the why and the how as I explored if negotiations can be c...
Nov 26, 2018•52 min•Ep. 230
This week is Thanksgiving here in the US… a time when most people are thinking about spending time with their families rather than listening to a procurement podcast! So with that in mind, I thought I’d wait until next week to release another interview. I’m going to be spending a lot of my week planning for 2019; for Art of Procurement, and for our CatalystCo product and service roadmap. As I do that, I want to ask you for your help......
Nov 19, 2018•4 min•Ep. 229
Today’s episode was recorded last month at the SIG Fall Summit, with my good friend Antonio Humphreys. Antonio is Senior Manager of Global Procure to Pay at Adobe in San Jose, California. Antonio is a returnee to Art of Procurement, having previously joined me last year back on episode 157 when we discussed the Marketing category and general procurement organizational development. Today, we focused on Antonio’s experience in managing teams within a global and virtual environment, including his i...
Nov 12, 2018•26 min•Ep. 228
Normal service is resumed on the podcast today, as we return to our weekly interview format! Today, I’m joined by one of my good friends, Alison Smith. Alison has a broad range of procurement experience - as a practitioner, service provider, trainer, facilitator, and coach! I was first introduced to Alison's work via her moniker of The Purchasing Coach. I really enjoyed reading her blog, and her perspectives on how we can all unlock our own potential, within the context of procurement. Her thoug...
Nov 05, 2018•50 min•Ep. 227
226: #TakeAction: 15-Minutes a Day I do not have an interview for you today. In fact, for the month of October, we are going to do something completely different. I ask practitioners about their challenges where ever I go, and the single piece of feedback I get is that for all the great ideas they read and hear about, it is hard to put them into practice First, I know many of you listen to the pod while commuting or working out - and it is hard to stop in the middle of a podcast and takes notes ...
Oct 31, 2018•6 min•Ep. 226
225: #TakeAction: Have an Opinion on the Future of Procurement I do not have an interview for you today. In fact, for the month of October, we are going to do something completely different. I ask practitioners about their challenges where ever I go, and the single piece of feedback I get is that for all the great ideas they read and hear about, it is hard to put them into practice First, I know many of you listen to the pod while commuting or working out - and it is hard to stop in the middle o...
Oct 30, 2018•5 min•Ep. 225
224: #TakeAction: Increase Your "CQ" I do not have an interview for you today. In fact, for the month of October, we are going to do something completely different. I ask practitioners about their challenges where ever I go, and the single piece of feedback I get is that for all the great ideas they read and hear about, it is hard to put them into practice First, I know many of you listen to the pod while commuting or working out - and it is hard to stop in the middle of a podcast and takes note...
Oct 29, 2018•5 min•Ep. 224
223: #TakeAction: Mind Your Language I do not have an interview for you today. In fact, for the month of October, we are going to do something completely different. I ask practitioners about their challenges where ever I go, and the single piece of feedback I get is that for all the great ideas they read and hear about, it is hard to put them into practice First, I know many of you listen to the pod while commuting or working out - and it is hard to stop in the middle of a podcast and takes note...
Oct 26, 2018•4 min•Ep. 223
222: #TakeAction: Develop Optionality I do not have an interview for you today. In fact, for the month of October, we are going to do something completely different. I ask practitioners about their challenges where ever I go, and the single piece of feedback I get is that for all the great ideas they read and hear about, it is hard to put them into practice First, I know many of you listen to the pod while commuting or working out - and it is hard to stop in the middle of a podcast and takes not...
Oct 25, 2018•6 min•Ep. 222
221: #TakeAction: Reputational Decision Making I do not have an interview for you today. In fact, for the month of October, we are going to do something completely different. I ask practitioners about their challenges where ever I go, and the single piece of feedback I get is that for all the great ideas they read and hear about, it is hard to put them into practice First, I know many of you listen to the pod while commuting or working out - and it is hard to stop in the middle of a podcast and ...
Oct 24, 2018•6 min•Ep. 221
220: #TakeAction: Show You Care (Pay Your Supplier) I do not have an interview for you today. In fact, for the month of October, we are going to do something completely different. I ask practitioners about their challenges where ever I go, and the single piece of feedback I get is that for all the great ideas they read and hear about, it is hard to put them into practice First, I know many of you listen to the pod while commuting or working out - and it is hard to stop in the middle of a podcast...
Oct 23, 2018•5 min•Ep. 220
