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Art of Procurement

Learn from Procurement Experts. Host Philip Ideson talks with thought leaders who share the trends, strategies and tactics that you can lever to elevate the role of procurement - and your career.
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Art of Procurement
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Now displaying: August, 2016
Aug 26, 2016

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 delivery model and the capabilities that underpin it.

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

Aug 23, 2016

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 medium sized businesses with Tom Greco and Ed Edwards of THOMASNET.com. 

First, Tom and Ed explain which of my fears were based on fact, and which were in my mind only. They then provide guidance on how I could have mitigated the risks that are present to take advantage of the benefits that working with small and medium sized businesses provides.

We then move to the other side of the table.  How do small and medium sized businesses feel about working with larger procurement functions. 

The answers surprised me.  In essence, smaller companies fear working with larger organizations as much as I did with them. 

So how can we break the cycle?  In the final part of the discussion, Tom and Ed provide their insights into how we as procurement professionals can more effectively facilitate the use of smaller companies to benefit from the innovations – and often lower costs – that they can often provide.

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

Aug 19, 2016

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 on how I would structure the sourcing organization if a Fortune 50 company with a huge budget came knocking at my door!

When Jamie approached me to be a panelist on Outsourcing Talks, I thought it would be fun if we continued the discussion on the Art of Procurement.  So in today’s show, I turn the tables on Jamie and put him in the hot seat! 

In the webinar, it was suggested that technological change will lead to a revolution in the way organizations access business services.  I ask Jamie if this is hype, or reality.  We also discuss the ongoing implications of Brexit, and I ask Jamie if his perspective has changed since he wrote passionately against Brexit the morning after the vote.

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

Aug 16, 2016

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:

  • Why the measure of procurement’s success will become the cost to change suppliers, not the cost savings achieved from your existing suppliers.
  • Why we will stop buying products and services, and start buying outcomes.
  • How we will need to think more like a data scientist, analyzing new and expanding sources of information to determine the projects and transactions that matter, and that require human interaction.
  • How organizations will transition from current delivery models to accessing procurement talent on-demand, using talent marketplaces.
  • Why Christian believes that procurement leaders can turn their retained staff into a profit center by selling that expertize to non-competitors.
  • The benefits of a platform & applications approach when building your procurement technology infrastructure.
  • Why we are already in the "summer" of bots, and why AI will be the technology that has the biggest impact on procurement.
  • Why the procurement professional of the future will need to be "problem solvers" and "opportunists".

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

Aug 11, 2016

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 and his team's Olympic journey, including the key challenges his team faced, how they overcame them, and the extraordinary lengths that they went to, to ensure that the Organizing Committee fulfilled their CSR commitments.

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

Aug 9, 2016

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 their sphere of influence.  First, we explore ways of selling the procurement value proposition internally, and then shift focus and consider how you can convince larger suppliers to provide “customer-of-choice” status when your level of spend alone may not merit such treatment.

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

Aug 5, 2016

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 we can do about it.

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

Aug 2, 2016

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 Edbury Daley provides his insight on what the most effective firms are doing to attract the best procurement talent in the market.

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

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