This week I welcome Gordon Donovan on to the Art of Procurement.  Gordon is a presently a member of the procurement leadership team at Metro Trains Melbourne, and he has a broad range of experiences as a practitioner including Head of Procurement roles, consultant and training.

Gordon's career spans both the UK and Australia, and includes roles at organizations such as the UK National Health Service, Transport for London, Healthscope, ArcBlue and The Faculty.

Today, we are going to discuss influence and I’m willing to say that there are few, if any, who have studied the topic of influence and procurement as thoroughly as Gordon.  He wrote a 20,000 word dissertation for his Masters Degree on the topic of the development of influencing skills within the Australian procurement community, and he frequently weaves the topic into his procurement learning and development programs.

Areas we cover include:

• The need to demystify procurement
• The difference between functional influence and influencing skills.
• The importance of facilitation skills
• An overview of different influencing styles and how to determine which style you should use depending on who you are seeking to influence
• Why kids are the best influencers and what we can learn from them
• Key traits of a successful influencer
• The power of inspiration
• Gordon’s tips for building trust, which is the foundation of building influence.

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

With it being a holiday weekend here in the United States, I thought I would do is share with you one of my favorite submissions from The Procurement Revolution event from back in late September.

More and more, I believe the mindset is a key enabler or roadblock in our efforts to think differently and elevate the procurement value proposition. 

Without that change in mindset, it makes the other necessities – such as competency development – almost irrelevant.  And so I wanted to focus today in the topic of mindset.

Today’s piece was one that I really enjoyed.

It is a submission from Elisabeth Lawrence.  Elisabeth is a long time procurement executive who just after we recorded todays piece joined a leading materials company to set up their Category Management Center of Excellence.

You will hear Elisabeth talk about the need to shift mindsets if we are to take procurement to the next level.

For more information, visit: http://artofprocurement.com/mindset-shift 

Scott Gillespie is an expert in procurement, and corporate travel.  He was an original member of the AT Kearney team that launched the 7-step sourcing process in the 1990’s, and has since founded a number of companies with a focus on helping organizations better understand, benchmark and measure the performance of their corporate travel programs.  Scott also authors the popular blog Gillespie’s Guide to Travel & Procurement.

Scott passionately believes that corporate travel programs should be managed on outcomes and value, rather than cost alone.  In today’s Art of Procurement, Scott and I discuss innovative ways in which procurement leaders can manage the success of their travel program over and above the traditional cost-focused metrics.

Areas we cover include: 

• The basic key metrics that are foundational to any corporate travel program.
• The best sources of data for gathering travel spend information.
• Cost drivers that have the biggest impact on travel spend.
• An introduction to the concept of traveler friction.
• The importance of taking into account trip outcomes vs. just focusing on trip cost.
• What constitutes a “road warrior” and should they be subject to different travel policies vs. irregular travelers.
• An overview of four key metrics that enable value-focused measurement of a corporate travel program:
  • Scrap rate of travel
  • Traveler risk management index
  • Attrition rate of road warrior population
  • Trip quality

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

Today's episode is in response to a listener question.  I was recently asked for guidance on how to maintain supplier relationships following a tough incumbent negotiation - particularly one that occurs mid-contract. 

Listen in to hear my share five considerations that I have used both as a practitioner and service provider to maintain relationships with my suppliers and clients following difficult negotiations.

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

Jimmy Anklesaria is one of the most prominent thought leaders in procurement today.  Jimmy is considered by many as the go-to expert when it comes to the strategic management of cost. He literally wrote the book (well, two books), and regularly travels the globe helping organizations reduce their third party costs.  Importantly, he does this not through the leveraging of power but by using data as the foundation of fact based sourcing and continuous improvement.

Today’s episode of the Art of Procurement is the second in a two-part series with Jimmy focusing on the strategic management of cost.  

Back in episode 102, Jimmy shared his tips for understanding cost and cost drivers to enable fact based sourcing negotiations.  Today, we shift focus, and discuss eight key steps that procurement professionals can take to manage and optimize costs once the contract has been signed.

Areas we cover include:

• Should we have clauses in contracts that enable flexible pricing as major cost drivers change? If so, how should those be structured?
• Why a consumer price index (CPI) is the worst possible mechanism by which to adjust prices.
• The eight steps that procurement professionals can use to manage cost post contracting including
  • Building a cost-management culture with your supplier
  • Identifying the factors which have the biggest impact on the cost of a product or service
  • How to reduce, change or eliminate activities that create costs.
• The importance of inherent capabilities in building a cost management culture across your procurement organization.

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

I sat down to record today's episode just a couple of hours after Donald Trump emerged victorious in the US presidential election.  And today, I am going to replay a discussion with CPO and former Chief Risk Officer Susan Grelling that I first published in the aftermath of the UK Brexit vote early in the year.

In our conversation, Susan shared the steps that procurement can take to help our organizations turn the management of market uncertainty and volatility into a competitive advantage.

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

In today’s Art of Procurement we take a look inside the career journey of Alex Brown, long time Chief Procurement Officer for Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and GLOBALFOUNDRIES, and winner of the 2013 Zycus High Performing Procurement Leader award.

In this wide ranging discussion focused on developing a long term career in procurement, Alex shares a number of key decision points that he had to make on his journey to becoming a CPO.  

Listen in to the conversation to hear Alex’s perspective on a number of issues facing today’s procurement professional, including: 

• The value of having sales experience as a differentiator within procurement.
• Is there value in pursuing a professional procurement certification?
• The importance of “destabilizing” from your comfort zone.
• How you can lead transformation programs as a legacy employee.
• The keys for a Manager to put themselves in the best possible position to become a Director, and for a Director to become a Head of Procurement / CPO.
• The importance of dedicating enough time as a leader to the forward looking and strategic aspects of a job in face of the demands to solve today’s problems.
• The two things that Alex knows now that he wished he would have known earlier in his career.

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

Today is the Art of Procurement's first birthday!

What a crazy, and rewarding, 12 months it has been.  

Today I go behind the scenes at the Art of Procurement.  I look back at the first 12 months and reflect how the show has evolved over the past 12 months - and importantly what are some of the lessons that I have learned.  Not procurement lessons, but lessons from my journey as a podcast host.

I then look forward to 2017.  What are some of the things I want to do better?  If you are interested in my vision for the next 12 months, I'm happy to share, warts and all!

Thanks for joining my on this journey to help elevate the role of procurement.  I have learned A TON, and I hope you have too!

For more information, visit: http://artofprocurement.com/turning1 

Jimmy Anklesaria is one of the most prominent thought leaders in procurement today.  Jimmy is considered by many as the go-to expert when it comes to the strategic management of cost. He literally wrote the book (well, two books), and regularly travels the globe helping organizations reduce their third party costs.  Importantly, he does this not through the leveraging of power but by using data as the foundation of fact based sourcing and continuous improvement. 

Jimmy had so much information to share that we recorded two separate shows!  These cover the strategic management of cost from initial sourcing to end of contract. 

Today, we focus on the initial sourcing and negotiation process. Jimmy shares a number of insights, including:

• Why as a young company Director he did not understand the importance of procurement, and what his light bulb moment was.
• The most important part of the negotiation process
• Why business deals have to be win-win to be sustainable over the long term
• What a procurement professional can do to better understand the cost of a product or service before they begin a negotiation
• How you can use publicly available information to develop should-cost models based on understanding key cost drivers
• Whether you need to pay for data or not.
• Why, while you can acquire data from third parties or a central COE, a procurement professional must not abdicate responsibility for understanding the costs and cost drivers of a product or service.

This conversation was an eye-opener for me, particularly as we consider how to apply cost management techniques that are prevalent in the procurement of Direct materials to Indirect services.

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