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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: 2020
Dec 28, 2020

We are all customers in our personal lives, and most of us can easily distinguish between a good customer experience and a poor one. But can procurement create a positive customer experience in a B2B setting for all of our different stakeholder groups consistently and at scale? Absolutely - but we have to set the right expectations and priorities first.

This interview, based on one of the most popular sessions from AOP Mastermind LIVE 2020, features Stephanie Thum, CCXP, Founding Principal of Practical CX, discussing the fundamental principles of customer experience with Art of Procurement General Manager Kelly Barner. 

Key takeaways from this session include:

  • The core values emphasized in formal customer experience development and how procurement stands to benefit from putting proven practices into use 
  • Suppliers are not one of procurement’s customer groups, but they are absolutely vital and we can’t create a positive customer relationship without them
  • The difference between creating or fostering a good customer experience and putting in the energy and effort to repair a poor or damaged customer experience
Dec 21, 2020

After years of investment in talent and technology, procurement has become a catalyst for enterprise transformation. No other function is in a better position to lead disruptive change and reinvention than procurement. But if we want to thrive in the ‘next normal,’ we must be able to go let go of the past, be bold, and embrace intelligent risks. 

This interview, based on one of the most popular sessions from AOP Mastermind LIVE 2020, features Chris Sawchuk, Principal and Global Procurement Advisory Practice Leader at The Hackett Group, and Keith Hausmann, Chief Revenue Officer at Globality. They join Host Philip Ideson to discuss how leading CPOs are helping their teams re-imagine the ‘art of the possible’ and to drive new sources of value for their companies and for their stakeholders. 

Key takeaways from this session include:

  • Digitizing legacy processes is not enough to be agile in today’s challenging, fast-paced environment
  • Procurement should not try to generate revenue, but rather work to enable revenue through creative strategies
  • Since large companies tend to buy from other large, stable companies, procurement needs to be focused on incentivizing suppliers to deliver their very best work
  • Capabilities that can be leveraged - regardless of where in the organization they sit - should be pulled into procurement projects rather than expecting to increase headcount
Dec 14, 2020

To meet today’s challenges in supply chain spend management, we must embrace automation. Gone are the days of being able to throw bodies at a problem. Systemic inefficiency not only creates unsustainable processes, it creates enormous waste and revenue risk. Now is the time for procurement to lead through change.

Procurement teams are uniquely positioned to lead supply chain resilience initiatives. That’s because procurement brings together the right suppliers, products, and materials needed to fulfill customer demand. 

In this podcast based on an AOP Live session, Tom Kieley, CEO and Co-Founder of SourceDay, and Go Kamiyama, Senior Manager of Strategic Initiatives from NetSuite, answer audience questions about:

  • How we can better understand supply chain-related spend management challenges
  • What resilience and responsiveness to demand signals look like in practice, and how procurement can incorporate them in their existing processes and frameworks
  • Opportunities for procurement to embrace automation for the purpose of increasing supply chain visibility and resilience
Dec 9, 2020

For all the stories of stress and struggle we heard in 2020, there have also been some amazing examples of heroism and success. Procurement teams worked long hours with little information to go on to keep their operations running, often partnering with suppliers and colleagues to find creative solutions on the fly.

Art of Procurement recently partnered with Ivalua to interview several CPOs about what they learned in 2020 and how that will change their approach going forward. 

In today’s bonus podcast, I thought I would share just a couple of short outtakes from two of the CPOs - Dan Symon, the CPO of New York City and Sajid Kunnummal, the Vice President and CPO at Navistar.

January 1, 2021 won’t bring a return to normal, but it does mark a new beginning. Procurement has never stopped maturing and evolving, and the past year brought on an enormous growth spurt. We’ve uncovered hidden weaknesses, seen the benefits of transparency and risk management, and forged new partnerships both inside and outside of the company.

To read more about how CPOs are pivoting their teams to enable success in 2021, you can get the full paper at artofprocurement.com/2021pivot.

Dec 7, 2020

Financial services spend has never been what you might consider ‘low hanging fruit,’ but many procurement organizations are getting to the point where they are not only ready to manage it, the organization needs them to bring consistency and transparency to these critical supplier relationships and operational requirements.

Diego De la Garza, Senior Director Global Services & Delivery at Corcentric, brings over a decade of industry experience to the table to address this complex spend category. Whether the company is B2B or B2C, the increasing role of technology in global business is increasing the range of financial services requirements most companies have and raising the bar on what current partners need to be capable of. 

In this interview, Diego describes the financial services category with Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner:

  • How new or disruptive technologies are redefining financial services or altering how companies partner with providers meet those needs
  • The key internal relationships procurement needs to manage when sourcing financial services and how those other functions measure success
  • The nuances and opportunities to switch suppliers and how they compare to other, less regulated, categories of spend
Nov 30, 2020

In the current moment, companies are finding themselves at the intersection of digital transformation and the varied but extreme pressures of the pandemic. And who is positioned to address the opportunities and challenges of this intersection? Procurement.

Tony Uphoff is the President & CEO at Thomas - formerly ThomasNet. He has enjoyed a successful career leading and growing media and information businesses such as The Hollywood Reporter, UBM TechWeb, and business.com.

In this conversation, Tony speaks from the perspective of a multiple-time CEO about:

  • How procurement can demonstrate their expanded impact on the business and what is required to gain access to the most strategic discussions in the company
  • How investments in supply chain risk, diversity, and sustainability are starting to affect the valuation of publicly traded companies
  • The impact of COVID-19 on sourcing trends in PPE and beyond based on Thomas’ treasure trove of data, including some really interesting predictors of still trends to come
Nov 27, 2020

On November 4, 2015, the Art of Procurement podcast officially launched. In 5 years, we’ve released 345 episodes and surpassed 500,000 listens. We’ve gone from being a new, unproven idea to being a trusted voice in the community and the #1 weekly podcast in all of procurement.

To celebrate this occasion, we are running a special series that will extend through the rest of November. For the next three weeks, there will be a daily 5-minute show that answers one of the most interesting and frequently-asked questions we have received from listeners. The questions will be answered alternately by AOP Founder and Host Philip Ideson and AOP General Manager Kelly Barner. (Fun fact: Kelly was AOP podcast guest #6.)

Thank you for joining us for this series and for being part of the AOP community - whether you have been with us since episode #1 or not!

Nov 26, 2020

On November 4, 2015, the Art of Procurement podcast officially launched. In 5 years, we’ve released 345 episodes and surpassed 500,000 listens. We’ve gone from being a new, unproven idea to being a trusted voice in the community and the #1 weekly podcast in all of procurement.

To celebrate this occasion, we are running a special series that will extend through the rest of November. For the next three weeks, there will be a daily 5-minute show that answers one of the most interesting and frequently-asked questions we have received from listeners. The questions will be answered alternately by AOP Founder and Host Philip Ideson and AOP General Manager Kelly Barner. (Fun fact: Kelly was AOP podcast guest #6.)

Thank you for joining us for this series and for being part of the AOP community - whether you have been with us since episode #1 or not!

Nov 25, 2020

On November 4, 2015, the Art of Procurement podcast officially launched. In 5 years, we’ve released 345 episodes and surpassed 500,000 listens. We’ve gone from being a new, unproven idea to being a trusted voice in the community and the #1 weekly podcast in all of procurement.

To celebrate this occasion, we are running a special series that will extend through the rest of November. For the next three weeks, there will be a daily 5-minute show that answers one of the most interesting and frequently-asked questions we have received from listeners. The questions will be answered alternately by AOP Founder and Host Philip Ideson and AOP General Manager Kelly Barner. (Fun fact: Kelly was AOP podcast guest #6.)

Thank you for joining us for this series and for being part of the AOP community - whether you have been with us since episode #1 or not!

Nov 24, 2020

On November 4, 2015, the Art of Procurement podcast officially launched. In 5 years, we’ve released 345 episodes and surpassed 500,000 listens. We’ve gone from being a new, unproven idea to being a trusted voice in the community and the #1 weekly podcast in all of procurement.

To celebrate this occasion, we are running a special series that will extend through the rest of November. For the next three weeks, there will be a daily 5-minute show that answers one of the most interesting and frequently-asked questions we have received from listeners. The questions will be answered alternately by AOP Founder and Host Philip Ideson and AOP General Manager Kelly Barner. (Fun fact: Kelly was AOP podcast guest #6.)

Thank you for joining us for this series and for being part of the AOP community - whether you have been with us since episode #1 or not!

Nov 23, 2020

On November 4, 2015, the Art of Procurement podcast officially launched. In 5 years, we’ve released 345 episodes and surpassed 500,000 listens. We’ve gone from being a new, unproven idea to being a trusted voice in the community and the #1 weekly podcast in all of procurement.

To celebrate this occasion, we are running a special series that will extend through the rest of November. For the next three weeks, there will be a daily 5-minute show that answers one of the most interesting and frequently-asked questions we have received from listeners. The questions will be answered alternately by AOP Founder and Host Philip Ideson and AOP General Manager Kelly Barner. (Fun fact: Kelly was AOP podcast guest #6.)

Thank you for joining us for this series and for being part of the AOP community - whether you have been with us since episode #1 or not!

Nov 20, 2020

On November 4, 2015, the Art of Procurement podcast officially launched. In 5 years, we’ve released 345 episodes and surpassed 500,000 listens. We’ve gone from being a new, unproven idea to being a trusted voice in the community and the #1 weekly podcast in all of procurement.

To celebrate this occasion, we are running a special series that will extend through the rest of November. For the next three weeks, there will be a daily 5-minute show that answers one of the most interesting and frequently-asked questions we have received from listeners. The questions will be answered alternately by AOP Founder and Host Philip Ideson and AOP General Manager Kelly Barner. (Fun fact: Kelly was AOP podcast guest #6.)

Thank you for joining us for this series and for being part of the AOP community - whether you have been with us since episode #1 or not!

Nov 19, 2020

On November 4, 2015, the Art of Procurement podcast officially launched. In 5 years, we’ve released 345 episodes and surpassed 500,000 listens. We’ve gone from being a new, unproven idea to being a trusted voice in the community and the #1 weekly podcast in all of procurement.

To celebrate this occasion, we are running a special series that will extend through the rest of November. For the next three weeks, there will be a daily 5-minute show that answers one of the most interesting and frequently-asked questions we have received from listeners. The questions will be answered alternately by AOP Founder and Host Philip Ideson and AOP General Manager Kelly Barner. (Fun fact: Kelly was AOP podcast guest #6.)

Thank you for joining us for this series and for being part of the AOP community - whether you have been with us since episode #1 or not!

Nov 18, 2020

On November 4, 2015, the Art of Procurement podcast officially launched. In 5 years, we’ve released 345 episodes and surpassed 500,000 listens. We’ve gone from being a new, unproven idea to being a trusted voice in the community and the #1 weekly podcast in all of procurement.

To celebrate this occasion, we are running a special series that will extend through the rest of November. For the next three weeks, there will be a daily 5-minute show that answers one of the most interesting and frequently-asked questions we have received from listeners. The questions will be answered alternately by AOP Founder and Host Philip Ideson and AOP General Manager Kelly Barner. (Fun fact: Kelly was AOP podcast guest #6.)

Thank you for joining us for this series and for being part of the AOP community - whether you have been with us since episode #1 or not!

Nov 17, 2020

On November 4, 2015, the Art of Procurement podcast officially launched. In 5 years, we’ve released 345 episodes and surpassed 500,000 listens. We’ve gone from being a new, unproven idea to being a trusted voice in the community and the #1 weekly podcast in all of procurement.

To celebrate this occasion, we are running a special series that will extend through the rest of November. For the next three weeks, there will be a daily 5-minute show that answers one of the most interesting and frequently-asked questions we have received from listeners. The questions will be answered alternately by AOP Founder and Host Philip Ideson and AOP General Manager Kelly Barner. (Fun fact: Kelly was AOP podcast guest #6.)

Thank you for joining us for this series and for being part of the AOP community - whether you have been with us since episode #1 or not!

Nov 16, 2020

On November 4, 2015, the Art of Procurement podcast officially launched. In 5 years, we’ve released 345 episodes and surpassed 500,000 listens. We’ve gone from being a new, unproven idea to being a trusted voice in the community and the #1 weekly podcast in all of procurement.

To celebrate this occasion, we are running a special series that will extend through the rest of November. For the next three weeks, there will be a daily 5-minute show that answers one of the most interesting and frequently-asked questions we have received from listeners. The questions will be answered alternately by AOP Founder and Host Philip Ideson and AOP General Manager Kelly Barner. (Fun fact: Kelly was AOP podcast guest #6.)

Thank you for joining us for this series and for being part of the AOP community - whether you have been with us since episode #1 or not!

Nov 13, 2020

On November 4, 2015, the Art of Procurement podcast officially launched. In 5 years, we’ve released 345 episodes and surpassed 500,000 listens. We’ve gone from being a new, unproven idea to being a trusted voice in the community and the #1 weekly podcast in all of procurement.

To celebrate this occasion, we are running a special series that will extend through the rest of November. For the next three weeks, there will be a daily 5-minute show that answers one of the most interesting and frequently-asked questions we have received from listeners. The questions will be answered alternately by AOP Founder and Host Philip Ideson and AOP General Manager Kelly Barner. (Fun fact: Kelly was AOP podcast guest #6.)

Thank you for joining us for this series and for being part of the AOP community - whether you have been with us since episode #1 or not!

Nov 12, 2020

On November 4, 2015, the Art of Procurement podcast officially launched. In 5 years, we’ve released 345 episodes and surpassed 500,000 listens. We’ve gone from being a new, unproven idea to being a trusted voice in the community and the #1 weekly podcast in all of procurement.

To celebrate this occasion, we are running a special series that will extend through the rest of November. For the next three weeks, there will be a daily 5-minute show that answers one of the most interesting and frequently-asked questions we have received from listeners. The questions will be answered alternately by AOP Founder and Host Philip Ideson and AOP General Manager Kelly Barner. (Fun fact: Kelly was AOP podcast guest #6.)

Thank you for joining us for this series and for being part of the AOP community - whether you have been with us since episode #1 or not!

Nov 11, 2020

On November 4, 2015, the Art of Procurement podcast officially launched. In 5 years, we’ve released 345 episodes and surpassed 500,000 listens. We’ve gone from being a new, unproven idea to being a trusted voice in the community and the #1 weekly podcast in all of procurement.

To celebrate this occasion, we are running a special series that will extend through the rest of November. For the next three weeks, there will be a daily 5-minute show that answers one of the most interesting and frequently-asked questions we have received from listeners. The questions will be answered alternately by AOP Founder and Host Philip Ideson and AOP General Manager Kelly Barner. (Fun fact: Kelly was AOP podcast guest #6.)

Thank you for joining us for this series and for being part of the AOP community - whether you have been with us since episode #1 or not!

Nov 10, 2020

On November 4, 2015, the Art of Procurement podcast officially launched. In 5 years, we’ve released 345 episodes and surpassed 500,000 listens. We’ve gone from being a new, unproven idea to being a trusted voice in the community and the #1 weekly podcast in all of procurement.

To celebrate this occasion, we are running a special series that will extend through the rest of November. For the next three weeks, there will be a daily 5-minute show that answers one of the most interesting and frequently-asked questions we have received from listeners. The questions will be answered alternately by AOP Founder and Host Philip Ideson and AOP General Manager Kelly Barner. (Fun fact: Kelly was AOP podcast guest #6.)

Thank you for joining us for this series and for being part of the AOP community - whether you have been with us since episode #1 or not!

Nov 9, 2020

On November 4, 2015, the Art of Procurement podcast officially launched. In 5 years, we’ve released 345 episodes and surpassed 500,000 listens. We’ve gone from being a new, unproven idea to being a trusted voice in the community and the #1 weekly podcast in all of procurement.

To celebrate this occasion, we are running a special series that will extend through the rest of November. For the next three weeks, there will be a daily 5-minute show that answers one of the most interesting and frequently-asked questions we have received from listeners. The questions will be answered alternately by AOP Founder and Host Philip Ideson and AOP General Manager Kelly Barner. (Fun fact: Kelly was AOP podcast guest #6.)

Thank you for joining us for this series and for being part of the AOP community - whether you have been with us since episode #1 or not!

Nov 2, 2020

MRO - or Maintenance, Repair, and Operations spend - is one of those categories that procurement has managed, and managed, and managed again… but don’t make the mistake of thinking there is no value left to realize.

Mike Croasdale has been focused on helping companies manage their MRO spend for years. If you listen to him describe the opportunities in this category, you’re very likely to walk away thinking it is one of the most nuanced and interesting spend categories in the company. MRO presents opportunities for complex analytics, operational understanding, and competitive advantage - if procurement knows where to look.

In this interview, Mike shares his point of view with Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner on:

  • How procurement can combine and leverage many models for managing MRO spend, including GPOs, specialized providers, and large dominant players
  • The status of the ‘customer experience’ enjoyed by procurement’s internal MRO customers
  • What he has observed and expects to see going forward in the PPE subcategory of MRO spend
Oct 26, 2020

Regardless of how you might choose to describe your journey through 2020, it is finally coming to an end. And while some of its effects will be with us for a long time, we have reached the point where it is not just appropriate to start thinking forward to 2021, it is absolutely necessary.

Christopher Sawchuk, Principal and Global Procurement Advisory Practice Leader at The Hackett Group, and Vishal Patel, VP of Product Marketing at Ivalua, joined us for an AOP Live session on September 15th.

As they pointed out during the live event, the preparations procurement originations make now will determine their readiness to succeed in the ‘next normal.’ Making good decisions now about digital transformation, agility, and supply chain risk will pay dividends later on.

In a podcast based on the AOP Live session, Christopher and VIshal answer audience questions about:

  • How they think procurement actually performed during the spring and summer of 2020, now that we’ve had an opportunity to gain some perspective
  • Making the transition from mid-crisis to post-crisis, including the changes that are likely to remain a part of procurement’s priorities for the foreseeable future
  • The actions we can start taking today to position procurement for success in 2021 and beyond
Oct 19, 2020


After months of planning, weeks of preparation, and days of sleepless nights, Mastermind LIVE 2020 is officially in the books. We had set an extremely high bar for ourselves: to run the most unique and meaningful event in procurement. From the session engagement and participant feedback, we believe we achieved our goal.

Our speakers spanned a number of industries and disciplines, and our attendees joined us from around the globe. Everyone walked away with a new idea, and we laughed together more than once as well.

In this podcast, Host Philip Ideson shares his primary take-aways from the two-day event, and shares what is to come next!

Oct 12, 2020

For many years, Peter Smith wanted to write a book that was fundamentally about procurement but would appeal to a wider business audience, One that would peel back the onion on the role of procurement, with tales of what happens when good buying practices are not followed.  Following a career as a practitioner, and most latterly leading Spend Matters in the UK, Peter got to work.  The result: Bad Buying – how organizations waste billions through failures, frauds, and fk-ups. 

In this interview, Peter discusses:

  • Examples of bad buying from across both the public and private sectors
  • Whether the growth of the procurement function has become a double-edged sword
  • Learnings that procurement professionals can apply to turn “bad” buying into “good buying”
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