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 Procurement show to find out how you can help shape the Revolution!

http://artofprocurement.com/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 supply based that enables our stakeholders to “win” at what it is that they do to contribute to the competitive advantage of our organizations.

For more information, visit: http://artofprocurement.com/vested

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

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 engage in the developmental opportunities provided to them. 

For more information, visit http://artofprocurement.com/education 

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 

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 today's show, Stephany shares the 10 most effective ways in which to identify qualified suppliers for your next sourcing event or category strategy.

For more information, go to: http://artofprocurement.com/supplierdiscovery 

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 make sense of all these moving parts, and enable our organizations take advantage of the future of work?

This is the topic of today’s show, with contingent workforce expert Terri Gallagher.  This is the third in a three part series on contingent labor and procurement, and definitely the most thought provoking!

If you are a procurement professional with responsibility for shaping continent labor strategies, or a consultant who wants to learn how organizations will be buying your services in the future, today’s show is a must listen!

For more information, visit http://artofprocurement.com/futureofwork

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 that are necessary for a transformation program to be successful.

For more information, visit http://artofprocurement.com/transformation

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 result.  So, for today's show, I immediately reached out to Susan Grelling. Susan is an economist, CPO and Risk Management executive who also has first hand experience of the impact of the Soviet Union breakup.  Susan is ideally positioned to provide guidance on how procurement can navigate volatility while minimizing risk to the benefit of our organizations.

For more information, visit http://artofprocurement.com/brexitreaction