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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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Now displaying: 2018
Oct 5, 2018

208: #TakeAction: What Do They Really Want?

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 on what actions you want to take.

And second, there is always a challenge for people between wanting to invest in their own personal development, and the time pressures of a hectic job.

We have crowned October as #TakeActionOctober - because no phrase is complete these days without a hashtag!

October will be all about taking the actions you need to elevate the influence and impact of you AND your team.

Every day this month, you will hear a micro-sized pod - no more than 5 minutes per day - that I selected to inspire you to act.

We’ve curated Content from the back catalog of over 200 Art of Procurement episodes, and more than 1,000 articles featured in our weekly newsletter This Week in Procurement. I’ll also throw in some of my own experiences for good measure.

The commitment I ask of you is to take one action to put into practice - or to coach or mentor a team member or peer - your key takeaway from each episode.

Oct 4, 2018

207: #TakeAction: Serve Your Platinum Stakeholders feat. Tim Jones

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 on what actions you want to take.

And second, there is always a challenge for people between wanting to invest in their own personal development, and the time pressures of a hectic job.

We have crowned October as #TakeActionOctober - because no phrase is complete these days without a hashtag!

October will be all about taking the actions you need to elevate the influence and impact of you AND your team.

Every day this month, you will hear a micro-sized pod - no more than 5 minutes per day - that I selected to inspire you to act.

We’ve curated Content from the back catalog of over 200 Art of Procurement episodes, and more than 1,000 articles featured in our weekly newsletter This Week in Procurement. I’ll also throw in some of my own experiences for good measure.

The commitment I ask of you is to take one action to put into practice - or to coach or mentor a team member or peer - your key takeaway from each episode.

Oct 3, 2018

206: #TakeAction: Build Your Brand the Apple Way feat. Steve Wozniak

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 on what actions you want to take.

And second, there is always a challenge for people between wanting to invest in their own personal development, and the time pressures of a hectic job.

We have crowned October as #TakeActionOctober - because no phrase is complete these days without a hashtag!

October will be all about taking the actions you need to elevate the influence and impact of you AND your team.

Every day this month, you will hear a micro-sized pod - no more than 5 minutes per day - that I selected to inspire you to act.

We’ve curated Content from the back catalog of over 200 Art of Procurement episodes, and more than 1,000 articles featured in our weekly newsletter This Week in Procurement. I’ll also throw in some of my own experiences for good measure.

The commitment I ask of you is to take one action to put into practice - or to coach or mentor a team member or peer - your key takeaway from each episode.

Oct 2, 2018

205: #TakeAction: Run a Request for Partner feat. Kate Vitasek

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 on what actions you want to take.

And second, there is always a challenge for people between wanting to invest in their own personal development, and the time pressures of a hectic job.

We have crowned October as #TakeActionOctober - because no phrase is complete these days without a hashtag!

October will be all about taking the actions you need to elevate the influence and impact of you AND your team.

Every day this month, you will hear a micro-sized pod - no more than 5 minutes per day - that I selected to inspire you to act.

We’ve curated Content from the back catalog of over 200 Art of Procurement episodes, and more than 1,000 articles featured in our weekly newsletter This Week in Procurement. I’ll also throw in some of my own experiences for good measure.

The commitment I ask of you is to take one action to put into practice - or to coach or mentor a team member or peer - your key takeaway from each episode.

Oct 1, 2018

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 on what actions you want to take.

And second, there is always a challenge for people between wanting to invest in their own personal development, and the time pressures of a hectic job.

We have crowned October as #TakeActionOctober - because no phrase is complete these days without a hashtag!

October will be all about taking the actions you need to elevate the influence and impact of you AND your team.

Every day this month, you will hear a micro-sized pod - no more than 5 minutes per day - that I selected to inspire you to act.

We’ve curated Content from the back catalog of over 200 Art of Procurement episodes, and more than 1,000 articles featured in our weekly newsletter This Week in Procurement. I’ll also throw in some of my own experiences for good measure.

The commitment I ask of you is to take one action to put into practice - or to coach or mentor a team member or peer - your key takeaway from each episode.

Sep 24, 2018

Cryptography, tokenization, tokenomics, initial coin offerings, security, utility and payment tokens, crypto wallets, and blockchain.

If some or all of those sound like a mish-mash of buzzwords, then today’s episode is for you!

I’m joined to explore these topics and their applicability to procurement by Charlotte de Brabandt and Henry Fudge.

Charlotte is the current ISM 30 Under 30 Megawatt Winner. Henry is the Founding Partner and CEO of Cryptonox - an initial coin offering consulting firm, and Founding Partner of the Young Blockchain Professionals Network.

We start by digging deep into cryptography and tokenization, as I explore how I could leverage an initial coin offering for my company, CatalystCo.

We then talk in more detail about different use cases for blockchain, with a particular focus on procurement and supply chain.

For more information, visit https://artofprocurement.com/crypto

Sep 10, 2018

How to Buy a Gorilla?

The good news is that it is a figurative question rather than a literal one!  In fact, it is the title of the book written by today’s guest, David Meikle.

David has a deep background in advertising, including work with some of the world’s most iconic brands, for agencies such as Ogilvy and Mather, where most latterly he was the Managing Director of their Russian business.  

The gorilla in question was an award-winning 2007 TV advert in the UK created to advertise Cadbury’s chocolate.  The advert in question was a 90-second shot of an actor dressed up in a gorilla costume, playing the drums, to the Phil Collins song “In the Air Tonight”.  The ad was considered a runaway success.

In short, How to Buy a Gorilla is all about buying creative services - using advertising as the example - with a focus on creating productive relationships between procurement, internal marketing, and advertising agencies.  

While our conversation is based on the advertising business, the principals we discuss can be applied to any people-based creative services where success may be difficult to define, but that requires an alchemy that goes way beyond the contract to create an environment that enables creative individuals and teams to do their best work.  

Sep 3, 2018

Today’s guest is Oliver Gall, the Head of Global Sourcing at S&P Global. Oliver has responsibility for the strategic vision, operational planning and the execution of Procurement strategy and he leads a team of direct reports and outsourced functions located in multiple locations across the world.

In our conversation, we focused on the future of the procurement operating model - we consider what this is likely to look like, how we all can adapt to thrive in this new environment, and what are some of the unknowns that we need to keep a look out for.

We also talked about our own development, and that of our teams, as Oliver provides some great advice on how to manage the panic that often sets in when faced with change, or new challenges!

I left the conversation inspired both by the opportunities available to us, and the power of our own individual choices in taking advantage of those opportunities.

Aug 27, 2018

How do you create a podcast? What is the production process? How do you select guests? How do I get on the show? What is the “business” of Art of Procurement and what are your revenue streams?

These are all questions that I am often asked, whether it be at a conference, when talking to potential guests and partners, or just during my day to day conversations with procurement professionals around the world.

And so today we go behind the scenes of Art of Procurement as I attempt to answer as many of these questions as possible and give you the inside information on what goes into creating and producing a weekly procurement podcast.

Aug 20, 2018

What can we do to protect ourselves against tariffs, and what options do we have when tariffs are levied on the products or materials that I buy?

These are two questions that I have received regularly from listeners over the past couple of months, against the backdrop both of increasing trade tensions, and the ongoing uncertainty around Brexit.

And so to help answer those questions, I reached out to Bill Michels.

Bill is a recognized expert in Purchasing and Supply Chain Management and has worked in procurement across a wide spectrum of industries and countries transforming Procurement and the Supply Chain.

Until recently, Bill was the CEO and founder of Aripart Consulting after more than 23 years at ADR North America. Under his leadership, ADR North America became a leading niche specialty consulting firm and has won several recognitions and awards. Bill recently joined CIPS as Vice President of Operations - Americas, and so I also took the opportunity to ask Bill to share some of CIPS' plans for the US market.

Aug 13, 2018

Today I welcome onto the show Ted Olshefski.  Ted is responsible for Direct Procurement at Panasonic North America.

I’ve come to know Ted well over the past 18 months or so, and I’m delighted to finally be able to welcome him to the show!

I had the opportunity to sit down with Ted in preparation for his upcoming presentation at ProcureCon Direct 2018 in San Diego on the topic of single source suppliers. Our discussion turned into an introduction to some of the considerations at play when developing risk mitigation strategies for scenarios where you have a single source supplier - either because they enjoy a monopolistic position, or because of our own business decisions.

Aug 6, 2018

Gordon Donovan is one of the leading thinkers in procurement on the topic of skill and behavior development, and I’m also honored to call him a good friend!  In today's podcast, we continue our recent theme of procurement capability development with a focus on how we can actually scale the behaviors that we want to drive in our teams.

We start by talking more broadly about capability development, before arrowing in on capability frameworks. A good capability framework is as much of an art than a science, they can be too simplistic, but more often than not get way too complex to be actionable. In our discussion, we explore how to create an effective capability framework that is integrated into the employee assessment process and mapped into the job roles across your procurement group.

Jul 30, 2018

The deal is done, the contract signed, and the supplier starts supplying. Then the invoices roll in. But how much time do we invest in making sure that the supplier is invoicing the right amount?

In a world of competing priorities, I am afraid to admit that I trusted my suppliers to be billing the correct amounts. Yet, mistakes happen. In fact, as today's guest Ben Evans shared, between 40%-60% of suppliers whose invoices his firm, Auditec, review contain material billing errors. Categories with a lot of SKU's, line items, or a high volume of transactions are particular areas of focus.

In today's pod, Ben and I explore what a procurement professional can to do minimize the risk of overbilling and ensure compliance with contractual terms - from creating a culture of compliance with suppliers to the steps needed to reactively identify and recover cash after the billing has occurred.

Jul 23, 2018

I’m joined on the pod this week by Odelle (Brown) Bell, Managing Director of 8 Consulting.  Odelle is well known within procurement across Australia and New Zealand, having previously owned and led the procurement recruiting firm Evolve People.  Now at 8 Consulting, Odelle is focused on helping her clients cultivate workplaces that enable greater employee engagement - and ultimately more impactful teams.

Our conversation spanned the topic of workplace behaviors and effectiveness. Odelle is a big believer in the power of choices, and our ability to create our own paths rather than wait for others to show us the way. We discussed in detail about self-awareness and the importance of understanding both our surroundings and how we are perceived as the cornerstone of our personal growth, and of our ability to drive change. Odelle also shares what a "typical" procurement professional looks like from a behavioral perspective, and highlights the blind spots that we need to overcome if we are to have the impact we desire.

Odelle is very engaging, and I really enjoyed our conversation! Odelle provides a ton of actionable advice on how we can identify opportunities for growth - if you are prepared to be vulnerable and seek to understand your weaknesses.

Jul 16, 2018

This episode marks our first serious foray into understanding why people do the things they do. Our guest, Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy and founder of Ogilvy Change looks at consumer behavior, media and communications through the twin lenses of Behavioral Economics and Evolutionary Psychology.

We sought Rory out because we believe the implications of his work go well beyond how to better sell consumer products and services. His is a powerful perspective for us to incorporate into our collective work elevating the procurement function in terms of the value we create, how we create that value and how we are perceived by our stakeholders.

Rory is one of the most interesting, irreverent and generous guests I have had the pleasure of interviewing. While this episode clocks in at about one hour and thirty minutes, I was so engaged with Rory’s ideas and how he expressed them that the time just flew by. I trust you have the same experience.

Jul 9, 2018

Today’s guest on the pod is Jonathan O’Brien. Jonathan is the CEO and a founding member of Positive Purchasing. He has over 25 years’ experience of working with household name companies around the world to help transform procurement capability.

Jonathan works with executive teams to shape and implement procurement strategies, he also trains, coaches and develops procurement teams to perform and realize their potential.

Many listeners may recognize Jonathan as the author of a number of procurement-related books including Supplier Relationship Management: Unlocking the Hidden Value in Your Supply Base. Jonathan just published the second edition, and so I invited him on the show to talk about advanced supplier relationship management strategies.

Jul 2, 2018

Back in 2016, I interviewed Jimmy Ankleseria over the course of two podcasts, on the topic of strategic cost management. They were very popular at the time, and contain a number of timeless insights into how we can be more strategic about understanding and managing the input costs of the products and services we buy.

With today being a holiday week here in the US, I have combined the original two shows - which clocked in at over 2 hours - into a single 40-minute episode.

Listen in to hear Jimmy share ideas of how to build cost models for both products and services, and then his approach for partnering with your supplier to manage total cost once the contract is signed.

Jun 25, 2018

The quality and accessibility of master data is a critical but often overlooked pillar of all successful procurement teams. Complex and difficult to master, it's often left to the side while we pursue "easier" transformation and improvement initiatives.  Technology is now opening up a new world of possibilities for converting seemingly disparate data into useable intelligence by taking new approaches - leading to more effective sourcing and category strategies.

I’m joined on the show today to discuss the mastery of your master data by Doug Paul, a GM of Sourcing at General Electric's Global Operations Group. Doug has responsibility for developing, improving & standardizing shared sourcing processes, operations & tools across all of General Electric. I've got to know Doug well over the past 12 months - as you will hear in the interview, he is passionate about the role of procurement, but also the need to continually improve, challenge our assumptions, and to take control of our own destiny.

Towards the end of our discussion, we also try out a new feature - the quickfire round.  I’d love to know if you think this should become a regular feature!

Jun 11, 2018
I’m joined once again on the show by Jeanette Nyden.  Jeanette is a well-renowned contracts and negotiations specialist, who approaches her work with a focus on building win-win, sustainable, agreements. 
 
I interviewed Jeanette recently – AOP173 – where we discussed the topic of contract negotiations.  If you haven’t had the opportunity to listen in to that interview, you should check it out! 
 
But, in the time we had scheduled to chat, we didn’t get to all of my questions.  And so I invited Jeanette back onto the pod to finish our conversation.  
 
And so in today’s podcast, we discuss the art of a balanced deal.  What is a balanced deal, when do you need one – and when do you not.  I also dig to understand what are some of the prerequisites for a balanced deal, and Jeanette shares her advice for those looking to start the process with one of their suppliers or potential suppliers.
Jun 4, 2018

Today I am joined on the show by Charlotte de Brabandt.  As you will hear in the show, Charlotte was recently honored by ISM, as part of their 30 Under 30 Awards program, as the Megawatt winner, and for good reason!

In her day job, Charlotte leads Energy Procurement for Johnson & Johnson.  But that only tells half the story!  Charlotte is also a prolific public speaker, TEDx organizer, charity worker, and she is passionate about the intersection of procurement, technology and the future of jobs.

In our conversation, we talk about the project that led to Charlotte’s 30 Under 30 Award, I ask for advice on how to improve my own public speaking, and Charlotte shares some of her habits that allow her to fit everything in!

May 28, 2018

Today I am joined on the show by Shawn Burton.  Shawn is General Counsel of Business & General Aviation and Integrated Systems at GE.

Shawn was connected to me via a former AOP guest Nick Seiersen and has recently published an article in Harvard Business Review on the virtues of plain language contracting.

While we did discuss plain language contracting, and the change and disruption underway in the legal profession – which I thought was a great way to be able to better understand and empathize with our peers in Legal – the main focus of our conversation was a home-grown platform that GE Aviation has built that allows them to be for more strategic in their contract negotiations by assigning a monetary value to each clause they negotiate.

May 23, 2018

This week on the show, the tables are turned! AOP alumni and Negotiations Ninja host Mark Raffan just interviewed me for an episode of his podcast on the topic of procurement cost savings. I enjoyed the conversation with Mark, and so we decided to simultaneously publish both on Art of Procurement and Negotiations Ninja.

In our conversation, Mark dug into that omnipresent procurement metric of cost savings.  I share details of how I have seen most organizations calculate savings, and what is typically off limits. Mark also asks if there are any ways to easily save money – the low hanging fruit – that any procurement function just starting on their maturity journey should focus on. 

I really enjoyed our conversation – and the challenge that comes with being on the other side of the microphone!

May 14, 2018

I spent a couple of days on the road last week at the Coupa Inspire 2018 conference in San Francisco.  Inspire is an event I always try and make – to get insights into Coupa’s latest offerings, to catch up with peers, friends and clients, and to be inspired by fantastic keynote speakers which this year included Alison Levine and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

While on site, I had the opportunity to sit down and record today’s podcast with Coupa CEO, and AOP alumni, Rob Bernshteyn.  Over the past couple of months, I have observed Coupa using the term “Community Intelligence” more and more, and it was a key feature of Rob’s keynote. I am very bullish on the impact that we can have in procurement by combining our collective insights end experiences - in fact, it is a key driving force behind AOP. I was interested to learn how Coupa is harnessing the opportunity that community intelligence brings, and how we as procurement professionals can apply this concept to our day to day work.

May 7, 2018

Over the course of the last 15 years, Tom Beaty has grown Insight Sourcing Group (ISG) from a one-man operation to one of the leading procurement and sourcing consulting firms. Ranked by Inc Magazine among the fastest-growing private companies in America for the last 10 years, ISG is regularly recognized as one of the nation’s best boutique consulting firms to work for.

In today’s episode, recorded live at the SIG Spring Summit, I start by asking Tom what he is seeing in the field today in terms of the key challenges that CPO’s are facing, and some of the ways that they are working to solve those challenges.  We then focus on the topic of “what comes after sourcing”. We explore the startling statistic that only 60% of “addressed” spend is actually spent with the contracted supplier, and specifically, how can procurement professionals address and mitigate the risk of the savings leakage that occurs as a result.

Apr 30, 2018

My guest on the show today is Brian Bancroft. This is Brian’s second appearance on the show. We originally sat down back in episode 126, and I enjoyed the conversation so much that I have been eager to find an opportunity for us to record another pod.

Brian has a wealth of experience across, and outside of the procurement function, and has enjoyed roles including as Senior Director for Indirect Procurement and Shared Services, and then CPO of Asia Pacific and Africa regions for Kellogg’s, and most recently the VP of North America Indirect Procurement, and then of Direct Procurement for The Coca-Cola Company.

Since we last talked, Brian has made the move to Church and Dwight, where he is Chief Procurement Officer, embarking on another procurement transformation journey.  And it is procurement transformations that are the subject of our conversation, where I ask Brian to share his learnings from executing a number of transformations around the world.

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